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Chapter 59SermC.1.59

Sermo 59

The Bridegroom Speaks of Our Land

Bernard introduces the turtledove's voice from Song of Songs 2:12 and marvels that the heavenly Bridegroom calls the earth 'our land,' joining himself to his earthly bride in tender intimacy.

The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.✦ I can't disguise the fact any longer: look, he who is from heaven is now, for the second time, speaking from earth — and indeed, so graciously, so intimately, as though he were one of us from the earth. This one is the Bridegroom: when he sent word beforehand that flowers had appeared on the earth, he joined our things to his own; and now, nonetheless, he says, "The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land."✦ Will God, then, be deprived of reason in so strange a way of speaking — not to say an unworthy one? Nowhere else, I think, will you find heaven speaking in this way of the earth — nowhere else. Consider, then, what great sweetness there is in the God of heaven saying, "In our land." And you who are earth-born, sons of men, listen: the Lord has done great things with us.✦ He has had much to do with the earth, and much to do with the bride, whom it pleased him to take to himself from the earthly lands.

Love Knows No Lord

Bernard reflects that the Bridegroom speaks as lover, not as master, and that God who is love itself calls his beloved friends rather than servants.

In our land, he says. That voice doesn't clearly sound of rule, but of partnership, but of closeness. He says this as a bridegroom, not as the Lord. What? He is the Creator, and he counts himself a partner! Love speaks, which knows no lord. It is surely a song of love, and it was fitting that this be sustained by lovers, not by others. God too loves, and he doesn't have this from anywhere else, but he himself is the source from which he loves. And therefore all the more intensely, because he doesn't so much possess love as he himself is love.✦ But those he loves, he calls friends, not servants.✦ In the end, the master becomes a friend; for he wouldn't have called his disciples friends if they weren't.✦

Majesty Yields to Love

Perfect love makes all equal, and God himself became not merely like us but one with us, yielding his majesty to the union of love.

Do you see that even majesty yields to love? That's how it is, brothers. Love looks up to no one, but it doesn't look down on anyone either. Whoever loves perfectly looks on all as equals, and in himself he brings the lofty and the lowly into harmony; he doesn't merely make them peers — he makes them one. Perhaps you still think God is an exception to this rule of love; but whoever clings to God is one spirit with him.✦ Why are you amazed at this? He himself became as one of us.✦ I said too little: not as one of us, but one with us. It isn't enough to be their equal — he is a man among them.

A Homeland, Not a Possession

Christ claims the earth as a shared homeland because from it he took his bride and his body, rejecting exclusive ownership while embracing fellowship.

From there he claims this land for himself, but as a homeland, not as a possession. Why shouldn't he claim it? From there, the bride for him; from there, the substance of a body; from there, the bridegroom himself; from there, the two become one flesh.✦ If they are one flesh, why not also one homeland? The heaven of heavens belongs to the Lord, but the earth he gave to the sons of men. And so as a son of man he inherits the earth, as its lord he subdues it, as its founder he governs it, as a bridegroom he shares it. By saying, namely, 'in our land,' he certainly rejects exclusive ownership, but he does not refuse fellowship. And all this because the bridegroom has used so gracious a word as to deign to say, 'in our land.'

The Turtledove's Voice in Pilgrimage

Bernard turns to the turtledove itself, whose groan-like voice signifies our pilgrimage and stirs lamentation rather than applause.

Now let's look at the rest. The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.✦ And this is the sign that winter has passed, yet still announcing that the season of pruning is at hand.✦ This, in the literal sense. Elsewhere the turtledove's voice doesn't sound especially sweet, but it signifies sweet things. The little bird itself, if you buy it, isn't costly; if you examine it, it's not of small worth. And the voice, indeed, is more like a groan than a song, and it reminds us of our pilgrimage. I gladly hear the voice of that teacher — one who stirs not applause for himself, but lamentation in me. Truly you show yourself a turtledove if you teach others to groan; and if you wish to persuade, you'll need to be more earnest in groaning than in declaiming.

Teaching by Example, Not Mere Words

The voice of the turtledove is best taught through deeds, and teachers who groan with authenticity avoid the reproach of binding others to what they will not touch themselves.

Truly, example is more effective than words in many matters, but especially in this exchange. You'll give your voice the weight of virtue if you're first known to have been persuaded of the very things you urge on others. The voice of work is stronger than the voice of mouth. Act so that you speak, and you will not only more easily correct me, but you will also free yourself from no light reproach. It won't matter to you anymore if anyone says, 'They bind heavy, unbearable burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but they aren't willing to lift a finger to move them.' But neither should you fear the charge, 'You who teach others—don't you teach yourself?'✦

When the Dove First Sounded

The turtledove's voice was not heard until the promise of heaven revealed our earthly exile, and now every holy soul groans like that chaste bird for the presence of Christ.

The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.✦ As long as people received a reward in the land for their worship of God—and received only the land itself, flowing with milk and honey—they by no means recognized that they were strangers upon the earth, nor did they groan after the manner of the turtledove, as if remembering their homeland; but rather, treating their homeland as an exile, they gave themselves over to devouring rich food and drinking honeyed wine.✦✦✦ And so for so long the voice of the turtledove was not heard in our land.✦ So when the promise of the kingdom of heaven was made, people then understood that they do not have an abiding city here, but one yet to come, and they began to seek it with all their desire; and then for the first time the voice of the turtledove sounded clearly in the land.✦✦ For when any holy soul now sighed for the presence of Christ, and bore with grief the delay of the kingdom, and greeted the longed-for homeland from afar with groans and sighs—doesn't it seem to you to have played the role of the mourning and most chaste turtledove, whatever soul did so on earth?✦✦ And so from then on, the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.✦ Why shouldn't the absence of Christ stir frequent tears and daily groans in me? Lord, before you is all my desire, and my groan is not hidden from you.✦

The Groaning of Exile

Bernard longs to wash his bed with tears, and notes that all who love Christ's coming groan, especially now that the Bridegroom has been taken from us.

I toiled in my groaning — you know this; but blessed is the one who could say: I will wash my bed each night, and soak my couch with my tears.✦ Yet this groaning has been found not only in me, but also in all who love his coming. This, after all, is what he himself used to say. 'Can the wedding guests mourn,' he asks, 'as long as the bridegroom is with them?'✦ But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they will mourn — as if he were saying: 'And then the voice of the turtledove will be heard.'✦

Creation Groans for the Homeland

Creation and the saints alike groan for the revelation of God's children, though in former times this longing was hidden and rare rather than common to all.

So it is, good Jesus: those days have come. For creation itself groans and is in labor, even now, awaiting the revelation of the children of God. But creation isn't the only thing that groans; we ourselves also groan within, awaiting adoption as children of God, the redemption of our body. We know this: that as long as we are in this body, we are away from the Lord.✦✦ Nor are the groans empty by which it is so mercifully answered from heaven: For the misery of the needy and the groan of the poor I will now rise up, says the Lord. In the time of the Fathers, there was this voice of those who groaned; but it was rare, and each person had their own groan. Whence someone would also say: My secret is my own, my secret is my own. But the one who said, My groan is not hidden from you, truly showed that it was hidden, since it would not be hidden to God alone. And so then it could not be said, The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land; for what was still the secret of a few had not yet gone out to the multitude.

One Voice, Many Throats

Though many groan, it is the voice of one turtledove because the Spirit himself intercedes with unutterable groans, forming one prayer through many lips.

But once it was proclaimed openly — Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God — this groaning of the dove began to reach everyone, and the same reason for groaning became common to all, because all knew the Lord, according to what is read in Jeremiah: And they shall all know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord.12 But if many are groaning, what does the expression of a single one mean?3 "The voice of a turtledove," he says. Why not of turtledoves?4 Perhaps the Apostle resolves this where he says, because the Spirit himself intercedes for the saints with unutterable groans.✦ That is how it is. He himself is introduced as groaning, who makes others groan. And however many they may be whom you hear groaning like this, the voice of one sounds through the lips of all. Why not his, who forms that very voice in the mouth of each person according to their needs?

The Spirit's Voice and the Life-Giving Groan

The Spirit's voice, like the wind, is heard but not traced, and those who have passed from death to life know their groans come from him and find mercy before God.

After all, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the common good.✦ Its voice makes each one known and shows who is present. And hear from the Gospel what voice the Holy Spirit has.✦ The Spirit, he says, blows where it wills, and you hear its voice; yet you don't know where it comes from or where it's going.✦ Even if that dead teacher didn't know it — he who taught the letter that kills taught the dead — let us who have been brought over from death to life through the life-giving Spirit know for certain, by daily experience, with the Spirit himself enlightening us, that our vows and our groans come from him, and go to him, and there find mercy in God's sight.✦ For when would God make the voice of his own Spirit empty and void? But he himself knows what the Spirit desires, because it asks for the saints according to God.✦

The Chaste Widow-Bird

The turtledove's chastity is as commended as its groaning, for it keeps one mate and rebukes the multiplicity of human marriages by its natural fidelity.

And it isn't only the turtledove's groans that are commended; its chastity is commended too. And so it was fitting, and rightly so, that a victim should be given for a virgin birth. So what you have is this: a pair of turtledoves, or two young doves. And although the Holy Spirit is elsewhere customarily signified by a dove, it was still not fitting to offer a dove in sacrifice for the Lord, except at that age when it would not know lust. But in the case of the turtledove, no age is specified, because chastity is recognized at any age. In a word: she is content with one mate; once that mate is lost, she no longer accepts another — a rebuke to the multiplicity of marriages among people. For even if the fault of incontinence may perhaps be venial in itself, the incontinence itself is still a great disgrace. It shames us that what nature can accomplish in a bird — fidelity to one mate — reason cannot accomplish in a person when it comes to the demands of honor.

The Dove on the Mountain Heights

The turtledove dwells on mountain ridges and treetops, teaching the chaste to despise earthly things and love heavenly ones.

You can see the turtledove, then, in her time of widowhood, actively and untiringly pursuing the work of holy widowhood. Everywhere you'd see her alone, everywhere you'd hear her groaning; and you'd never catch her perched on a green branch, so that from her you might learn to avoid the poisonous green shoots of pleasure.5 Add that her dwelling is more often on mountain ridges and in the tops of trees: so that she may teach us — as is most fitting for the resolve of chastity — to despise earthly things and to love heavenly ones.6

When Chastity First Sounded on Earth

The voice of the turtledove was not heard until the heavenly Bridegroom commended eunuchs for the kingdom and the counsel of virginity prevailed everywhere.

From all this we can gather that the voice of the turtledove is also the preaching of chastity. And in fact, from the beginning the voice heard on earth was not that one, but rather the other: 'Increase and multiply, and fill the earth.' In truth, that voice of modesty would have rung out in vain, since the homeland of those rising again had not yet been made known — the homeland in which people will be far happier, neither marrying nor being married, but are like the angels of God in heaven. Would you say that this voice had its time when every barren person in Israel was under a curse, when the patriarchs themselves had several wives at once, when a brother was compelled by law to raise up offspring for his deceased brother who had no children? But when that commendation of the eunuchs sounded forth from the mouth of the heavenly turtledove — those who made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of God — and likewise the counsel of another, equally chaste turtledove concerning virgins prevailed everywhere, then for the first time it could truly be said that the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

Flower and Voice Together

The flower and the voice of the turtledove confirm each other, for faith comes from hearing and confirmation from sight, as word and sign bear witness together.

So if flowers have appeared in our land, and the voice of the turtledove has been heard, then by sight the truth has truly been ascertained, and by hearing as well.✦ The voice is heard, the flower is perceived. The flower is a wonder — as our earlier interpretation holds — because, coming to the voice, it brings forth the fruit of faith. Faith comes from hearing, but confirmation comes from sight. The voice sounded, the flower shone, and truth has risen from the earth through the confession of the faithful, as word and sign run together as one to bear witness to faith. These testimonies have been made exceedingly credible, while the flower bears witness to the voice — the eye of the ear, I mean. Things heard and things seen confirm each other, so that the testimony of the two — I speak of the ear and the eyes — may be firmly established. For this reason the Lord used to say: Go, announce to John (he was speaking to his disciples, that is) what you have heard and what you have seen.✦

Go, Tell John What You Hear and See

Christ's brief command to announce what was heard and seen became the apostolic pattern, as word and sign together spread faith across the world.

The certainty of the faith could not have been shared with them more briefly, nor communicated more plainly. Indeed, in a short time that same persuasion has been brought to the whole earth, and by the same concise line of argument. The things you have heard, he says, and have seen.✦ O word made brief, yet living and effective!✦7 Without a doubt, I confidently affirm that I have perceived it with my ears and my eyes. The trumpet of salvation thunders, miracles flash forth, and the world believes. What is said is quickly believed, while what is marveled at is put on display. Moreover, you have the account that the apostles went out and preached everywhere, with the Lord working alongside them and confirming the word by the signs that followed.✦8

Voice and Sign at the Mountain and the Jordan

At the Transfiguration and the Baptism, heavenly voice and visible sign worked together to open a way for truth through both the eye and the ear.

On the mountain you have him transfigured in astonishing brightness, and yet also attested by a heavenly voice. At the Jordan you similarly have the designating dove and the attesting voice. So these two things — voice and sign — come together everywhere in tandem, to introduce faith from divine generosity, so that a way in to the soul through both openings may stand open to the truth.9

The Unripe Figs of the Wedding Song

The unripe figs may signify hypocrites, yet even they have their use at the wedding feast, for many things beyond the meal itself are needed for the celebration.

The next verse: The fig tree has produced its unripe figs. Let's not eat from them, because they aren't fit to eat due to their immaturity. Good fig trees have an appearance, but only the likeness, not the flavor — perhaps marking out hypocrites. Still, let's not throw them away, since we may otherwise have some use for them. Otherwise, they'll easily fall of their own accord and before their time, like the thatch on rooftops that dries up before it's torn out — something I think was said about hypocrites. Still, it wasn't without reason that they were mentioned in the wedding song. They'll undoubtedly be of some use, even if not for eating, then for any purpose at all. At weddings, many things must necessarily be provided beyond the feasts themselves.

A Prayer for the Journey Ahead

Bernard defers further exploration to another day and asks for the prayers of his listeners, commending them to the praise and glory of Christ the Bridegroom.

I really don't think this point should be passed over — in fact, whatever it is that lies within the tight constraints of this discourse's limits, I'd rather not try to work through it now; I'm putting it off to another day, and a time when I'm less pressed. But will you then necessarily be allowed to experience it firsthand? Only let your prayers gain me enough opportunity and ability to set forward what I feel — for your own growth, and for the praise and glory of the bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ the Lord, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Minime iam dissimulare queo, quod ecce secundo is, qui de coelo est, de terra loquitur: utique tam dignanter, tam socialiter, quasi unus e terra. Sponsus est iste: qui cum praemitteret flores apparuisse in terra, adiunxit nostra; et nunc nihilominus: Vox, inquit, turturis audita est in terra nostra. Ergone ratione carebit Deo quidem tam insueta, ne dicam indigna, locutio? Nusquam, ut opinor, de coelo sic locutum reperies, nusquam alibi de terra. Adverte igitur, quantae suavitatis sit Deum coeli dicere, in terra nostra. Quique terrigenae et filii hominum, audite; magnificavit Dominus facere nobiscum. Multum illi cum terra, multum cum sponsa, quam de terris sibi asciscere placuit.

In terra, inquit, nostra. Non plane principatum sonat vox ista, sed consortium, sed familiaritatem. Tanquam sponsus hoc dicit, non tanquam Dominus. Quid? Conditor est, et consortem se reputat! Amor loquitur, qui dominum nescit. Carmen nimirum amoris est, nec aliis hoc quam amatoriis fulciri oportuit. Amat et Deus, nec aliunde hoc habet, sed ipse est unde amat.

Et ideo vehementius, quia non amorem tam habet, quam hoc est ipse. Verum quos amat, amicos habet, non servos. Denique amicus fit de magistro: nec enim amicos discipulos diceret, si non essent.

Vides amori cedere etiam maiestatem? Ita est, fratres; neminem suspicit amor, sed ne despicit quidem. Omnes ex aequo intuetur, qui perfecte se amant, et in se ipso celsos humilesque contemperat; nec modo pares, sed unum eos facit. Tu Deum forsitan adhuc ab hac amoris regula excipi putas; sed qui adhaeret Deo, unus spiritus est. Quid miraris hoc? Ipse factus est tanquam unus ex nobis. Minus dixi: non tanquam unus, sed unus. Parum est parem esse hominibus: homo est.

Inde terram nostram vindicat sibi, sed quasi patriam, non quasi possessionem. Quidni vindicet? Inde illi sponsa, inde substantia corporis; inde sponsus ipse; inde duo in carne una. Si caro una, cur non et patria una? Coelum coeli Domino, inquit, terram autem dedit filiis hominum. Ergo ut filius hominis haereditat terram, ut dominus subiicit, ut conditor administrat, ut sponsus communicat. Dicendo nempe, in terra nostra, proprietatem profecto abnuit, societatem non respuit. Et haec pro eo quod sponsus tam benigno usus est verbo, ut dignatus sit dicere, in terra nostra.

Nunc caetera videamus.

Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Et hoc indicium est transactae hiemis, tempus nihilominus putationis adesse denuntians. Id iuxta litteram. Alias turturis vox non dulce admodum sonat, sed signat dulcia. Ipsa avicula, si emis, non magni; si discutis, non parvi pretii est. Et vox quidem gementi, quam canenti similior, peregrinationis nostrae nos admonet. Illius doctoris libenter audio vocem: qui non sibi plausum, sed mihi planctum moveat. Vere turturem exhibes, si gemere doceas: et si persuadere vis, gemendo id magis, quam declamando studeas oportebit.

Exemplum sane tum in aliis multis, tum vel maxime hoc in negotio, verbo efficacius est. Dabis voci tuae vocem virtutis, si quod suades, prius tibi illud cognosceris persuasisse. Validior operis, quam oris vox. Fac ut loqueris, et non solum me facilius emendas, sed te quoque non levi liberas probro. Non iam pertinebit ad te, si quis dicat: Alligant onera gravia et importabilia, et imponunt ea in humeros hominum, digito autem suo nolunt ea movere. Sed neque illud verearis oportet: Tu qui alios doces, te ipsum non doces.

Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Donec homines pro Dei cultu mercedem tantum in terra, et tantum terram acceperunt, illam utique lacte et melle manantem, minime se cognoverunt peregrinos super terram, nec more turturis ingemuerunt veluti patriae reminiscentes; magis autem pro patria exsilio abutentes, dederunt se comedere pinguia, et bibere mulsum. Ita tandiu non est vox turturis audita in terra nostra. Ubi ergo regni coelorum promissio facta est, tunc intellexerunt homines se non habere hic civitatem manentem, sed futuram inquirere tota aviditate coeperunt; et tunc primum manifeste sonuit in terra vox turturis. Nam dum sancta quaeque iam anima Christi praesentiam suspiraret, regni dilationem moleste ferret, desideratam patriam gemitibus et suspiriis a longe salutaret: nonne tibi videtur vice fungi gemebundae ac castissimae turturis, quaecunque anima in terris ita fecisset? Extunc ergo et deinceps vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Quidni moveat mihi crebras lacrymas et gemitus quotidianos Christi absentia! Domine, ante te omne desiderium meum, et gemitus meus a te non est absconditus.

Laboravi in gemitu meo, tu scis; sed beatus, qui dicere potuit: Lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum, lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo. Non solum autem mihi, sed et omnibus qui diligunt adventum eius, gemitus isti comperti sunt. Hoc quippe est quod ipse aiebat. Nunquid possunt, inquit, filii sponsi lugere, quandiu cum illis est sponsus? Venient autem dies, cum auferetur ab eis sponsus, et tunc lugebunt; ac si diceret: Et tunc vox turturis audietur.

Ita est, Iesu bone, venerunt dies illi. Nam ipsa creatura ingemiscit et parturit usque adhuc, revelationem filiorum Dei exspectans. Non solum autem illa, sed et nos ipsi intra nos gemimus, adoptionem filiorum Dei exspectantes, redemptionem corporis nostri : hoc scientes, quia quandiu sumus in corpore hoc, peregrinamur a Domino. Nec vacui gemitus, quibus e coelo tam misericorditer respondetur: Propter miseriam inopum et gemitum pauperum nunc exsurgam, dicit Dominus. Fuit et in tempore Patrum vox ista gementium; sed rara, et penes quemque suus gemitus. Unde et dicebat quis: Secretum meum mihi, secretum meum mihi. Sed et qui aiebat: Gemitus meus a te non est absconditus, profecto monstrabat absconditum esse, qui soli Deo non esset absconditus. Et ideo tunc dici non potuit: Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra; quoniam secretum adhuc paucorum iam tunc multitudinem non exivit.

At ubi palam clamatum est: Quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens, ad omnes iam coepit pertinere gemitus iste turtureus, et una omnibus esse gemendi ratio, quia omnes sciebant Dominum, secundum quod in Ieremia legitur: Et cognoscent me omnes a minimo usque ad maximum, dicit Dominus.

Caeterum si multi gementes, quid sibi vult unius expressio? Vox turturis, inquit. Quare non turturum? Forte Apostolus id solvit, ubi ait, quia ipse Spiritus postulat pro sanctis gemitibus inenarrabilibus. Ita est. Ipse inducitur gemens, qui gementes facit. Et quamlibet multi sint, quos ita gemere audias, unius per omnium labia vox sonat. Quidni illius, qui ipsam in ore singulorum pro quorumque necessitatibus format?

Denique unicuique datur manifestatio Spiritus ad utilitatem. Sua vox quemque manifestum facit, et praesentem indicat. Et audi ex Evangelio, quod vocem habeat Spiritus sanctus. Spiritus, inquit, ubi vult spirat, et vocem eius audis; et nescis unde veniat, aut quo vadat. Etsi ille nesciebat, qui litteram occidentem docebat mortuos magister mortuus; nos sciamus, qui translati de morte ad vitam per vivificantem Spiritum, certo et quotidiano experimento, ipso nos illuminante, probamus vota et gemitus nostros ab ipso venire, et ad eum ire, illicque invenire misericordiam in oculis Dei. Quando enim sui Spiritus vocem irritam faceret Deus? At ipse scit quid desideret Spiritus, quia secundum Deum postulat pro sanctis.

Nec soli commendant turturem gemitus; commendat et castitas. Huius denique merito digna fuit dari hostia pro virgineo partu. Sic quippe habes: Par turturum, aut duos pullos columbarum. Et licet alias quidem per columbam Spiritus sanctus soleat designari; quia tamen libidinosa avis est, non decuit offerri eam in sacrificium Domini, nisi ea sane aetate, qua nesciret libidinem. At turturis non designatur aetas, quoniam agnoscitur castitas in quacunque aetate. Denique compare uno contenta est; quo amisso alterum iam non admittit, numerositatem in hominibus nuptiarum redarguens. Nam etsi forsitan culpa propter incontinentiam venialis est, ipsa tamen tanta incontinentia turpis est. Pudet ad negotium honestatis rationem non posse in homine, quod natura possit in volucre.

Cernere enim est turturem tempore suae viduitatis, sanctae viduitatis opus strenue atque infatigabiliter exsequentem. Videas ubique singularem, ubique gementem audias; nec unquam in viridi ramo residentem prospicies, ut tu ab eo discas voluptatum virentia virulenta vitare. Adde quod in iugis montium et in summitatibus arborum frequentior illi conversatio est: ut, quod vel maxime propositum pudicitiae, decet, doceat nos terrena despicere, et amare coelestia.

Ex quibus colligitur, quod vox sit turturis etiam praedicatio castitatis. Neque enim a principio vox ista in terris audita fuit, sed magis illa: Crescite, et multiplicamini, et replete terram. Incassum profecto vox illa pudicitiae sonuisset, necdum propalata resurgentium patria: in qua longe felicius homines neque nubent, neque nubentur, sed sunt sicut angeli Dei in coelis. Tune voci illi tempus fuisse tunc dicas, cum maledicto omnis subiacebat sterilis in Israel, cum Patriarchae ipsi plures simul habebant uxores, cum frater fratris absque liberis defuncti semen suscitare ex lege compellebatur? At, ubi insonuit ex ore coelestis turturis commendatio illa spadonum, qui se castraverunt propter regnum Dei; et item alterius eiusdem castissimae turturis consilium de virginibus ubique invaluit, tunc primum dici veraciter potuit, quia vox turturis audita est in terra nostra.

Ergo, si in terra nostra et flores apparuerunt, et vox turturis audita est; profecto et visu veritas comperta est, et auditu. Vox quippe auditur, flos cernitur. Flos miraculum est, ut nostra superior interpretatio habet, quod voci accedens fructum parturit fidei. Etsi fides ex auditu, sed ex visu confirmatio est. Sonuit vox, splenduit flos, et veritas de terra orta est per fidelium confessionem, verbo signoque pariter concurrentibus in testimonium fidei. Testimonia ista credibilia facta sunt nimis, dum flos voci, auri oculus attestatur. Audita visa confirmant, ut duorum testimonium (auris loquor et oculi) ratum sit. Propterea Dominus aiebat: Ite, renuntiate Ioanni (eius nempe discipulis loquebatur) quae audistis et vidistis.

Nec brevius illis, nec planius intimari fidei valuit certitudo. Eadem sane in brevi etiam universae terrae persuasio facta est, et eodem argumenti compendio. Quae audistis, inquit, et vidistis. O verbum abbreviatum, attamen vivum et efficax! Haud dubius profecto assero, quod auribus oculisque percepi. Intonat tuba salutaris, coruscant miracula, et mundus credit. Cito persuadetur quod dicitur, dum quod stupetur, ostenditur. Habes autem quia profecti apostoli praedicaverunt ubique, Domino cooperante, et sermonem confirmante sequentibus signis.

Habes in monte stupenda claritate transfiguratum, et nihilominus superna testificatum voce. Habes in Iordane similiter et columbam designantem, et vocem testificantem. Ita haec duo ubique pariter, vox et signum, ad introducendam fidem ex divina largitate concurrunt: ut latus ad animam per utrasque fenestras ingressus pateat veritati.

Sequitur: Ficus protulit grossos suos. Non comedamus ex eis: nec enim esui habiles sunt ob immaturitatem sui. Bonarum ficuum habent speciem, sed similitudinem, non saporem, forte hypocritas designantes. Non abiiciamus tamen, alias forsitan his opus habebimus. Alioquin satis per se ipsos leviter, et ante tempus cadent, sicut fenum tectorum, quod priusquam evellatur exaruit; quod ego de hypocritis dictum reor. Non sine causa tamen in carmine nuptiali eorum mentio facta est. Erunt sine dubio, etsi non esui, usui qualicunque. Multa in nuptiis praeter dapes necessarie procurantur.

Ego vero istud adeo minime praetereundum existimo, ut quidquid illud est, inter angustias extremitatum sermonis huius discutere nolim; sed differo in diem alterum, et horam liberiorem. An vero necessarie, vobis tunc experiri licebit: tantum mihi opportunitatem facultatemque obtineant vota vestra ad proferendum quod sentio, in vestram ipsorum aedificationem, in laudem et gloriam sponsi Ecclesiae Iesu Christi Domini qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  2. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  3. ↩Ps.125.3 — For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous send forth their hands to wrongdoing.
  4. ↩1John.4.8 — The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
  5. ↩John.15.15 — No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all that I heard from my Father I have made known to you.
  6. ↩John.15.15 — No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all that I heard from my Father I have made known to you.
  7. ↩1Cor.6.17 — But the one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
  8. ↩Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being.
  9. ↩Gen.2.24;Matt.19.5 — Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Matt.19.5 — and he said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'
  10. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  11. ↩Song.2.12-Song.2.13 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song.2.13 — The fig tree has ripened its early figs, and the vines in blossom give off their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.
  12. ↩Rom.2.21 — You, then, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one must not steal, do you steal?
  13. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  14. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  15. ↩Exod.3.8 — So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of Egypt and to bring them up from that land to a good and broad land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
  16. ↩Heb.11.13 — By faith these all died, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar and having greeted them, and having confessed that they are strangers and exiles on the earth.
  17. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  18. ↩Heb.13.14 — For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is coming.
  19. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  20. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  21. ↩Phil.3.20-Phil.3.21;Heb.13.14 — For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil.3.21 — who will transform the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the power that enables him to subject all things to himself. Heb.13.14 — For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is coming.
  22. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  23. ↩Ps.38.9 — I am utterly numb and crushed to the ground; I groan because of the anguish of my heart.
  24. ↩Ps.6.7 — I am worn out with my groaning; I flood my bed every night, drenching my couch with my tears.
  25. ↩Matt.9.15;Mark.2.19;Luke.5.34 — And Jesus said to them, 'The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.' Mark.2.19 — And Jesus said to them, 'The sons of the bridechamber cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. Luke.5.34 — And Jesus said to them, "Can you make the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them?"
  26. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  27. ↩Rom.8.23 — Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
  28. ↩2Cor.5.6-2Cor.5.8 — So we are always confident, and we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 2Cor.5.7 — for we walk by faith, not by sight 2Cor.5.8 — We are confident, and I say we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
  29. ↩Rom.8.26 — In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
  30. ↩1Cor.12.7 — But to each one the Spirit is made visible for the common good.
  31. ↩John.3.8 — The Spirit blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
  32. ↩John.3.8 — The Spirit blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
  33. ↩2Cor.3.6 — who also has made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  34. ↩Rom.8.27 — And the one who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to God.
  35. ↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  36. ↩Luke.7.22;Matt.11.4 — And he answered them, 'Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.' Matt.11.4 — And Jesus answered them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:
  37. ↩Matt.11.4;Luke.7.22 — And Jesus answered them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: Luke.7.22 — And he answered them, 'Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.'
  38. ↩Rom.9.28 — For the Lord will execute his word on the earth, accomplishing it and cutting it short.
  39. ↩Mark.16.20 — And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The opening quotation echoes Colossians 3:1 (Quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens). The closing quotation is Jeremiah 31:34 (Vulgate).
  2. 2 ↩gemitus turtureus ('groaning of the dove') is rendered concretely to preserve the image of the dove's cry that runs through the surrounding sections.
  3. 3 ↩The idiom 'quid sibi vult' means 'what does it mean' or 'what is the point'. 'Caeterum' functions here as a transitional 'But' or 'However', shifting the argument from the previous section's claim that all share one reason to groan.
  4. 4 ↩The shift from the singular 'turturis' to the plural 'turturum' highlights the question: if many are groaning, why does the scriptural text use the singular voice of one dove?
  5. 5 ↩virulenta rendered 'poisonous' rather than 'diseased' to capture the moral danger of pleasures that look fresh and green but are inwardly harmful; the contrast virentia/virulenta is a deliberate wordplay.
  6. 6 ↩propositum pudicitiae rendered 'the resolve of chastity' to capture both the settled intention and the moral purpose; could also be 'the aim of chastity.'
  7. 7 ↩'Verbum abbreviatum' echoes the Pauline 'verbum abbreviatum' (Rom 9:28 / Vulgate), a concise, living, and powerful word of God.
  8. 8 ↩The phrasing echoes Mark 16:20 ('Domino cooperante... sequentibus signis'); final resolution deferred to Moses stage.
  9. 9 ↩latus is rendered figuratively as 'a way in' (a side or entry); per utrasque fenestras as 'through both openings' preserves the spatial metaphor for how voice and sign reach the soul.

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