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Chapter 67SermC.1.67

Sermo 67

The Bridegroom's Words

Bernard invites the bridegroom to guide their study, praising his words as sweet, fruitful, and deep, and likening them to a threefold feast that soothes, nourishes, and heals.

My beloved is mine, and I am his.✦1 So far, the bridegroom's words. May he himself be present, so that we may worthily explore his words for his glory and our salvation as his bride.2 For they are not such as can be considered and examined by us, as is fitting, unless he himself be the guide of the word.3 For they are as sweet for grace, as fruitful for the senses, and as deep for mysteries.4 To whom shall I liken them? To some feast that stands out with a certain threefold grace: delightful to taste, solid for nourishment, and effective for healing.5 So, I say, each discourse of the bride soothes the affection by the sweetness of its sound; and from the abundance of the senses it enriches and nourishes the mind; and from the depth of its mysteries — while it exercises the understanding the more, the more it terrifies — it heals the swelling of inflated knowledge in a wondrous way.67

Humbled Before the Mystery

Human understanding fails before the bridegroom's words, and the humble soul confesses their surpassing greatness, while the sweetness of the opening phrase begins to unfold.

And indeed, if some self-styled little scholar among these people were to apply himself to a more careful examination of these matters, once he sees the strength of his own mind give way and perceives his whole understanding reduced to captivity, won't he, humbled, be driven to that voice, so as to say: Your knowledge has become wonderful to me — it has been strengthened beyond me, and I cannot reach it? And now, what mark of great sweetness does the very beginning of his words display? For consider what a beginning he has given. My beloved, she says, is mine, and I am his.✦ The expression seems simple, because it sounds sweet; but more of this will be seen later.

Seeking the Absent Bridegroom

The bride speaks of the beloved after he has withdrawn, her heart full of him, because out of abundance the mouth speaks what the heart holds.

Now, truly, it begins with love, proceeds with the beloved, indicating that it knows nothing other than the beloved. It's clear what the subject is: but not with whom. For it's not permitted to feel as though one were with him, when he himself is no longer present. And there's no doubt about this: it seems he is soon calling out, as if crying from behind, 'Return, my beloved.' From this we are led to infer nothing other than that, once his words are finished, he withdrew again in his own way, and she remained, speaking of him — he who is never absent to himself. So it is: he held it on his lips, who did not withdraw from the heart — not even when he withdrew. What goes out from the mouth comes from the heart, and out of an abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.✦ Therefore it speaks of the beloved, as truly beloved and truly to be loved, because it loves greatly.

Broken Speech of Love

The bride's words seem broken and incomplete, yet in that very incompleteness the hearer is lifted up rather than instructed.

We look for the one with whom we are, for we know the one of whom we speak. And she doesn't run to meet him, except perhaps with the young women who can't be away from their mother once the bridegroom has departed. But as I see it, we do better to perceive with him rather than with another that she spoke in this way — especially since the speech itself, taken on its own, is found to be broken off and less coherent, and is plainly insufficient to give the hearer understanding, which is the very reason we speak to one another.8 My beloved, he says, is mine, and I am his.✦9 Not more than that? The discourse seems to hang — or rather, it doesn't hang, it falls short. The hearer is left in suspense — no, not left in suspense, but left uninstructed — and yet lifted up.10

The Holy Exchange

The bride's brief words express a mutual self-giving so intimate that neither reason nor language can capture it, leaving the hearer ravished and longing.

What is this he's saying, 'He to me, and I to him'? We don't know what he's saying, because we don't perceive what he perceives. O holy soul, what is that one to you, and what are you to him?11 What, I ask, is this exchange between you, running about so familiarly and graciously, this offering and giving back?12 He gives himself to you, and you in turn to him. But what? Is it the very same thing, you to him, as what he to you, or something else? If you're speaking to us, if you're speaking for our understanding, then clearly declare what you perceive: how long will you keep taking our souls away?13

The Heart's Overflow

The bride speaks from affection, not intellect, unable to contain her love; like all deep emotions, love bursts forth involuntarily, not by deliberation.

Is it according to the prophet, your secret that is for you? Exactly: it was affection that spoke, not the intellect, and so it wasn't directed toward the intellect. To what purpose, then? To nothing — except that she was wondrously delighted, and moved with intense affection toward the longed-for addresses, while he brought her to this end: she could not keep completely silent, nor yet put into words what she felt. For she didn't speak in order to express herself, but so as not to remain silent. From the fullness of the heart the mouth has spoken — but not from fullness. Affections have their own voices, through which they reveal themselves even when they don't wish to: fear, for instance, is alarming; grief, lamenting; love, joyful. Do the laments of those in pain, or the sobs of the grieving, or the groans, or the sudden and wild outcries of those who are struck — or even the belching of the full — do these create the experience, or does reason stir it, or does deliberation arrange it, or does forethought shape it?

Love That Will Not Be Silent

Divine love, burning intensely, pays no attention to order or restraint, and the bride, filled with that love, belches forth rather than speaks.

It's certain that a feeling of this kind doesn't arise from the mind by a mere nod, but bursts forth through an inner movement. That's how it is with burning and vehement love—especially divine love: when it can't contain itself within itself, it pays no attention to what order, by what law, or by what sequence or brevity of words it may pour itself out, provided it senses no loss of itself in the process. Sometimes it doesn't even require words, sometimes it doesn't require any voice at all, content for this purpose with sighs alone. This is why the bride, burning with holy love and with an intensity that is truly incredible, in order to release however little of the heat she suffers, doesn't consider what or how she should speak, but whatever comes to her lips, urged by love, she doesn't carefully announce—she belches it out.14 Why shouldn't she belch it forth, refreshed and filled as she is?

A Belch of Praise

Surveying the Song of Songs, Bernard marvels that the bride has received such abundance that her utterance is a belch of praise, echoing the Psalmist's 'My heart has belched forth a good word.'

Unroll the text of this wedding song from its very beginning all the way up to this point, and see whether anywhere she has been granted as much abundance from him as in this visit — in all the bridegroom's visits and addresses — and whether she ever received from his mouth not only so many, but also such joyful words. So once her longing was filled with good things, is it any wonder if she produced a belch rather than a word? And if it seems to you that she produced a word, think of it as something belched out, not prepared or pre-arranged. For the bride does not think it a forced appropriation to adapt the Prophet's saying to herself: 'My heart has belched forth a word' — filled as she is with the very same spirit. My beloved is mine, and I am his. It has no logical sequence; it lacks connection. What comes of it? It is a belch.

The Fragrance of Holy Utterance

Belching, though unrefined, carries a fragrance that reveals the state of the heart, and the bride's good odor is a testimony to her fullness of grace.

What is it you're looking for in this belching — the careful joinings of prayers, the formal arrangements of words? What laws or rules are you imposing on your belching? It doesn't accept your moderation; it doesn't expect composure from you; it doesn't look for what's fitting or what's timely. Of itself, from deep within — not only when you don't want it, but even when you don't know — it bursts out, wrenched loose rather than deliberately sent. Still, belching carries an odor — sometimes good, sometimes bad — depending on the opposing qualities of the vessels it rises from. In the end, a good person brings forth good from their good treasure, and a bad person brings forth bad. A good vessel is the bride of my Lord, and a good fragrance to me comes from her.

Scent of the Prophets

Grateful for even a crumb of the bride's fragrance, Bernard savors the belching of Moses, Isaiah, and all the Spirit-filled prophets whose words breathe mercy and creation.

I give you thanks, Lord Jesus, who have deigned to let me come at least just to catch your scent. So it is, Lord — even little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters. For my part, I confess it: the belch of your beloved breathes good to me, and from her fullness I gladly receive, even if only a little. The memory of the abundance of your sweetness pours into me, and I have breathed in something unspeakable — your condescension and love — in that utterance: My beloved is mine, and I am his. Let her, as is fitting, feast and exult in your presence, and delight in joy — yet let her abound toward you in such a way that she remains sober for us. Let her, then, be filled with the blessings of your house and drink from the torrent of your delight; but I beg you — let even a thin scent of that belching reach me, poor as I am, once she has been filled. Moses breathed good to me, and a fine scent was in his belch — of the power that creates: In the beginning, he says, God created heaven and earth. Isaiah breathed well too — for he yielded the sweetest scent of mercy that redeems, belching out as much: He gave his soul over to death, and was counted among the wicked; he himself bore the sins of many, and prayed for transgressors, that they might not perish.✦

Jeremiah's Patience

Jeremiah's good word teaches patient waiting for the Lord's salvation, and Bernard resolves to wait for the Lord his Savior.

What smells as much of mercy? Good too is the utterance from Jeremiah's mouth; good is that from David, who says: "My heart has uttered a good word."✦15 All were filled with the Holy Spirit, and, pouring forth all things, they filled them with goodness.✦ Are you looking for Jeremiah's utterance? I haven't forgotten; I was already preparing it. It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of the Lord.✦ It is his, I'm not mistaken; bring it to your nostrils; the sweetness of rewarding justice overcomes the balsam that it brings. He wants me to wait patiently for justice's reward in the future, not to receive it in the present, because the reward of justice is salvation — not of the world, but of the Lord. If he has made a delay, wait for him, and don't murmur, because it is good to wait in silence. So I will do what he urges; I will wait for the Lord, my Savior.

Waiting and Seeing

The just person both waits for and possesses the Lord; waiting itself is a kind of fragrance, and the expectation of the righteous is gladness.

But I'm a sinner, and I still have a long way to go, because salvation is far from sinners. Still, I won't complain: in the meantime I'll find comfort in the fragrance. The just person will rejoice in the Lord, tasting by experience what I perceive by fragrance. What the just person looks toward, the sinner waits for; and waiting is a kind of fragrance. For expectation, it says, waits for the revelation of the children of God.✦ And so looking is also tasting and seeing, because the Lord is gracious.✦ Or is the just person more blessed both in waiting and in already possessing? In the end, the waiting of the just is gladness.✦

The Just Await, the Sinner Does Not

Unlike the sinner who rests in present goods, the just await future revelation; Simeon, Abraham, the apostles, and David all tasted contemplation through the fragrance of expectation.

For the sinner awaits nothing. And from there the sinner, held back not only by present goods but even content with them, awaits nothing in the future, deaf to that voice: Wait for me, says the Lord, on the day of my resurrection in the time to come.16 And so Simeon was just, because he awaited and already perceived Christ in spirit, whom he did not yet worship in the flesh. And blessed in his expectation, because through the scent of expectation he reached the taste of contemplation. In the end he says: And my eyes have seen your salvation.17 The just Abraham too, who himself also awaited the day of the Lord, was not put to shame by his expectation; for he saw and rejoiced. The just apostles, when they heard: And you are like people awaiting their lord.18

David's Song of Joy

David, filled with the Spirit, belched and sang, pouring out the sweetness of the bridegroom's anointing and the wedding song of the half-hour of heavenly silence.

Why not the righteous one and David too, when he used to say: "Waiting, I waited for the Lord"?✦ He is the fourth among the number of those foretold, those belchers of mine, whom I had almost passed over. It is not profitable, to be sure. That one opened his mouth and drew in the Spirit, and once filled, he not only belched but also sang. Good Jesus! How much sweetness he poured into my nostrils and ears through his belching and his song — from the oil of joy with which God, your God, anointed you above your companions: from myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, from your garments, from the ivory houses, from which the daughters of kings delighted you in your honor!✦ Would that you might deign to meet me — me, the companion of so great a prophet and your friend — on the day of solemnity and joy, when he goes forth from his bridal chamber, singing his wedding song on the pleasant psaltery with the lyre, overflowing with delights, sprinkled and sprinkling everything with this kind of spiced dust! In that day — or rather in that hour (for it is an hour, if it is anything at all, and perhaps not even an hour, but half an hour), according to that word of Scripture: "There was silence in heaven for about half an hour" — therefore in that hour my mouth will be filled with joy, and my tongue with exultation, while I perceive, not whole psalms, I say, but individual verses as belchings, and indeed fragrant ones above all spices.✦

The Hidden Secret of the Bride

The fragrance of Christ filled the world through John and Paul, yet the bride in this present chapter neither fully reveals nor withholds her secret, offering only a scent to those not yet ready to taste.

What is more fragrant than John's breath, wafting eternity, generation, and divinity to me like the scent of the Word? What should I say about the outpourings of Paul, with what great sweetness they have filled the world? In short, Christ's good fragrance was in every place. Surely, words that are unspeakable — even if it does not bring them forth for me to hear, it nevertheless offers them so that I may desire, and so that it may be a pleasure to savor what it is not permitted to hear. For I don't know by what process — the more they lie hidden, the more they please, and the more eagerly we yearn toward what is denied us. But now notice a similar matter at the bride's place: how, like Paul, in the present chapter, she neither reveals the secret nor passes it over untouched — granting something, as it were, to our sense of smell, which perhaps she has judged not yet to belong to the taste, whether on account of our unworthiness or on account of our incapacity.

Mutual Love and Unequal Embrace

The bride's words confess a mutual love, yet this embrace is not between equals; only the pure in heart and body can experience such a prerogative, transformed by beholding the Lord's glory.

My beloved is mine, and I am his.✦ There's no doubt that mutual love burns between the two here; but in love, the highest happiness of one is, and the wondrous dignity of the other. This kind of agreement or embrace doesn't happen between equals. But given this prerogative of love, what can anyone boast is lavished on him and repaid in turn from himself, unless someone presumes to know himself with clear certainty — one who has, by the special purity of mind and holiness of body, deserved in himself to experience something so great? It's a matter of the affections; it's not reached by reasoning but by conformity. Yet how few can say: 'But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.'✦

Devotion, Not Merit

For common understanding, 'My beloved is mine' means he is devoted to me and I to him, an interpretation confirmed by the Prophet's rearrangement of the same words.

But so that what is read may be brought under some form of understanding, however rough — preserving, to be sure, the bride's singular secret, which for now we aren't allowed to approach, especially those of us being what we are — we should certainly add something more accessible to common understanding the more customary it is, something that gives little ones both a logical sequence in words and an intelligible meaning. And it seems to me sufficient for our rough and in a way popular understanding, if by saying "My beloved is mine" we understand "he is devoted," so that the sense is: My beloved is devoted to me, and I to him.✦ Yet I'm not the only one to have felt this, nor the first, since the Prophet said it before me: "I waited, I waited for the Lord, and he was devoted to me."✦ You have the Lord's devotion to the Prophet openly; and you have the Prophet's devotion to the Lord in what he says: "I waited, I waited."✦ For whoever waits is devoted, and to wait is to be devoted. The very same sense, nearly the same words with the Prophet as with the bride; but rearranged by the Prophet. For he first put what she put second, and conversely.

Grace Comes First

The bride speaks more truly than the Prophet because she ascribes everything to grace, confessing that she was anticipated by the beloved's goodness, as John teaches that God first loved us.

And yet the bride has spoken more truly, not putting forward her own merit but setting forth his benefit, and confessing that she was anticipated by the beloved's grace. Absolutely right. For who has given to him first, and will be repaid? Then listen to John, what he thought about this in his Epistle. In this is love, he says: not as if we have loved God, but he himself first loved us. The prophet, however, though he was silent about grace's prevention, did not deny its sequel: plainly he was not silent about it. But receive, in another place, his more confident confession about this matter. And your mercy, he says (he was speaking to the Lord), will follow me all the days of my life.

All Is Grace

Grace can only be full when everything is ascribed to grace; the bride's confession of grace marks the fullness of grace in the soul, leaving no room for merit.

Listen again to the way he anticipates us, and draw from the prophet himself a no less certain and. 'My God,' she says, 'his mercy will anticipate me'; and again to the Lord: 'Quickly, let your mercies anticipate us, because we have become exceedingly poor.' The bride, later on — unless I'm mistaken — takes up these same words, yet not in the same order, but she herself follows the prophet's arrangement, speaking this way: 'I to my beloved, and my beloved to me.' Why this? Clearly, so that grace may then show itself more fully, when it has given everything to grace — ascribing the first parts, of course, to that one, and the last as well. Otherwise, how is grace full, if it has held on to anything that is not from grace? There's no room for grace to enter where merit has already taken over. Therefore, a full confession of grace now marks the fullness of that very grace in the soul of the one confessing.

No Merit, Only Freedom

Bernard refuses any merit that would exclude grace, desiring only the freedom where the Spirit is, so that what is truly his own comes entirely from grace.

For if anything of my own is present, insofar as it is grace, it necessarily has to yield to grace. Whatever you count as merit falls short of grace. I don't want a merit that excludes grace. I shrink from whatever is my own, so that I may be my own — except perhaps for that which is more truly mine, the thing that makes me mine. Grace renders me to myself justified freely, and so freed from the slavery of sin. Finally, where the Spirit is, there is freedom.

The Synagogue and the Church

The Synagogue, seeking its own justice, was cast off, while the Church is betrothed in faith, justice, mercy, and compassion, knowing that grace, not merit, has anticipated her.

O foolish bride, the Synagogue, who, despising the justice of God — that is, the grace of her own bridegroom — and wanting to establish her own, is not subject to the justice of God!✦ Because of this the wretched one was divorced, and now she is no longer a bride; but the Church, to whom it is said: I have betrothed you to myself in faith; I have betrothed you to myself in judgment and justice; I have betrothed you to myself in mercy and compassions.✦ You didn't choose me, but I chose you; nor did I find your merits so as to choose you, but I anticipated you.✦ So then, I have betrothed you to myself in faith, and not in works of the law; and I have betrothed you in justice, but the justice that comes from faith, not from the law.✦ It remains for you to judge a right judgment between me and you — the judgment in which I betrothed you, where it is clear that what intervened was not your merit, but my good pleasure. This, then, is the judgment: that you may not extol your merits, nor prefer the works of the law, nor boast of the weight of the day and the heat — things by which you are known to be betrothed more in faith and in the justice that comes from faith, and not least in mercy and compassions.

The Bride's Confession and Our Prayer

The true bride confesses both the first and the following graces, and Bernard, having reached the fullness of the verse, concludes with a prayer to Christ the bridegroom for grace and mercy.

She who is truly a bride acknowledges these things and confesses both graces: first, indeed, the one that comes first, by which she has also been anticipated; but then also the one that follows. He says therefore now: My beloved is mine, and I am his — granting the beginning to the beloved one.✦ In what follows — I, he says, am for my beloved, and my beloved is mine — granting him the consummation equally.✦ Now at last let us see what he says: My beloved is mine.✦ For if this is received so that we supply mentally what he intends, just as we have already said and just as the Prophet says: 'I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me' — I sense in that word I know not what, plainly no small thing and no ordinary prerogative.✦ But a thing worthy of every eagerness ought not to be forced upon weary ears and minds. If it is not burdensome, let it be postponed, and not for long; let tomorrow's discourse begin from there. Only pray, so that from the occupations rushing upon us, grace and mercy may meanwhile guard us — the bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God above all, blessed forever. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi. Hactenus verba sponsi. Adsit ipse, ut digne ad gloriam ipsius et nostram ipsorum salutem, sponsae eius possimus investigare sermones. Neque enim tales sunt, qui a nobis considerari et discuti, prout dignum fuerit, valeant, nisi ipse fuerit dux verbi. Sunt enim quam suaves ad gratiam, tam fecundi ad sensus, tam etiam profundi ad mysteria. Cui similabo eos? Uni interim alicui epularum, quae triplici quadam emineat gratia; deliciosa ad saporem, solida ad nutrimentum, efficax ad medicinam. Sic, inquam, sic singulus quisque sponsae sermo, et ex eo quod suaviter sonat, affectum mulcet; et de sensuum ubertate mentem impinguat et nutrit; et de altitudine mysteriorum, dum intellectum quo plus exercet, plus terret, miro modo tumorem sanat inflantis scientiae.

Etenim si unus quispiam ex his forte, qui sibi scioli videntur, curiosius sese dederit scrutinio horum, cum viderit ingenii sui succumbere vires, et redigi in captivitatem omnem intellectum persenserit, nonne humiliatus ad illam vocem compelletur, ut dicat: Mirabilis facta est scientia tua ex me, confortata est, et non potero ad eam? Et nunc quidem principium verborum eius quantae suavitatis insigne praefert? Nam vide quale principium dederit. Dilectus, inquit, meus mihi, et ego illi. Simplex vox videtur, quoniam suaviter sonat; sed de hoc videbitur postea.

Nunc vero a dilectione incipit, de dilecto prosequitur, nihil aliud se scire indicans nisi dilectum. Patet de quo sermo: cum quo non ita. Non enim ut cum ipso eodem fuerit sentire permittitur, cum ipse iam non adfuerit. Neque id dubium: nempe mox eum revocare videtur, et quasi post tergum clamare: Revertere, inquiens, dilecte mi. Unde adducimur non aliud sane coniicere, nisi quod finitis verbis suis ille iterum suo more se absentaverit, et illa remanserit nihilominus de eo loquens, qui nunquam absens est sibi. Ita est: in ore retinuit, qui non recedebat a corde, nec quando recedebat. Quod de ore exit, de corde venit et ex abundantia cordis os loquitur. Ergo loquitur de dilecto, ut vere dilecta et vere diligenda, quoniam diligit multum.

Quaerimus cum quo: nam de quo, novimus. Et non occurrit, nisi forte cum adolescentulis, quae a matre abesse non possunt, ubi discesserit sponsus. Sed melius, ut opinor, sentimus secum potius, et non cum altero sic locutam, praesertim quod trunca et minus continens inveniatur ipsa locutio, insufficiens plane ad dandam intelligentiam auditori, ob quam vel maxime invicem loquimur. Dilectus meus mihi, inquit, et ego illi. Non plus? Pendet oratio; imo non pendet, sed deficit. Suspenditur auditor, neceruditur, sed erigitur.

Quid est hoc quod dicit, ille mihi, et ego illi? Nescimus quid loquitur, quia non sentimus quod sentit. O sancta anima, quid tuus ille tibi, quid tu illi? Quaenam, quaeso, haec inter vos tam familiariter favorabiliterque discurrens exhibitio, et redhibitio? Tibi ille, tuque vicissim illi. Sed quid? Id ipsum ei tu, quod tibi ille, an aliud? Si nobis, si ad nostram loqueris intelligentiam, evidenter quod sentis edicito, Quousque animas nostras tollis?

An secundum prophetam secretum tuum tibi? Ita est: affectus locutus est, non intellectus, et ideo non ad intellectum. Ad quid ergo? Ad nihil, nisi quod mirabiliter delectata, et affecta vehementer ad desideratos affatus, finem illo faciente nec tacere omnino quivit, nec tamen quod sensit exprimere. Neque enim ut exprimeret sic locuta est, sed ne taceret. Ex abundantia cordis os locutum est, sed non pro abundantia. Habent suas voces affectus, per quas se, etiam cum nolunt, produnt: timor, verbi causa, meticulosas, dolor gemebundas, amor iucundas. Nunquid dolentium planctus, moerentiumve singultus vel gemitus, percussorum, itemque paventium subitas et efferatas clamitationes, seu etiam saturatorum ructus, aut usus creat, aut ratio excitat, aut deliberatio ordinat, aut praemeditatio format?

Eiusmodi certum est, non nutu prodire animi, sed erumpere motu. Sic flagrans ac vehemens amor, praesertim divinus, cum se intra se cohibere non valet, non attendit, quo ordine, qua lege, quave serie seu paucitate verborum ebulliat, dummodo ex hoc nullum sui sentiat detrimentum. Interdum nec verba requirit, interdum nec voces omnino ullas, solis ad hoc contentus suspiriis. Inde est quod sponsa sancto amore flagrans, idque incredibili modo, sane pro captanda quantulacunque evaporatione ardoris quem patitur, non considerat quid, qualiter eloquatur: sed quidquid in buccam venerit, amore urgente non enuntiat, sed eructat. Quidni eructet sic refecta, et sic repleta?

Revolve textum epithalamii huius ab ipso exordio usque huc, et vide si tanta uspiam illi, quanta hac vice in cunctis visitationibus et allocutionibus sponsi copia eius indulta fuerit; et si unquam ex ore ipsius, non modo tam multos, sed et tam iucundos sermones acceperit. Quae ergo repleverat in bonis desiderium suum, quid mirum si ructum potius quam verbum fecit? Et si verbum fecisse tibi videtur, eructatum puta et non subornatum aut praeordinatum. Nec enim sponsa rapinam arbitratur sibi aptare Prophetae dictum: Eructavit cor meum verbum, quippe eodem repleta spiritu. Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi. Nihil consequentiae habet, deest orationi. Quid inde? Ructus est.

Quid tu in ructu quaeris orationum iuncturas, solemnia dictionum? Quas tu tuo ructui leges imponis vel regulas? Non recipit tuam moderationem, non a te compositionem exspectat, non commoditatem, non opportunitatem requirit. Per se ex intimis, non modo cum non vis, sed et cum nescis, erumpit, evulsus potius quam emissus. Tamen odorem portat ructus, quandoque bonum, quandoque malum, pro vasorum, e quibus ascendit, contrariis qualitatibus. Denique bonus homo de bono thesauro suo profert bonum, et malus malum. Bonum vas sponsa Domini mei, et bonus mihi odor ex illa.

Gratias ago tibi, Domine Iesu, qui me dignatus es admittere saltem ad odorandum. Ita, Domine, nam et catelli edunt de micis quae cadunt de mensa dominorum suorum. Mihi, fateor, bene redolet ructus dilectae tuae, et de plenitudine eius, quamvis modicum quid, gratanter accipio. Memoriam abundantiae suavitatis tuae eructat mihi, et nescio quid ineffabile tuae dignationis et amoris odoratus sum in voce ista: Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi. Ipsa, ut dignum est, epuletur et exsultet in conspectu tuo, et delectetur in laetitia: verumtamen sic tibi excedat, ut sobria sit nobis. Ipsa ergo repleatur in bonis domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potetur: sed, quaeso, perveniat ad me pauperem vel tenuis odor eructante illa, cum satiata fuerit. Bene mihi eructavit Moyses, et bonus odor in ructu eius, creantis potentiae: In principio, inquit, creavit Deus coelum et terram. Bene Isaias: nam suavissimum redimentis misericordiae odorem dedit, ita eructans: Tradidit in mortem animam suam, et cum sceleratis reputatus est, et ipse peccata multorum tulit, et pro transgressoribus rogavit, ut non perirent.

Quid aeque misericordiam redolet? Bonus quoque ex ore Ieremiae ructus; bonus ex David, qui ait: Eructavit cor meum terbum bonum. Repleti sunt omnes Spiritu sancto, et eructantes omnia impleverunt bonitate. Ructum Ieremiae requiritis? Non sum oblitus, iam parabam illum. Bonum est praestolari cum silentio salutare Domini. Eius est, non fallor; admovete naribus; balsamum vincit suavitas remunerantis iustitiae, quam importat. Patientem pro iustitia vult me exspectare mercedem in posterum, non recipere in praesenti, quod iustitiae merces, salutare, non saeculi, sed Domini sit.

Si moram fecit, inquit, exspecta eum; et ne murmuraveris, quoniam bonum est cum silentio exspectare. Ergo faciam quod hortatur; exspectabo Dominum Salvatorem meum.

Sed peccator sum, et adhuc mihi grandis restat via, quia longe a peccatoribus salus. Non murmurabo tamen: in odore interim consolabor me. Laetabitur iustus in Domino, gustu experiens quod ego sentio odoratu. Quem spectat iustus, peccator exspectat; et exspectatio odoratio est. Nam exspectatio, ait, creaturae revelationem filiorum Dei exspectat. Porro spectare gustare est, et videre quoniam suavis est Dominus. An potius iustus qui exspectat et qui iam tenet, beatus? Denique exspectatio iustorum laetitia.

Nam peccator nihil exspectat. Et inde peccator, quod bonis praesentibus non modo detentus, sed et contentus, nihil in futurum exspectat, surdus ad vocem illam: Exspecta me, dicit Dominus, in die resurrectionis meae in futurum. Et ideo iustus erat Simeon, quia exspectabat et odorabat iam Christum in spiritu, quem necdum in carne adorabat. Et beatus in exspectatione sua, quia per odorem exspectationis pervenit ad gustum contemplationis. Denique ait: Et viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum. Iustus quoque Abraham, qui et ipse exspectavit ut videret diem Domini, et non est confusus ab exspectatione sua; nam vidit et gavisus est. Iusti apostoli cum audiebant: Et vos similes hominibus exspectantibus dominum suum.

Quidni iustus et David, quando aiebat: Exspectans exspectavi Dominum? Ipse est quartus de numero praenominatorum ructatorum meorum, quem pene praeterieram. Non expedit quidem. Iste os suum aperuit et attraxit spiritum, et saturatus non modo eructavit, sed et cantavit. Iesu bone! quantam meis naribus et auribus iste infudit suavitatem in ructu et cantu suo de oleo laetitiae quo unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, prae consortibus tuis: ex myrrha, et gutta, et casia a vestimentis tuis, a domibus eburneis, ex quibus delectaverunt te filiae regum in honore tuo! Utinam me digneris occursu tanti vatis et amici tui in die solemnitatis et laetitiae, quando egredietur de thalamo tuo, epithalamium suum canens in psalterio iucundo cum cithara, affluens deliciis, respersus et respergens universa istiusmodi pulvere pigmentario! In illa die, vel potius in illa hora: nam bora est si quando est, et fortassis ne hora quidem, sed horae dimidium, iuxta illud Scripturae: Factum est silentium in coelo quasi media hora : ergo in illa hora replebitur gaudio os meum, et lingua mea exsultatione, dum singulos, non dico psalmos, sed versus singulos sentiam ructus, et quidem odoriferos super omnia aromata.

Quid Ioannis ructu fragrantius, qui Verbi mihi redolet aeternitatem, generationem, divinitatem? Quid de Pauli ructibus loquar, quanta orbem suavitate repleverint? Denique Christi bonus odor erat in omni loco. Verba certe ineffabilia etsi non profert ut audiam, offert tamen ut cupiam, et libeat odorare quae audire non licet. Nescio enim quo pacto quo plus latent, plus placent, et avidius inhiamus negatis. Sed iam adverte apud sponsam similem rem: quomodo instar Pauli, in praesenti capitulo, et secretum non aperit, nec praeterit tamen intactum, aliquid quasi olfactui nostro indulgens, quod gustui forte interim non competere iudicarit, sive propter indignitatem nostram, sive propter incapacitatem.

Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi. Quod non est dubium, duorum quidem hoc loco amor mutuus flagrat; sed in amore summa unius profecto felicitas, alterius mira dignatio. Neque enim inter pares est consensio seu complexio haec. Caeterum quid ista ex hac praerogativa amoris glorietur impensum sibi repensumque vicissim a se, quis se liquido nosse praesumat, nisi qui praecipua puritate mentis et corporis sanctitate, in semetipso meruerit tale aliquid experiri? Res est in affectibus; nec ratione ad eam pertingitur, sed conformitate. Quam pauci vero qui dicant: Nos autem revelata facie speculantes gloriam Domini, in eamdem imaginem transformamur de claritate in claritatem, tanquam a Domini Spiritu.

Verum ut sub aliqua qualicunque intelligentiae forma quod legitur, redigatur: salvo quidem sponsae suo singulari secreto, ad quod interim non datur accedere, praesertim talibus quales nos sumus; apponendum sane aliquid nobis, eo accomodatius ad communem sensum, quo usitatius, quod et verbis consequentiam et intellectum det parvulis. Et mihi quidem videtur satis esse ad nostram grossam et quodammodo popularem intelligentiam, si dicendo: Dilectus meus mihi, subaudiamus: Intendit; ut sit sensus: Dilectus meus intendit mihi, et ego illi. Quanquam tamen nec solus ego id senserim, nec primus, cum Propheta ante me dixerit: Exspectans exspectavi Dominum, et intendit mihi. Habes aperte intentionem Domini ad Prophetam: habes et Prophetae ad Dominum in eo quod ait: Exspectans exspectavi. Nam qui exspectat intendit, et exspectare intendere est. Idem omnino sensus, eadem pene verba apud Prophetam quae apud sponsam; sed a Propheta transposita. Prius siquidem is quod illa posterius posuit, et e converso.

Caeterum sponsa rectius locuta est, et non praetendens meritum, sed praemittens beneficium, et se praeventam dilecti gratia confitens. Recte omnino. Nam quis prior dedit illi et retribuetur ei? Denique audi Ioannem, quid in Epistola sua super hoc senserit. In hoc est charitas, inquit, non quasi nos dilexerimus Deum, sed ipse prior dilexit nos. Propheta tamen gratiae praeventionem etsi tacuit, non negavit subsecutionem: plane non tacuit. Sed accipe et alio loco certiorem de re ista ipsius confessionem. Et misericordia tua, inquit (Domino loquebatur), subsequetur me omnibus diebus vitae meae.

Audi et de praeventione identidem ipsius non minus certam manifestamve scientiam. Deus meus, inquit, misericordia eius praeveniet me; item ad Dominum: Cito, ait, anticipent nos misericordiae tuae, quia pauperes facti sumus nimis. Pulchre sponsa posterius, ni fallor, haec eadem verba non eodem ordine ponit, sed sequitur et ipsa Prophetae ordinem, loquens hoc modo: Ego dilecto meo, et dilectus meus mihi. Cur ita? Nempe ut tunc magis gratia plenam se probet, cum totum gratiae dederit, et primas scilicet illi partes ascribens, et ultimas. Alioquin quomodo gratia plena, si quid habuerit, quod non sit ex gratia? Non est quo gratia intret, ubi iam meritum occupavit. Ergo iam plena confessio gratiae, ipsius gratiae plenitudinem signat in anima confitentis.

Nam si quid de proprio inest, in quantum est, gratiam cedere illi necesse est. Deest gratiae, quidquid meritis deputas. Nolo meritum, quod gratiam excludat. Horreo quidquid de meo est, ut sim meus, nisi quod illud magis forsitan meum est, quod me meum facit. Gratia reddit me mihi iustificatum gratis, et sic liberatum a servitute peccati. Denique ubi spiritus, ibi libertas.

O fatuam sponsam Synagogam, quae contemnens Dei iustitiam, id est gratiam sponsi sui, et suam volens constituere, iustitiae Dei non est subiecta! Ob hoc misera repudiata est, et iam non est sponsa, sed Ecclesia, cui dicitur: Desponsavi te mihi in fide; desponsavi te mihi in iudicio et iustitia; desponsavi te mihi in misericordia et miserationibus. Nec tu me elegisti, sed ego elegi te; nec ut te eligerem, tua inveni merita, sed praeveni. Ita ergo in fide desponsavi te mihi, et non in operibus legis; desponsavique in iustitia, sed iustitia quae est ex fide, non ex lege. Restat ut iudices iudicium rectum inter me et te, iudicium in quo te desponsavi, ubi constat intervenisse non tuum meritum, sed meum placitum. Hoc est autem iudicium ut tua merita non extollas, non praeferas opera legis, non iactes pondus diei et aestus, quae magis in fide et in iustitia quae est ex fide, nec non in misericordia et miserationibus nosceris desponsata.

Quae vere sponsa est, agnoscit ista, et utramque gratiam confitetur: primo quidem, eam quae prima est, qua et praeventa est; postea vero, et subsequentem. Ait itaque nunc: Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi; principium dilecto tribuens. In consequentibus: Ego, inquit, dilecto meo, et dilectus meus mihi; consummationem illi aeque concedens. Nunc iam videamus quid dicat: Dilectus meus mihi. Si enim hoc recipitur ut subaudiamus, intendit, sicut iam diximus, et sicut Propheta ait: Exspectans exspectavi Dominum, et intendit mihi: ego in verbo isto sentio nescio quid non plane exiguum, nec mediocris praerogativae. Sed non est ingerenda fatigatis auribus et mentibus res omni alacritate digna. Si non gravat, differatur, et non in longum; crastinus inde incipiat sermo. Tantum orate, ut ab irruentibus occupationibus interim custodiat nos gratia et misericordia sponsi Ecclesiae Iesu Christi Domini nostri, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula.

Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  2. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  3. ↩Matt.12.34 — Offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things, being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
  4. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  5. ↩Isa.53.12 — Therefore I will give him a share among the many, and he will divide spoil with the strong, because he poured out his life to death and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.
  6. ↩Ps.44.2 — God, we have heard with our own ears—our ancestors told us what you did in their days, in days of old.
  7. ↩Acts.2.4 — And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
  8. ↩Lam.3.26 — It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
  9. ↩Rom.8.19 — For the eager longing of creation waits for the revelation of the sons of God.
  10. ↩Ps.34.9 — Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
  11. ↩Ps.126.5;Gal.6.9 — Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Gal.6.9 — And let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give up.
  12. ↩Ps.39.2 — I said, 'I will guard my ways, that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth, while the wicked are before me.'
  13. ↩Ps.45.9-Ps.45.10 — Myrrh and aloes and cassia are all your garments; from ivory palaces stringed instruments have gladdened you. Ps.45.10 — Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
  14. ↩Rev.8.1 — And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
  15. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  16. ↩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.
  17. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  18. ↩Ps.40.1 — For the choirmaster. Of David. A Psalm.
  19. ↩Ps.40.1 — For the choirmaster. Of David. A Psalm.
  20. ↩Rom.10.3 — For they were ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
  21. ↩Hos.2.19-Hos.2.20 — And I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name. Hos.2.20 — And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and war from the land, and I will make them lie down in safety.
  22. ↩John.15.16 — You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you.
  23. ↩Rom.3.21-Rom.3.22 — But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets." Removes the heavier "being attested" without losing the participial sense. Rom.3.22 — For The righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, for there is no distinction.
  24. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  25. ↩Song.6.3 — I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  26. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  27. ↩Ps.39.2 — I said, 'I will guard my ways, that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth, while the wicked are before me.'

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Song of Songs 2:16 (Vulgate); candidate biblical quotation, final resolution deferred.
  2. 2 ↩Purpose clause rendered with 'so that' for ut + subjunctive.
  3. 3 ↩Neque enim rendered 'For... not'; nisi rendered 'unless'.
  4. 4 ↩Tricolon correlative quam/tam/tam etiam rendered with parallel 'as... as... and as' structure.
  5. 5 ↩Uni interim alicui epularum rendered 'To some one feast'; the indefinite softens the comparison.
  6. 6 ↩Triple et rendered as successive 'and' clauses; dum + plus/plus rendered as 'the more... the more' correlative.
  7. 7 ↩Inflantis scientiae rendered 'of inflated knowledge' — the swelling that comes from knowledge without grace.
  8. 8 ↩secum potius, et non cum altero: the contrast is between perceiving the meaning inwardly with the bridegroom present versus trying to grasp it outwardly with another; 'with him' implies contemplative presence rather than discursive analysis.
  9. 9 ↩Direct quotation from Song of Songs 2:16 (Vulgate: Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi). Candidate source is Moses-resolvable; final resolution deferred to tx-08.
  10. 10 ↩neceruditur: unusual form, analyzed here as non eruditur ('is not instructed/informed'). The sense is that the hearer is neither given a clear teaching nor left hanging, but is instead raised up by the very incompleteness of the speech.
  11. 11 ↩'sancta anima' is vocative, likely addressed to the bride/soul in the Song of Songs allegory.
  12. 12 ↩'exhibitio et redhibitio' is a rhetorical pair expressing mutual self-giving between the soul and Christ; 'familiariter favorabiliterque' conveys intimate, gracious freedom.
  13. 13 ↩'tollis' here likely carries the sense of lifting up or drawing away — the soul is being carried beyond its own comprehension. 'edicito' is a deponent imperative of edico.
  14. 14 ↩The Latin 'eructat' (belches forth) is deliberately earthy and carries the force of overflowing fullness rather than polished speech; the rendering preserves this boldness to stay faithful to the source's imagery.
  15. 15 ↩The source text reads 'terbum', a likely corruption of 'verbum' (word). Translated as 'word' following the scriptural source (Ps 44:2).
  16. 16 ↩The embedded quotation 'Exspecta me... in die resurrectionis meae in futurum' is a candidate scriptural allusion; final source resolution belongs to a later stage.
  17. 17 ↩'Et viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum' is a candidate scriptural allusion; final source resolution belongs to a later stage.
  18. 18 ↩'Et vos similes hominibus exspectantibus dominum suum' is a candidate scriptural allusion; final source resolution belongs to a later stage.

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