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Chapter 72SermC.1.72

Sermo 72

The Beloved Who Feeds Among the Lilies

Bernard introduces the final section of the Song chapter, weighing how to read the 'until' clause and defending an exclusive sense in which the bridegroom's feeding among the lilies will not continue into the age to come.

My beloved is mine and I am his, who feeds among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows bend.✦✦ Only the last part of this chapter remains to be treated, and I'm unsure at the very start which of the two preceding ones I should especially join it to, since I can connect it to either indifferently. For whether you say, 'My beloved is mine and I am his, until the day breathes and the shadows bend,' inserting only 'who feeds among the lilies,' or whether, following the letter's sequence, you say, 'Who feeds among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows bend,' you may assign it to either without awkwardness.✦✦ This much does matter: that if you first join 'until' as an inclusive reading, you must understand it; but if you join it as a middle, exclusive reading, you must regard it as necessary.1 Granted, of course, that the bridegroom designates himself as now feeding among the lilies where the day has breathed — will the bride likewise then cease to direct her attention, or she to him?2 Far from it! They will persevere in eternity, except that then more happily when more vehemently, then more vehemently when more swiftly. Let this 'until' then be such as that in Matthew, where it is narrated that Mary did not know Joseph until she gave birth to her firstborn son — for she did not know him afterward.✦3

Waiting for Mercy Until Mercy Comes

Further scriptural examples show that an 'until' of expectation looks toward the moment when mercy, presence, and fulfillment arrive and the waiting itself gives way.

Or take what that passage in the psalm is like: Our eyes are toward the Lord our God, until he has mercy on us — for they will not be turned away once he begins to show mercy.✦ Or again, what is this saying of the Lord to the apostles like: See, I am with you always, even to the end of the age? For afterward he won't be without them.✦ But this holds if you read 'until' as referring to 'My beloved is mine, and I am his.'✦ But if 'until' refers to 'he feeds among the lilies,' looking back at evils must be taken in another sense.✦ Furthermore, it will be shown more laboriously how then the beloved ceases to be sought when the day has dawned.✦ For indeed, if that is the day of resurrection, why shouldn't it be far more helpful to feed among lilies there, where there will be a very great abundance of these things?✦ And these things have been said to preserve the sequence of the letter.

No More Feeding, Only Rest in the Day

In the coming day the Bridegroom will no longer feed on labor or works of obedience, because active effort will be replaced by perfect contemplation and the full revelation of God's will.

Now, then, consider with me: even though the whole kingdom is ablaze with lilies, and the Bridegroom is present in the midst and delighting in it, it's still not the case that what is said here means feeding, in the way it once did before. For where are the sinners whom Christ is now drawing to himself, lingering over them and as if biting them with the teeth of stricter discipline — through the affliction of the flesh, that is, and the contrition of the heart? But neither will the Word, the Bridegroom, now demand food for himself from any works or deeds of obedience, where every labor becomes rest, and everything consists solely in gazing and affection. And so his food is to do the will of his Father — but here, not there. For what could he do that has already been done? And it's clear that then it will be perfect. In the end, what will then be revealed to all the saints is what God's will is — good, pleasing, and perfect. And surely, once perfection has been reached, there's nothing left to be done.

From Labor to Joyful Contemplation

The saints will pass from active toil to receptive enjoyment, asking that God's will be done on earth as in heaven so that wisdom may be received without weariness.

What remains is to enjoy, not to become; to experience, not to labor; to rest in them, not to be worn out by them. Isn't this the very thing we ask for — with the most urgent prayer, taught indeed by the Lord — to be brought to completion, just as in heaven, so also on earth, so that its fruit may now bring delight, and activity may not grow weary? So there will be no food of work for the Bridegroom Word, because every work must cease where wisdom is received more fully by everyone. For those who are diminished by action receive it.

Drinking the Purified Wine of Virtue

The Bridegroom's feeding on virtues gives way to drinking, signifying the soul's future fitness for effortless delight when virtue is purified and the new wine of the kingdom is tasted.

But let's look now at whether what we're saying holds up, and in keeping with that interpretation some people give of 'feeding among the lilies' as delighting in the bridal array of virtues — we ourselves haven't passed over her among the others.✦ Are we going to say, then, either that it won't happen, or that it's entirely out of place for the Bridegroom at that time to have any regard for virtues? And to feel that one or the other must be the case is madness. But see that she perhaps isn't taking pleasure in other things at other times; for she does take pleasure, but perhaps in what she can drink rather than in what she can feed on. Yet in this time and this body, no virtue of ours will be refined to such purity, none so wholly sweet and unmixed, as to make the soul fit for the Bridegroom to drink from. But the one who desires all people to be saved overlooks many things, and what he cannot yet swallow easily by drinking, he takes care to draw from it something flavorful, as if by a kind of skill and effort in chewing.✦ When virtue becomes something that can be strained clear, it won't need to be ground by the tooth, nor will it tire the one who chews — or rather, it won't tire the one who chews — what delights the one who drinks without any effort of its own will surely be drink, not food. In fact, you have the Bridegroom himself assuring you in the Gospel: 'I will not drink of this fruit of the vine,' he says, 'until I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.'✦

The Bride Declares the Limit of Feeding

The Bride acknowledges that after the day breathes, the Beloved will no longer feed but drink from virtues, and the order of food followed by drink hints at this deeper change.

And there's no mention of food. But in the Prophet's writings it's also read: Like a man drunk with wine; but about food nothing at all is found there. The Bride, then, aware of this mystery, when she had learned and acknowledged that the Beloved was being fed among the lilies, she set a limit — until he would deign it — or rather, she acknowledged what had been set and gave it voice, saying: Until the day breathes, and the shadows decline. For she knew that afterward he would need to drink of virtues rather than be fed. And the custom seems to overlook this too, by which drink is customarily taken after food. So whoever eats here will drink there — the more securely, the more sweetly — about to swallow even those things themselves, now more scrupulously, and in a certain way more laboriously, as if liquefying them by chewing.

Until the Day Breathes and the Shadows Bend

Bernard turns to interpret 'the day' and 'the shadows,' probing how a spiritual day can breathe and distinguishing this unique scriptural usage from ordinary senses of breath.

Now, then, let us set our minds to examining that day and its shadows — who that one is, who these are, that one breathing in what manner, and these under what power they may be made to bend. It is said with special emphasis, 'until the day breathes' — indeed, uniquely so. For in this passage alone, unless I'm mistaken, you'll discover the day described as 'breathing.' Breezes, to be sure, are said to breathe — not stretches of time. A person breathes, other animals breathe, and through them the air, ceaselessly recycled, sustains life. And what is this but wind? The Holy Spirit too breathes, and from there — spirit. How, then, can the day breathe — this day that is neither wind, nor spirit, nor a living creature?

A Spiritual Day, Spiritual Shadows

The day in question must be spiritual, not bodily, since it breathes and dispels shadows in a way that transcends visible light and time.

Although it may not be called a 'breathing' day in the ordinary sense, still — carrying a richer meaning — it is called a 'breathing-upon' day. And yet no less than the usual saying applies, and the shadows too are made to tilt inward. Indeed, at the rising of this bodily and visible light, the shadows are not merely tilted — they are wiped away entirely. Look, then: these realities are to be sought outside the body. And if we have truly found a spiritual day and spiritual shadows, then perhaps both how those shadows bend and how that day breathes upon us will shine more clearly into view. That is the day of which the Prophet says: Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere.✦ The bodily day is what we suppose; what the non-bodily day might be, I do not know. There is also a day used in a bad sense — one the prophets cursed.

Shadows as Hostile Powers

The spiritual shadow under which Mary conceived is a real spiritual reality, preparing the way to identify the shadows of the Song with opposing powers.

Far be it, then, that this should be drawn from these visible things the Lord has made! So it is something spiritual.

The Day Scatters the Princes of Darkness

The shadows are best understood as hostile powers, which will be humiliated and stripped of power when the day breathes, yet not annihilated, so that they may endure eternal punishment.

Now, who would doubt that the spiritual shadow under which Mary conceived is a spiritual reality — and likewise that same shadow which is spoken of in the prophet in this way: 'Christ the Lord, the Spirit before our face,' we will live under his shadow among the nations? I, however, think that by the name 'shadows' in this passage the opposing powers are better designated — which are called by the Apostle not merely shadows or darkness, but also 'princes of this darkness,' and at the same time, clinging to them by our race, 'assuredly sons of night and not of light, nor of day.' Indeed, these shadows will return to nothing once the day has breathed upon them — just as we see that bodily shadows, before the face of this bodily light, not only disappear but also utterly perish. And so they will be — not least indeed, but more wretched than nothing, yet more extremely so. They will exist — but bowed down and subdued. In the end, 'He will bow himself down,' it says, 'and he will fall' — without a doubt, the prince of shadows — 'when he will have ruled over the poor.' Therefore, their nature will not be destroyed, but their power will be withdrawn; their substance will not perish, but the hour and the power of darkness will pass away. They are removed so that they may not see the glory of God; they are not annulled, so that they may always be burned.

The Last Hour and the Dawn of Day

The night of the devil, Antichrist, and the powers of darkness is passing; the Lord, who is the true day, will scatter them by the breath of his mouth and the splendor of his coming.

Why shouldn't the shadows bow down, when the mighty are thrown from their thrones and made a footstool for his feet? This surely has to happen quickly. It is the last hour; night has gone before, but day has drawn near. Day will dawn, and night will breathe its last. The devil is night; the angel of Satan is night, even though he disguises himself as an angel of light. Antichrist too is night, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth and overthrow by the splendor of his coming. Isn't the Lord day? Day, clearly shining and life-giving, who puts the shadows to flight by the breath of his mouth and destroys the specters by the splendor of his coming.

Shadows of Figurative Speech

The shadows also stand for the figures, enigmas, and partial knowledge of this life, which will disappear when the perfect day of eschatological light arrives.

Or if you'd rather take the word 'inclining' in a simple sense, understanding nothing else by 'inclining' than 'being brought to nothing' — so as not to miss this meaning either, we say that the shadows, figures, and enigmas of the Scriptures, and what's more, the sophistical phrases, verbal quibblings, and tangled arguments — all these things overshadow the light of truth in the meantime.✦ For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part.✦ But when that day draws near, the shadows will fade, because when the fullness of light fills everything, no trace of darkness will be able to remain.✦ Finally, when what is perfect has come, then what is partial will be set aside.✦

The Day That Breathes and Aspires

The addition of 'aspirans' to 'breathing' signifies a vehement outpouring of the Spirit on that day, when spiritual bodies will be drunk with the abundance of God's house.

Up to this point, what's been said would have been enough, if the day had been described as 'breathing' but not as 'aspiring.' But now, for so small an addition, I still think something further needs to be added — surely to investigate the reason for this distinction. For — to confess the truth — I've long been convinced that in the text of sacred and precious Scripture, not even a small particle is idle. But we're used to using this word when we desire something intensely — for example, when we say, 'He aspires to that honor or that position of dignity.' So through this word a wonderful abundance is signified, and a vehemence of the Spirit on that day, when not only hearts but also bodies will be spiritual each in its own kind; and those who are found worthy will be drunk with the abundance of the house of the Lord, and they will be made to drink from the torrent of his delight.✦4

From Inspiration to Aspiration

The day already breathes among the angels and will breathe upon us on earth, but when it aspires it will also draw humanity into the fullness of divine glory, reversing the ruin introduced by the fall.

Or rather. Now the sanctified day has shone upon the holy angels, breathing out to them, with the steady force and unceasing course of its advance, the honey-flowing mysteries of eternal divinity. In fact: the rush of the river gladdens the city of God; but the city to which it is said: Your dwelling is in the midst of all who rejoice. But when he has added this breathing upon us who inhabit the earth, it will be not only breathing but also aspiring, so that with its bosom enlarged it may take us in as well. Or, so that we may go over this a little more deeply and discuss it more broadly: when the man had been formed from the mud of the earth, the Maker, as truthful history relates, breathed into his face the breath of life, and so that day became for him a day of inspiration; and look, envious night craftily struck this day, with a light that was surely only feigned. For while the light of knowledge promises, as it were, something more splendid, it poured down upon the unexpected darkness of a depraved plan new light, and from the very beginnings of our origin it brought in the gloomy darkness of our ruinous transgression. Alas, alas! They did not know, nor did they understand; they walk in darkness, not knowing, calling darkness light and light darkness.

The Day of the Fallen Flesh

The day of Adam's sin began with opened eyes and a new, corrupted 'breath,' as the serpent, the woman, and the man conspired against God and brought the darkness of transgression.

And so the woman ate from the tree that the serpent had given her, though God had forbidden it, and she gave it to her husband, and for them it was like the start of a new day.✦ Right away the eyes of both were opened, and a day came into being that breathed together, pressing out what inspires and replacing what breathes out.✦ They plotted together, indeed, and came together as one against the Lord and against his Christ—the serpent's cunning, the woman's allurements, the man's weakness.✦ Whence the Lord and his Christ also spoke together: 'Behold, Adam has become like one of us, because he had yielded to sinners nursing themselves to the injury of each.'✦

Our Inherited Strife and Sighing

Born into that ancient conspiracy, we carry the brand of inherited sin and groan under the strife of flesh against spirit, longing for this contradictory day to end.

On this day we are all born together.✦ We all carry the brand of that ancient conspiracy stamped on us, with Eve still living in our flesh, and through the inherited lust she passed on, the serpent works tirelessly to win our consent for its own side.✦✦ Therefore, as I said, the saints have cursed this day, longing for it to be brief and quickly turn to darkness, because it is a day of strife and contradiction, as long as the flesh in it does not stop lusting against the spirit, and the law of the members, set against the law of the mind, untiringly rebels and contradicts with unwearying defiance.✦✦ And so the expiring day has come. For from then on and thereafter, who is the person who will live and not see death? Let someone speak in anger; I for my part think no less for mercy's sake — namely, that the shameful contradiction by which God's chosen ones are led captive, and they themselves are held in the law of sin that is in their members, should not weary them for long, since all things happen for their sake.✦ They shudder, most reluctantly, at their shameful captivity and at the sorrowful strife.

Breathing Freely in the Spirit

To breathe freely is to resist the flesh by the spirit, crucify its desires, and discipline the body, so that the breathing day may receive us before the night of death overtakes us.

Let us hurry, then, to breathe freely from the ancient and unjust conspiracy, since the days of a human life are brief. Truly, let the day of breathing receive us before the night of sighing swallows us up, to be enveloped by the outer darkness of eternal gloom.✦ You ask what this breathing freely consists in? In this: if the spirit begins in turn to desire against the flesh.✦ If you resist this, you breathe freely; if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you have breathed freely; if you crucify it with its vices and lusts, you have breathed freely.✦✦ I discipline my body, he says, and bring it into slavery, so that after I have preached to others, I myself may not be disqualified.✦ This is the voice of one breathing freely — no, rather, of one who has already breathed freely. Go, and do likewise, so that you may prove yourself to have breathed freely, and may know that a day breathing new life on you has dawned again for you.✦

The Light That Shines in Death

The risen day of Christ cannot be overpowered by the night of death; the righteous will shine more brightly when freed from the body, while those who have not sought light sink into deeper darkness.

But the night of death will not overpower this risen day; rather, it shines brighter in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.✦5 I don't think the light of life should yield at all, even as life departs, because nothing could be more fitting than to assign that word, for such a dead person, to them: 'And my night is my delight in my pleasures.'✦6 Why shouldn't it see more clearly when freed from the cloud—or rather, from the dross—of the body? It will undoubtedly be freed from bodily bonds, released among the dead, and seeing among the blind. For just as, when every eye was darkened throughout all of Egypt, the people who see God—that is, the people of Israel—alone saw clearly in the midst of the darkness, as Scripture says, 'Wherever Israel was, there was light,' so among the sons of darkness, in the grim gloom of death, the righteous will shine, and they will see—all the more brightly the more they have been stripped of the shadows of the body.✦7 For those who have not breathed beforehand—they have not sought the light of the inspiring day, and the sun of righteousness has not risen for them—these people, I say, will go from darkness into deeper darkness, so that those who are in darkness may yet grow darker, and those who see may see still more.8

Fullness Beyond Fullness

Those who see receive even more, while those who do not see lose even what they seem to have, until the day's breathing brings an overflowing measure of glory that surpasses all fullness.

And so, perhaps the Lord's word that he spoke will not inappropriately be brought to bear here too: that it will be given to the one who has, and will overflow; but from the one who does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken away.✦ So it is: in death it is granted to those who see, and it is removed from those who do not see. For inasmuch as these see less and less, in just that measure those see more and more, until night, sighing, receives these, and the day, breathing upon them, receives those — the last things of both, namely the deepest blindness and the highest brightness. As it is, there is nothing left to be taken away entirely from those who are empty, nothing left to be added to those who are full — except that these people presume they will receive something further, somehow, beyond what is full, in accordance with the promise made to them. And the word of the promise itself is like this: They will pour into your lap a good measure, heaped up, pressed together, and overflowing.✦ Doesn't what overflows seem to you to be more than full, in some way? Besides, you will hear fully and more fully, if you remember having read: Into eternity and beyond. Therefore that overflowing fullness will be of the day that breathes upon us.

The Aspirating Day of Glory

The day is called 'aspiring' rather than merely 'breathing' because the Holy Spirit not only illuminates within but also adorns outwardly, clothing the saints with the robe of glory.

It will add, I say, to the measure of a fullness already breathed in, to the abundance of the day that breathes upon us, working beyond measure into the sublime weight of glory, so that the superabundant gift of that clearing may overflow into our bodies. For this reason, then, it is not called "breathing" but "aspiring": because it adds to the one who breathes, this being signified by the Holy Spirit through the preposition attached to the word — "ad-" — since those whom that breathing illuminates within, this aspiring adorns outwardly, and clothes them with the robe of glory.

The Three Days of the Lord

The day that breathes is Christ the Savior, who inspires bodily life, breathes sanctifying grace, and will aspire in the glory of the resurrection, fulfilling in the body what first appeared in the Head.

And that's enough by way of giving a reason for the word — the one that is 'Aspirans.' And if you want to know, the 'day that breathes' is the Savior himself, the one we're waiting for, who will reshape our humbled body to match the body of his glory.✦9 For the one who 'inspires' is nonetheless the very same one, according to the action by which he first makes us breathe in the light he inspires, so that we too become a day that breathes in him — according to which our inner self is renewed from day to day, and is renewed in the spirit of its mind to the image of the one who created it, having been made, then, day out of day and light out of light.✦✦1011 Since, then, two 'days' go before us in our experience — one that 'inspires' for the life of the body, and another that 'breathes' in the grace of sanctification — and a third, the one that 'aspires,' shines in the glory of the resurrection: it's clear that what went ahead in the Head will at last be fulfilled in the body as well — a great sacrament of devotion indeed, and the testimony of the prophet who says: 'He will give us life after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, and we will live in his presence; we will know, and we will follow, so that we may know the Lord.'✦1213 He is the one the angels long to look upon, the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God over all, blessed forever.✦14 Amen.

Read the original Latin

Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi, qui pascitur inter lilia: donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae. Novissima tantum capituli huius tractanda pars est, et dubito in ipso ingressu, cuinam potissimum eam iungam duarum praecedentium: nam possum indifferenter utrique. Sive enim dicas: Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae, interposito tantum, qui pascitur inter lilia; sive pro litterae serie, qui pascitur inter lilia, donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae: non inconvenienter utrovis assignas. Hoc sane refert, quod donec si primo iunxeris, inclusivum oportet intelligas; si medio, exclusivum sentias necesse est. Esto nempe quod designat sponsus pasci iam inter lilia, ubi aspiraverit dies: nunquid similiter cessabit etiam sponsae intendere, aut ipsa illi? Absit! In aeternum perseverabunt sibi, nisi quod tunc felicius, cum vehementius; tunc vehementius, cum expeditius. Sit ergo tale hoc donec, quale est illud apud Matthaeum, ubi narratur non cognovisse Mariam Ioseph, donec peperit Filium suum primogenitum : non enim post cognovit.

Vel certe quale est illud in psalmo: Oculi nostri ad Dominum Deum nostrum, donec misereatur nostri : non enim avertentur, cum coeperit misereri. Vel quale item illud Domini ad apostolos: Ecce ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem saeculi : non enim post non erit cum illis. Verum hoc ita, si donec referas ad dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi. Sin autem ad qui pascitur inter lilia respicere malis, erit alio sensu accipiendum. Porro operosius ostendetur quomodo tunc dilectus posci desinat, cum aspiraverit dies. Etenim si dies resurrectionis is est, quidni multo magis pasci ibi inter lilia iuvet, ubi horum maior admodum copia erit? Et pro aptanda quidem litterae consequentia haec dicta sint.

Nunc iam adverte mecum, toto licet liliis fulgentibus regno, sponsoque medio existente et deliciante, non tamen esse quod dicatur et pasci, iuxta id quidem quod ante consueverat. Ubi namque iam peccatores, quos sibi incorporet Christus, mansos morsosque quasi quibusdam dentibus disciplinae austerioris, afflictione scilicet carnis, et cordis contritione? Sed neque cibum sibi iam exiget Verbum sponsus ex aliquibus factis seu operibus obedientiae, ubi omne negotium otium, soloque in intuitu et affectu res erit. Et quidem cibus eius ut faciat voluntatem Patris sui; sed hic, non ibi. Quid enim faciat factam? Et perfectam tunc esse constat. Denique probare iam tunc est omnibus sanctis, quae sit voluntas Dei bona, et beneplacens, et perfecta. Et certe post perfectum, faciendum superest nihil.

Frui de caetero restat, non fieri; experiri, non operari; ea vivere, non exerceri in ea. Nonne ipsa est, quam instantissima prece docti quidem a Domino, sicut in coelo, ita et in terra perfici postulamus, quo eius iam delectet fructus, actus non fatiget? Non erit itaque sponso Verbo operis cibus, quia cesset necesse est omne opus, ubi plenius ab universis percipitur sapientia. Nam qui minorantur actu, percipiunt eam.

Sed videamus nunc, si quod dicimus stare possit, et secundum illam sententiam, qua pasci inter lilia, candidatu virtutum oblectari, quidam interpretantur; nam et nos ipsam inter caeteras non praeterivimus. Dicemusne, aut non fore, aut sponso minime sapere tunc virtutes? Et quidem sentire alterutrum, dementiae est. Sed vide ne forte alias illis delectetur; nam constat delectari, sed forsitan potu magis quam pastu. Sane in tempore et corpore isto, nulla nostra virtus ita ad purum defaecata erit, nulla ita suavis et mera, ut sponso habilis sit ad potandum. Sed qui vult omnes homines salvos fieri, dissimulat multa, et quam non potest potandi interim facilitate glutire, curat ex ea vel quidpiam elicere sapidum, quasi arte quadam et quodam labore mandendi. Erit cum erit virtus colabilis, nec premetur dente, nec fatigabitur a mandente, vel potius non fatigabit mandentem, quae bibentem absque opera delectabit, tanquam utique potus, non esca. Denique habes spondentem in Evangelio, quia non bibam de hoc genimine vitis, inquit, donec bibam illud novum vobiscum in regno Patris mei.

Et de cibo nulla mentio est. Sed apud Prophetam quoque legitur: Tanquam potens crapulatus a vino; de cibo autem nihil ibi penitus invenitur. Sponsa ergo conscia mysterii huius, cum dilectum pasci inter lilia comperisset ac perhibuisset, constituit terminum quoad id dignaretur, imo constitutum agnovit et perhibuit, dicens: Donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae. Sciebat enim virtutibus eum postea potandum potius quam pascendum. Connivere videtur et consuetudo, qua post cibum potus sumi de more solet. Ergo qui hic manducat, illic bibet, eo tunc suavius quo securius, glutiturus et ea ipsa, quae scrupulosius modo, et quodam modo laboriosius quasi mandendo liquat.

Nunc iam intendamus considerare de die illo et illius umbris, qui ille, quae istae: ille qua ratione aspirans, hae in qua potestate habeant inclinari. Signanter omnino dictum est, donec aspiret dies, imo singulariter. Solo quippe hoc loco, nisi fallor, diem aspirantem comperies. Aurae nempe, non tempora spirare dicuntur. Spirat homo, spirant animalia caetera, quibus indesinenter reciprocatus aer vitam continuat. Et quid hoc, nisi ventus? Spirat et Spiritus sanctus, et inde spiritus. Quo pacto ergo dies spirans, qui nec ventus, nec spiritus, nec animal est?

Quanquam nec spirans quidem, sed, quod signantius sonat, aspirans dictus sit. Nec minus praeter solitum dictum, et inclinentur umbrae. Denique ad exortum huius corporei visibilisque luminis umbrae non inclinantur, sed annullantur. Extra proinde corpora quaerendae hae res. Et si quidem spirituales invenerimus diem et umbras, tunc forsitan et inclinatio harum, et illius aspiratio facilius elucebit. Qui illum diem, de quo Propheta dicit: Melior est dies una in atriis tuis super millia. corporeum opinatur, nescio quid iam non corporeum opinetur. Est et in mala significatione dies, cui maledixere prophetae .

Absit autem, ut ex visibilibus his, quos fecit Dominus! Itaque spiritualis est.

Iam umbram quis ambigat spiritualem, qua Mariae obumbratum est concipienti; et item eam, quae in propheta sic memoratur: Spiritus ante faciem nostram Christus Dominus, sub umbra eius vivemus inter gentes? Ego tamen umbrarum nomine hoc loco magis arbitror designatas contrarias potestates, quae non modo umbrae, vel tenebrae, sed et principes tenebrarum harum ab Apostolo perhibentur, simulque inhaerentes illis ex genere nostro, filios utique noctis, et non lucis, neque diei. Hae siquidem umbrae, non plane cum aspiraverit dies, in nihilum revertentur, sicut a facie huius corporeae lucis umbras corporeas non disparere tantum, sed et penitus deperire videmus. Itaque erunt minime quidem extremius nihilo, miserius tamen. Erunt, sed inclinatae et subditae. Denique: Inclinabit se, inquit, et cadet (haud dubium quin princeps umbrarum), cum dominatus fuerit pauperum. Ergo non natura delebitur, sed potentia subtrahetur; non peribit substantia, sed transibit hora et potestas tenebrarum. Tolluntur, ne videant gloriam Dei; non annullantur, ut semper urantur.

Quidni inclinabuntur umbrae, cum deponentur potentes de sede, ponenturque scabellum pedum? Quod utique oportet fieri cito. Novissima hora est; nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquavit. Aspirabit dies, et exspirabit nox. Nox diabolus est, nox angelus Satanae, etsi se transfiguret in angelum lucis. Nox etiam Antichristus, quem Dominus interficiet spiritu oris sui et destruet illustratione adventus sui. Nunquid non Dominus dies est? Dies plane illustrans et spirans, qui spiritu oris sui fugat umbras, et destruit larvas illustratione adventus sui.

Aut si magis placet verbum inclinationis simpliciter accipere, nihilque aliud inclinari quam annihilari esse putandum: ne huic quoque desimus sensui, dicimus umbras figuras et aenigmata Scripturarum, nec non et sophisticas locutiones, cavillationesque verborum et implicita argumentorum, quae omnia veritatis interim lumen obumbrant. Ex parte enim cognoscimus, et ex parte prophetamus. Verum aspirante die, inclinabuntur umbrae, quia occupante omnia luminis plenitudine, nulla pars superesse poterit tenebrarum. Denique cum venerit quod perfectum est, tunc evacuabitur quod ex parte est.

Hactenus de his sufficere poterat, si spirans dies illa, et non aspirans dicta fuisset. Nunc vero pro tantillo licet additamento adhuc aliquid addendum existimo, nimirum pro investiganda huius diversitatis ratione. Ego enim, ut verum fatear, iam olim mihi persuasi, in sacri pretiosique eloquii textu nec modicam vacare particulam. Solemus autem hac voce uti, cum vehementer aliquid desideramus; ut, verbi gratia, cum dicimus: Ille ad illum honorem, vel illam dignitatem aspirat. Designatur itaque per hoc verbum mira adfutura affluentia, vehementiaque spiritus die illo, cum non solum corda, sed et corpora suo quidem in genere spiritualia erunt; et qui digni invenientur, inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus Domini, et torrente voluntatis illius potabuntur.

Vel aliter. Iam sanctis angelis dies sanctificatus illuxit, spirans illis iugi impetu perpetis meatus melliflua sempiternae divinitatis arcana. Denique: Fluminis impetus laetificat civitatem Dei; sed civitatem, cui dicitur: Sicut laetantium omnium habitatio est in te. Cum autem et nobis qui terram inhabitamus, spirare adiecerit, erit non modo spirans, sed et aspirans, quod dilatato sinu admittat et nos. Vel (ut paulo altius repetamus, et disseramus latius) plasmato homine de limo terrae, plasmator, sicut verax narrat historia, inspiravit in faciem eius spiraculum vitae, factus proinde illi dies inspirans: et ecce invida nox callide impegit in diem hanc, luce utique simulata. Nam dum quasi splendidius lumen scientiae pollicetur, inopinatas novae luci offudit pravi tenebras consilii, et primordiis originis nostrae tetram damnosae praevaricationis invexit caliginem. Vae, vae! nescierunt, neque intellexerunt, in tenebris ambulant nescientes, ponentes tenebras lucem, et lucem tenebras.

Denique comedit de ligno mulier, quod sibi dederat serpens, vetuerat Deus: deditque viro suo, et coepit illis quasi de novo diescere. Nam illico aperti sunt oculi amborum, et factus est dies conspirans, inspirantem extundens, et substituens exspirantem. Conspiraverunt siquidem et convenerunt in unum adversus Dominum, et adversus Christum eius, serpentis astutia, mulieris blanditiae, viri mollities. Unde et loquebantur mutuo, Dominus scilicet et Christus eius: Ecce Adam factus est quasi unus ex nobis, quod ad utriusque iniuriam lactantibus se peccatoribus acquievisset.

In hac die nascimur universi. Portamus denique omnes impressum nobis cauterium conspirationis antiquae; Eva utique vivente in carne nostra, cuius per haereditariam concupiscentiam serpens nostrum suae factioni sedula satagit sollicitudine vindicare consensum. Propterea, ut dixi, huic diei maledixere sancti, brevem optantes, et cito verti in tenebras , quod sit contentionis et contradictionis dies, dum non cesset in ea caro concupiscere adversus spiritum, legique mentis membrorum contraria lex rebellione infatigabili assidue contradicat. Itaque dies exspirans factus est. Extunc enim et deinceps, quis est homo qui vivet, et non videbit mortem? Dicat pro ira quis: Ego non minus pro misericordia putem, ne electos scilicet, propter quos omnia fiunt, diu defatiget molesta contradictio, qua captivi ducuntur et ipsi in lege peccati, quae est in membris ipsorum. Horrent nimirum, aegerrimeque ferunt turpem captivitatem, et tristem contentionem.

Festinemus proinde respirare a conspiratione antiqua et iniqua, quoniam breves dies hominis sunt. Ante sane excipiat nos dies respirans, quam nox suspirans absorbeat, aeternae caliginis tenebris exterioribus involvendos. Quoeris in quo respiratio ista? In eo, si incipiat spiritus vicissim concupiscere adversus carnem. Huic si repugnas, respiras; si spiritu facta carnis mortificas, respirasti; si hanc cum vitiis et concupiscentiis suis crucifigis, respirasti. Castigo, inquit, corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo, ne forte cum aliis praedicaverim, ipse reprobus efficiar. Vox est respirantis, imo qui iam respirarat. Vade, et tu fac similiter, ut te respirasse probes, ut diem denuo inspirantem tibi noveris illuxisse.

Nec nox mortis praevalebit adversus redivivum hunc diem; magis autem in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eum non comprehenderunt. In tantum non reor nec vita decedente cedere lumen vitae, ut nemini congruentius, quam sic mortuo assignandam censeam vocem illam: Et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis. Quidni clarius videat, nube, vel potius faece corporis evolutus? Erit sine dubio vinculis solutus corporeis inter mortuos liber, et inter caecos videns. Nam quemadmodum olim omni oculo caligante per universam Aegyptum, solus in mediis tenebris clare videbat populus videns Deum, id est populus Israel, dicente Scriptura quia ubicunque Israel erat, lux erat : sic inter filios tenebrarum, in tetra mortis caligine fulgebunt iusti, et videbunt, eo utique clarius, quo exuti corporum umbris. Nam et hi qui ante non respiraverunt: nec enim quaesierunt inspirantis diei lumen, et sol iustitiae non ortus est eis: hi, inquam, ibunt de tenebris in tenebras densiores, ut qui in tenebris sunt, tenebrescant adhuc; et qui vident, videant magis.

Ubi non inconvenienter forsitan adducetur etiam sermo Domini, quem dixit, quia habenti dabitur, et abundabit; ei autem qui non habet, et quod videtur habere auferetur ab eo. Ita est: et additur in morte videntibus, et non videntibus demitur. Quo enim hi minus et minus, eo illi magis magisque vident, donec et hos excipiat suspirans nox, et illos aspirans dies; quae sunt novissima utrorumque, extrema videlicet caecitas, et suprema claritas. Ex hoc iam non est quod dematur omnino vacuis, non est quod addatur plenis, nisi quod hi nescio quid pleno amplius se accepturos praesumunt secundum promissionem ad se factam. Et promissionis quidem verbum tale est: Mensuram bonam, et confertam, et coagitatam, et supereffluentem dabunt in sinum vestrum. An non plus pleno quodam modo tibi esse videtur quod supereffluit? Porro placide audies plenum et plenius, si te legisse memineris: In aeternum et ultra. Ergo is cumulus aspirantis erit diei.

Ipsa, inquam, adiiciet ad mensuram inspiratae plenitudinis, ad inspirantis diei copiam, supra modum in sublime pondus gloriae operans, ita ut redundet in corpora supereffluens clarificationis adiectio. Hac de causa enim non spirans, sed aspirans dicta est, quod addat ad inspirantem, hoc significante Spiritu sancto per adiectam, ad, praepositionem; quia quos illa intus illuminat, hos ista adornat foris, et stola gloriae induit eos.

Atque id satis pro danda ratione vocabuli, quod est Aspirans. Et si vultis scire, dies aspirans ipse est Salvator quem exspectamus, qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae. Nam et inspirans nihilominus idem ipse est, secundum operationem qua nos respirare prius facit in lumine quod inspirat, ut simus et nos dies respirans in ipso, secundum quod interior noster homo renovatur de die in diem, et renovatur in spiritu mentis suae ad imaginem eius qui se creavit, factus proinde dies ex die, et lumen ex lumine. Cum igitur duo in nobis praecedant dies, unus quidem inspirans pro corporis vita, alter vero respirans in sanctificationis gratia, porro tertius supersit aspirans in resurrectionis gloria: claret profecto aliquando adimpletum iri in corpore quod praecessit in capite, magnum utique pietatis sacramentum, et prophetae testimonium, qui ait: Vivificabit nos post duos dies, in die tertia suscitabit nos, et vivemus in conspectu eius; sciemus, sequemurque, ut cognoscamus Dominum. Ipse est in quem angeli prospicere concupiscunt, sponsus Ecclesiae, Iesus Christus Dominus noster, 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.2.17 — Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether.
  3. ↩Song.2.16-Song.2.17 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies. Song.2.17 — Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether.
  4. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  5. ↩Matt.1.25 — and he did not know her until she had given birth to a son; and he called his name Jesus.
  6. ↩Ps.121.2;Ps.123.2 — My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Ps.123.2 — Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until he shows us favor.
  7. ↩Matt.28.20 — teaching them to observe everything I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
  8. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  9. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  10. ↩Song.2.16-Song.2.17 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies. Song.2.17 — Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether.
  11. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  12. ↩Song.2.16;Song.6.3 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies. Song.6.3 — I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  13. ↩1Tim.2.4 — who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
  14. ↩Matt.26.29;Mark.14.25;Luke.22.18 — But I say to you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Mark.14.25 — Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Luke.22.18 — For I tell you, I will not drink from the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.
  15. ↩Ps.83.11 — Let them be destroyed at En-dor; let them become dung for the ground.
  16. ↩1Cor.13.12 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
  17. ↩1Cor.13.9 — For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
  18. ↩2Pet.1.19;Rom.13.12 — And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Rom.13.12 — The night is far gone, and the day is at hand; let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
  19. ↩1Cor.13.10 — But when the complete comes, the partial will be done away.
  20. ↩Ps.35.9 — Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD; it will exult in his salvation.
  21. ↩Gen.3.6 — And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
  22. ↩Gen.3.7 — Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
  23. ↩Gen.3.1-Gen.3.6 — Now the serpent was more crafty than any other animal that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" Gen.3.2 — And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, Gen.3.3 — but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.' Gen.3.4 — But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not certainly die.' Gen.3.5 — for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Gen.3.6 — And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
  24. ↩Gen.3.22 — And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now then, lest he reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—"
  25. ↩Gen.5.2 — Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and called their name Adam on the day they were created.
  26. ↩Gen.3.1-Gen.3.6 — Now the serpent was more crafty than any other animal that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" Gen.3.2 — And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, Gen.3.3 — but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.' Gen.3.4 — But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not certainly die.' Gen.3.5 — for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Gen.3.6 — And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
  27. ↩Rom.7.23 — But I see another law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members.
  28. ↩Rom.7.23 — But I see another law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members.
  29. ↩Gal.5.17 — For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do the things you wish.
  30. ↩Rom.7.23 — But I see another law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members.
  31. ↩Matt.8.12 — But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  32. ↩Gal.5.17 — For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do the things you wish.
  33. ↩Rom.8.13 — For if you live according to the flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
  34. ↩Gal.5.24 — And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
  35. ↩1Cor.9.27 — But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, so that after preaching to others, I myself might not be disqualified.
  36. ↩John.1.4-John.1.5;1Pet.2.9 — In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John.1.5 — And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 1Pet.2.9 — But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
  37. ↩John.1.5 — And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
  38. ↩Ps.138.7 — If I walk in the midst of trouble, You give me life; You stretch out Your hand against the anger of my enemies, and Your right hand saves me.
  39. ↩Exod.10.23 — No one saw his brother, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days; but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings.
  40. ↩Matt.13.12;Matt.25.29 — For whoever has, to him it will be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Matt.25.29 — For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
  41. ↩Luke.6.38 — Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, they will put into your lap. For with the measure you measure, it will be measured back to you.
  42. ↩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.
  43. ↩2Cor.4.16 — Therefore we do not lose heart; even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
  44. ↩Col.3.10 — and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator
  45. ↩Hos.6.2 — After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him.
  46. ↩1Pet.1.12 — To them it was revealed that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The terms inclusivum and exclusivum refer to two ways of construing the 'donec' clause — either as including the endpoint (he feeds among the lilies up to and including the day's dawning) or as excluding it (he feeds only until that point, then something else begins). The author insists the reader must settle which sense is intended.
  2. 2 ↩The question is whether the bride (the soul or the Church) will cease her longing or her tending toward the bridegroom once the eschatological 'day' arrives. The Latin 'sponsae intendere, aut ipsa illi' is compressed; the sense is whether the bride will no longer stretch out toward him, or he toward her.
  3. 3 ↩The author invokes the Matthean 'donec' (Mt 1:25) to clarify the exclusive sense: Joseph did not know Mary before the birth, and the 'until' does not imply he did afterward. This is the classic exegetical use of Matthew 1:25 to interpret 'donec' as exclusive.
  4. 4 ↩The closing clause echoes Psalm 35:9 (Vulgate) / Psalm 36:8 (Hebrew): 'inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos.' The Vulgate reads 'domus tuae' rather than 'domus Domini'; the variant here may reflect the author's adaptation or a different textual tradition.
  5. 5 ↩Final clause echoes John 1:5: 'et tenebrae eum non comprehenderunt.'
  6. 6 ↩Quoted phrase echoes Psalm 138:7 (Vulgate): 'et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.'
  7. 7 ↩Scripture says: likely an allusion to Exodus 10:23 (Vulgate), where Israel had light in their dwellings while Egypt was in darkness; the exact phrasing 'ubicunque Israel erat, lux erat' is not a direct Vulgate quotation but a paraphrase of the sense.
  8. 8 ↩Sun of righteousness echoes Malachi 4:2; the contrast of those who see and those who are in darkness echoes the Gospel motif of the outer darkness.
  9. 9 ↩Closing clause echoes Phil 3:21, the reshaping of the body of our humiliation to conform to the body of his glory.
  10. 10 ↩The threefold play on 'inspires/breathes/breathes in' (inspirans/respirare/respirans) is compressed in Latin; English renders the movement as 'inspires' → 'breathe' → 'breathes in' to preserve the theological logic of grace preceding and enabling our response.
  11. 11 ↩Renewed from day to day echoes 2 Cor 4:16; renewed into the image of the one who created him echoes Col 3:10.
  12. 12 ↩Quoted prophetic span echoes Hos 6:2: 'After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.'
  13. 13 ↩The threefold day scheme (inspirans/respirans/aspirans) maps onto bodily life, sanctifying grace, and resurrection glory; 'sacramentum pietatis' is rendered 'sacrament of devotion' to preserve the dense Latin term.
  14. 14 ↩The angels' desire to look upon him echoes 1 Pet 1:12.

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