Cânticos 2
Bede
Cânticos 2:3
Under the shadow of him whom I desired, I sat, etc. As if it were openly said, Therefore I judge my beloved to be preferred before all others, because in the sole protection of his piety, for whose desire I always burned, I find refreshment from the heat of tribulations, because I feel the most pleasant fruit of his gifts, by which I trust I am to be continually refreshed. But the holy Church desired to breathe a little under the shadow of the Author, when she complained that she was darkened by the excessive sun of persecutions, because the sons of her mother fought against her, when, imploring the help of his presence, she anxiously cried: Tell me, whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at noon; when, not only worn out by the weariness of pressures but enticed by the memory of his beauty and comeliness, she said: Our bed is flowery. She showed that she had attained the desire, when she said: Under the shadow of him whom I desired, I sat, and his fruit was sweet to my throat. And it should be noted that above she proclaimed that the beams of her houses were cedar and the panelling cypress, yet she did not consider this protection sufficient for her, nor did she confess herself content with the contemplation of their loftiness and beauty; but she diligently sought the tree of life alone, in whose shadow she might rest, whose fruit might refresh her; because although some saints are able to propose for us sublime examples of their virtues, to show us the path of heavenly life by preaching, to bring the support of their intercession with the Lord, yet to none of them, but to our beloved Savior alone, must we say, But the sons of men will put their trust under the cover of your wings; they will be satiated with the fatness of your house (Psalm 35). Whence it is deservedly said that as an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons. Rightly then is the only Son preferred to all the sons of God, who protects us like a shady tree from the heat of the pursuing world, refreshes us with heavenly sweetness like an unfading apple. How great the refreshment of his sweetness, how great its virtue, is subsequently shown, when it is said: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:3
"As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, etc." This is what the Psalmist speaks of, "For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord? Or who is like God among the sons of God?" (Psalm 88). Just as the apple tree, which is pleasing to sight, smell, and taste, tends to surpass the wild trees, so does the man God rightfully surpass all who are pure men among the saints; and the merit of those who are sons of God by grace transcends the power of him who is the son by nature. Hence John says, "And we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1). Hence Apostle Paul says, "And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken: but Christ as a son over his own house." (Hebrews 3:5-6). Let the cedar shine therefore; let the cypress lift itself in height; let the other trees of the forests display the miracles of their beauty, fragrance, and worth. The apple tree surpasses them all, which, besides the sweetness of its smell and appearance, also contains the power for nourishment. Let the righteous shine with their virtues: he who, born of a Virgin, provides us with the supports of eternal life, surpasses all. Whence it is well added: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:4
The king brought me into the wine cellar, etc. Just as soon, she says, as the sweetness of His grace touched the throat of my heart, I felt myself so revived in spirit, and translated from the enjoyment of lowly things to heavenly desires, just as if, having been brought into the wine cellar, I were refreshed by the new fragrance and also by a cup. Therefore, rightly, He who gave such goods, converted me to loving Him with unquenchable charity. Typologically, since the grace of the Holy Spirit is often designated by the term wine; the Lord attesting, when He says that new wine is to be put into new wineskins (Matthew IX, Mark II, Luke V), that is, the fervor of spiritual gifts is to be infused into pure hearts. The wine cellar ought to be understood as the Church, in whose unity alone the Holy Spirit is typically given and received. Therefore, the beloved brought his friend into the wine cellar, because the Lord has gathered the Church from the whole world into one house for Himself, which He consecrated with the gift of His Spirit; this fabric, since it stands primarily on the foundation of charity, by His own work, it is rightly added after she said she was brought into the wine cellar, "He ordained charity in me." He ordained charity in me, she said, that is, He graciously gave to me to have ordered charity, that everyone should love the Lord God with all his heart, all his soul, all his strength; he should love his neighbor as himself, and also tolerate his enemy by loving him. He who either does not know or neglects this order of charity is the one about whom the very ordainer and bestower of charity says, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me," etc. (Matthew X). Although the ordination of charity can rightly be understood as also being for confirmation, because things placed haphazardly are weak; but those placed in order remain firmly, so it is rightly said that the Lord ordained charity in the Church, which He is known to strengthen in the hearts of His faithful with suitable progress. It can also be understood thus what is said, "He ordained charity in me," as if it were said, He loved me with ordered charity, that is, He united all my members, that is, all the elect, to Himself with pious charity; but He embraces the more eminent with greater affection as is fitting, when it is said, "Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end" (John XIII). He therefore loved all; and yet a more tender love towards a certain one is intimated when it is said, "That disciple whom Jesus loved" (John XXI). In the Church, according to the distinction of merits, He loves some more than others. Again, "He ordered love in me": He Himself loved me first, and by loving me, in order that I might learn to return His love, He granted it; hence He says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John XV). Hence also the apostle John says, "This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins" (1 John IV). Again, the Lord ordained love in the Church, because the very love by which He chose her before the ages, through some degrees of progress, He demonstrated in the increments of times; for the Apostle, as a witness, says, "God commends His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans V). And with the increasing revelation of the same love, John says, "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God, and we are" (1 John III). Again, concerning the same perfect love, which no greater can be, and which itself can never diminish, the Lord Himself says: "He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and the rest" (John XIV). For when He said with the verb of the present tense, "He who loves me," which can in no way be done unless one is first loved by Him, and kindled by the grace of His Spirit to love Him, what is it that He immediately subjoined with the verb of the future tense: "He will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him"? unless it is that he who is still now loved by God, so that by believing he may be able to love, will then certainly be loved by God, so that by seeing Him he may love Him more, and with His face revealed, he may love Him more truly with all his strength, as he endures nothing from lesser things that could hinder this love. Therefore, the Lord ordains love in the Church, by which He either loves her Himself or enflames her to hold rightly to love of Him and neighbor. And how much that very love, having perfectly absorbed the mind, raises it from the love of feeble things, He teaches in the following verse, when He says: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:4
We ought to love God in the first place, enemies in the last; and the measure of love that ought to be weighed out to our neighbors will vary according to the diversity of their merits. We know that the patriarch Jacob, although he loved all his sons, nevertheless loved Joseph more than the rest because of his singular innocence, as Scripture bears witness. Hence the church says pleasingly of Christ in the Song of Songs: "He brought me into the wine chamber, he set charity in order in me." — On the Tabernacle 1:6
Cânticos 2:5
"Sustain me with flowers, surround me with apples," etc. For the soul languishes with love when it truly tastes the ordered love of its Creator in itself, because when it is kindled to seek the light of eternity, it tires from the love of temporality, so that it cools in its zeal for the passing world as much as it rises more ardent to contemplate the joys of the eternal kingdom. But let us see, soul, who burns with such love, what place it seeks to lie down in, where it may rest when weary. "Sustain me," it says, "with flowers, surround me with apples." In the flowers are still tender beginnings of virtues, in the apples perfection is signified. Therefore, the soul languishing with love beseeches the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, those souls who preceded it in heavenly desire, to help its own beginnings with good examples, and to recall to its memory more frequently by what start, by what course, by what end they completed the way of virtues, so that through the sight of these, as if by a most pleasing scent of flowers and apples, it may lie down more softly and sweetly in the love of its Creator. This can equally be understood both from the deeds of the saints which we have before our eyes and from those which we gather from the fields and groves of the Scriptures, as well from the deeds or sayings of the preceding fathers. — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:6
His left hand under my head, etc. In the left hand of Christ, temporal gifts are signified, and in the right hand, the happiness of eternal life. Therefore it is written elsewhere of him, who is the power and wisdom of God, "Length of days is in his right hand, and in his left hand riches and glory." Therefore the holy Church shows, the soul perfectly intent on the love of its Redeemer shows, what kind of rest it might find in this life which it so eagerly seeks, how it desires to lie in that flowery bed of virtues with its beloved in this exile of pilgrimage. He says, "His left hand under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me." But he calls his head, the principal part of the mind; and the beloved places his left hand under the head of his bride when the Lord confirms the hearts of the faithful still dwelling in this life with the knowledge of his understanding, lifts them up with participation in his sacraments, grants them the pledge of his Spirit, and suggests the comforts of the holy Scriptures. And his right hand shall embrace her when he also promises her the everlasting kingdom of heavenly life after this life. And it is well said that the left hand supports the head, and the right hand embraces her, because we receive temporal gifts as an aid for this pilgrimage, but we shall see heavenly rewards without end. Rightly then does the bride, who earlier languished in love and sought to be supported by flowers and surrounded by apples, now attest to having the hand of her beloved under her head. For even if the lover of the Creator delights in the flowers of virtues, in the progress of neighbors with whom he reaches the vision of His face, and in the remembrance of the examples of ancient saints, whereby he is stirred to love God or his neighbor more ardently, yet there is a singular hope for those who truly desire to rest, which is to be supported by the hand of their Author. And indeed, at first the left hand, so that through this, they may be deemed worthy to reach the embrace of the right hand; for the right hand will not embrace anyone unless the left hand first accepts them to be cherished, that is, no one will sublimely see His glory in the future who has not faithfully inclined to receive the mysteries of His humility in the present. Did not Paul, who showed himself to be the most faithful minister of this bride, saying, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11), take care to place the left hand of the bridegroom under her head to lead to the embrace of the right hand? For he said, "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2). Again, he urges her to strive for the embrace of the right hand, saying, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, where Christ is seated on the right hand of God" (Col. 3), and "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory" (ibid.). Therefore, he says, "His left hand is under my head, and His right hand doth embrace me." As if to say openly: may the temporal blessings of my Lord and Savior, which help me to rest a little from the lusts or disturbances of the world, assist me; but the promise of eternal things, in which I am perpetually rewarded, delights me more. How truly pleasing to the Lord is the rest of such a bride, that is, the Church or any chosen soul, is shown in her subsequent response, when it is said: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:6
Surely the left hand of the bridegroom is placed under the head of the bride because the Lord raises up the minds of the faithful with temporal benefits, separating them from earthly pleasures and longings so that they may desire and hope for eternal blessings. And he shall embrace her with his right hand because by revealing the vision of his majesty he glorifies her without end. — On the Tabernacle 1:8
Cânticos 2:7
I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and the hinds of the field, etc. The daughters of Jerusalem signify souls burning with the desire for the heavenly homeland. The bridegroom adjures these souls not to awaken the bride resting in His love, neither presume to disturb her happily asleep from human disturbances. For whoever unduly disrupts an elect soul, either speaking to God in devout prayers or meditating on divine commandments or promises in sacred readings, indeed awakens the bride of Christ from blessed slumber before she herself wishes. For the bride herself desires to awaken refreshed by this most blessed sleep since she knows to devote herself to divine duties at the appropriate time and then to return at a fitting time to care for the necessities of human frailty. Therefore, whoever does not fear to impede any of the faithful intent on heavenly studies indeed harms his own virtues, which he believes to possess. Hence, the bridegroom rightly adjures the daughters of Jerusalem by the gazelles and the hinds of the field not to do this. By gazelles and hinds, notably pure animals and enemies of poison, the works of spiritual virtues are figured; which, just as they excel in purity, so they have been accustomed to scorn, even destroy and annihilate the harmful schemes of the ancient enemy. And beautifully referring to the gazelles and hinds, he adds, of the field, to patiently express the simplicity of pure souls and those blooming with sincere faith in which virtues arise and are nurtured. Thus, the bridegroom adjures the daughters of Jerusalem by the gazelles and hinds of the field not to awaken nor rouse the beloved until she herself wishes. As if he openly says: I adjure all the faithful, and by their own virtues, which they desire to nurture with a pure heart, not to disdain the holy studies of the brethren, not to hinder them recklessly, but let each one rejoice in the progress of others just as in their own, and let them fear to inflict losses on the spiritual gain of the brethren as they would fear to inflict on themselves; for he undoubtedly diminishes his own virtues who scorns to spare, rather to assist, the virtues of his neighbor as much as he can. The bride gladly receiving this adjuration of the bridegroom immediately responds: The voice of my beloved. It is understood, This is the one I heard adjuring the daughters of Jerusalem not to wake me resting in His embrace until I myself wish. For surely it is necessary for a soul filled with God to greatly rejoice when amidst the adversities of the world it happens to hear His comforting voice, either through the gift of hidden inspiration or through meditation or hearing of sacred scriptures. For even if we are not yet allowed to behold the face of our beloved, it is already a great gift to be refreshed in the meantime by the sweetness of His words in the holy Scriptures. A great benefit is conferred to those to whom a higher gift is granted that, with a gaze of a pure mind lifted to heavenly things, they may even now taste some of the sweetness of future life. Hence it is fitting, after the bride joyfully says, The voice of my beloved, immediately desiring to also see the same beloved but not yet able... — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:8
Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, etc. He calls those mountains and hills who, with singular purity of mind, transcend the common conduct of the holy Church, almost like the blooming plain of the fields, and the more they render themselves lighter from the desire of the lowly, the more capable of contemplating the heavenly they become. Of whom Isaiah, when describing the coming in the flesh of the Mediator of God and men, said: "And in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills" (Isaiah II). For rightly that mountain is said to be on the top of the mountains, and to be exalted above the hills, that is, it is remembered as being higher than the high men, because, indeed, in the last days, a man appeared among men, but He existed as God with the Father before the ages. But coming upon these mountains, the Beloved is said to leap, to pass over these hills, because the Lord frequently illuminates the hearts of the sublime with the grace of His visitation. And it is beautifully said that he does not remain on these hills, but leaps or passes over them, because the sweetness of internal contemplation, as high as it is due to the recognition of heavenly things, is equally brief and rare, due to the heaviness of minds still held down by the mass of the flesh. For the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation depresses the mind that thinks on many things (Wisdom IX). Nor should it be thought contrary to this sentiment, that the Beloved Himself also promises His spouse in the Gospel, saying: "Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Matthew XXVIII). And again, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him" (John XIV). For He always remains, through His faith and love, and through the assistance of His grace, with all the saints; but more excellently, for a short time, He appears to a few of the more sublime, to whom He wills and when He wills: for it is the saying of a few, and of those who, due to the loftiness of their hearts, are compared to mountains and hills, "For whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we are sober, it is for your cause" (II Corinthians V). But it is said to all the faithful, "Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God" (I John IV). It is for the entire Church to hear with a faithful heart, "Because God is love; and he that dwells in love, dwells in God, and God in him." It is only for the perfect to say, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (II Peter I). An evident example of this contemplation is further added... — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:9
Behold, he stands behind our wall, etc. For now the beloved remains in the vicinity of the bride, now leaping upon the hills on high, because the same Lord and Savior of ours, presents Himself to the more perfect at times, when He wills, even if through a glass and in enigma, and He always shows the invisible grace of His presence to all the elect. Concerning the manifestation of His presence, it is now rightly said, Behold, he stands behind our wall, for He indeed remains with us, nay He remains in us, so that He cannot be seen by us, as John attests, who says: No one has ever seen God (1 John 4). If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us (ibid.). But the wall which excludes us from His sight is the very condition of our mortality, which we have earned by sinning, we who were so conditioned in the first parent that if we had never consented to sin, all the elect would endlessly and without any labor see the light of divine contemplation, that now very few of the more perfect, with the greatest labor, reach by purifying their hearts through faith. But in this wall, divine mercy made windows and lattice-work from where He would look upon us, for He opened to our minds, however burdened by the blindness of this age, the grace of His knowledge, and frequently refreshes us with the light of His hidden inspiration. By this sight of His inspiration, because our gracious Creator chiefly acts to draw us from the love of temporal things to attain the joys of heavenly peace, it is aptly added: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:9
My beloved is like a roe or a young deer. And indeed, all who know well how to explore the natures of these animals discover many things in them that most fittingly apply to the beloved of the Church, that is, the Lord and Savior. But in this place, it is especially to be noted that they delight in dwelling in the heights of the mountains and in giving very swift leaps, because of which they are seen by us more rarely than oxen or donkeys or other such animals, which, being domesticated together, we use as often as we please. This is very suitably adapted to the height of supreme contemplation, which is not within the discretion of human speculations but in the grace of God, appearing when it wills. I believe Isaiah, who is indeed an exalted mountain, saw Him seated upon a high and elevated throne not when he chose, but when the Lord willed; he saw and the heavenly hosts singing due praises to Him. Paul, also a mountain, much despising earthly things and touching the stars with his summit, was caught up into paradise and into the third heaven, not when he disposed, but when it pleased God, and heard the secret words which it is not lawful for a man to speak. It certainly agrees with the humility and truth of the assumed humanity that the Lord is compared not to a stag but to a roe or a young deer—smaller animals, who among men appeared not only as a man but as a humble man. He became a young deer because He took true flesh from the fleshly material of His ancestors; for He was made of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom. I). And David himself says, As the deer longs for the water brooks, so my soul longs for you, God (Psalm 42). And again: He has made my feet like hinds' feet (Psalm 18). But concerning the other deer, His companions in life, he says, The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth (Psalm 29); for He indeed prepares the deer when He bestows the gifts of virtues on the faithful; because that they may direct the course of their minds to higher things, ceaselessly thirst for the fountain of life, drive out and trample upon the serpents of heretical speech with their spiritual scent, ruminate on the word of life, and maintain the measure of salvific discretion in the straight steps of their actions is not in their power but in the divine granting. Therefore the voice of the Lord prepares the deer because His grace places the saints in the height of virtues. From such deer was born the fawn rightfully beloved of the bride, that is, of the Church or of every faithful soul, because Christ according to the flesh is from the fathers, who is over all, God blessed forever. And since the sublimity of the contemplative life is expressed in these verses, it remains, therefore, for the perfection of the active life, which is common to the whole Church, to be demonstrated. It follows: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:10
"Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away," etc. If, according to the Apostle's exposition, the Rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10), what are the clefts of the rock except the wounds which Christ received for our salvation? In these very clefts the dove resides and nests, whether each meek soul or the entire Church, places its sole hope of salvation in the Lord's passion, relying on the sacrament of his death to protect themselves, as if from the snatching of a hawk by an ancient enemy, and strives to bring forth spiritual offspring—either children or virtues—in the same. Hence well Jeremiah, under the guise of Moab, urging heretics to the unity of ecclesiastical faith, says, "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, inhabitants of Moab. Be like a dove nesting in the highest mouth of the cleft" (Jeremiah 48). Moreover, the wall which is usually constructed of stones to fortify vineyards (whence it is said in the song of Isaiah, "My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill, and he built a wall around it" [Isaiah 5]) signifies the guardianship of heavenly virtues by which the Lord surrounds the Church, his vineyard, lest it be ravaged by the incursions of unclean spirits like those of wicked creatures. Hence, therefore, the Psalmist says, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them" (Psalm 34). And the Apostle, speaking of angels, says, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1). Thus, in this secure wall, the bride and friend of Christ, like a dove, finds a hole for herself, while the Holy Church has learned to defend itself from the deceptions of the devil through angelic help. Therefore, the Lord exhorts the same Church, He exhorts every soul devoted to Him, to the exercise of holy and fruitful labor; and He says, "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. For behold, the winter is past," and so on, until He says, "Arise, my love, my bride, and come away; my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff." As if He openly says, "After the tempest of the Gentile life has been removed by divine mercy, after the flowers of saving conversation have already emerged on earth, after the vines have begun to be pruned by the celestial husbandmen with the sickle of discernment so that the wicked are separated from the just and the vices from the virtues, after the herald of salvation has already widely resounded in the world, after the world itself has been converted to the acknowledgment of the truth, and the most delightful fame of new life has spread among the Gentiles, I beseech you, O greatly beloved company of faithful souls, to whom I have bestowed the gifts of my friendship, whom I have deigned to unite to myself as a bride, to whom I have given the simplicity of the dove-like mind by the infusion of my Spirit, for whose health and life I have taken upon myself wounds and death, to whom I have granted the help of heavenly protection against invisible enemies; I beseech you, I say, who have been made the recipient of such gifts, not to become sluggish in idle ease, but to rather hasten to gird yourself with zealous effort and diligence in the esteemed struggle for eternal rest." — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:10
Behold, my beloved speaks to me, "Arise," etc. All things have their season, and all things pass in their own time under heaven (Eccles. III). Therefore, the bride of Christ, namely the Church, or any chosen soul, has a time for resting; likewise, it has a time for rising to work. Finally, as above, he adjures the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken or arouse her until she pleases, and now, with a changed tone, he himself bids her to rise and come quickly to him; no longer does he consent to her entering the flowery bed with celestial studies, but rather he instructs her to go out with him to cultivate the vineyards and drive away harmful beasts from them, as the subsequent song teaches; adding to provoke and inflame her zeal that, with the winter seasons passed, the mild spring now aids the industry of the laborer, and even the arrival and songs of spring birds make the rural places more joyful than the courtly ones, and the bloom of flowers promises future fruit to the farmers. But since we have barely touched the surface of the letters, let us now turn our pen to exploring the depths of the allegorical senses. It was said above, under the figure of a roe or a fawn of the hinds, how the Lord reveals the secrets of heavenly contemplation through internal visions. It was said under the figure of him standing behind our wall and looking through windows and lattice, how he often illuminates the whole Church, though still invisible, with the frequent regard of salutary compunction. It remains now to intimate how he incites the same Church, either to the office of preaching or to the exercise of good works. "Arise," he says, "hurry, my friend, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. Arise from that bed much beloved by you, in which you delight in caring for yourself through psalms and prayers and other studies of life. Hurry, and come to also devote care to the salvation of others, through the zeal of diligent preaching: for indeed we hurry to the Lord who calls us, by performing works of virtue for His cause." — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:11
For now the winter is past, etc. This is what the Apostle says: The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Rom. XIII). For as the darkness of night is correctly expressed by the harshness of winter and rains, so too is the storm of unbelief, which governed the whole world until the time of the Lord's incarnation. But when the Sun of righteousness shone upon the world, with the old perfidy of wintry unbelief soon departing and being driven away, flowers appeared on the earth, for the beginnings of the nascent Church shone in the faithful and pious devotion of the saints. The time of pruning has come. That is to say, as the Lord mentions in the Gospel, who, when He declared Himself the true vine and His Father the vinedresser, immediately added and said, Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit (John XV). The duty of pruning can also be properly understood according to what the Apostle says: Putting off the old man with his deeds, put on the new (II Cor. III). Explaining this himself elsewhere, he says: Therefore, putting away all falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor (Eph. IV). And again: Let the one who steals steal no longer, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands (Ibid.). — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:12
The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The voice of the preacher has been heard in the land, which has now begun to be ours, having received the word of faith; of which it is said in the psalm of the first Sabbath, that is the resurrection of the Lord, which has become the first of the Sabbaths; "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Psalm 23). For the voice of the turtledove, which by its sound usually signifies the end of winter and the coming of spring, suits those who know how to say that the darkness has passed away, and the true light now shines (1 John 2). The voice of the turtledove, which humbly resounds with a groan instead of a song, fits those who, mindful of their pilgrimage and the promised homeland, are accustomed to say: "But we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." They also cry out to their listeners, "Be miserable, and mourn; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow." The bird itself, which is a lover of chastity, and always dwells on mountain peaks and treetops, represents the life of those who declare for themselves and others that it is good for a man not to touch a woman (1 Corinthians 7), and, "Our conversation is in heaven" (Philippians 3). For the fact that it shuns the roofs of men and their company and prefers to live in forests and deserts, signifies those who, although placed in the world in body, are separated from it in mind and desire to see the things above. — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:13
The fig tree has produced its early fruit. They call the early and immature figs "grossi," which are unsuitable for eating and fall off even with a light touch if shaken. And when the turtle dove is singing, the fig tree produced its early fruit, for when the apostles were preaching in Judea, the synagogue produced many who had zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; who would rather hold to the still imperfect and as if immature observance of the letter of the law than receive in it the sweetness of spiritual understanding. Apponius explains this verse in such a way that the fig tree produced its early fruit when the synagogue brought forth apostles, who, being generated from it, would minister the sweetest food of doctrine to believers. And since, when the synagogue brought forth either the apostles who preached the Gospel or those who still tried to prefer the ceremonies of the law over the Gospel, nevertheless, at that time, the faith and salvation of the whole world followed... — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:13
The flowering vines have given forth their fragrance. For through the blossoming of the vines, the beginnings of the multiplying Churches, from that one which was first planted in Jerusalem, through its fragrance diffused far and wide, its fame was expressed. For what is more pleasant than the fragrance of a flowering vine? Since indeed the juice expressed from their flowers makes the kind of cup that is suitable for both health and pleasure. Who would not easily see the comparison with the reputation of good deeds? Therefore, the example of the vines, from which wine is born that gladdens the heart of man, is fitting both for the churches of the faithful in general and for the elect individually, who bring forth spiritual joy and gladness for themselves. According to the Apostle: "This is our glory, the testimony of our conscience" (I Cor. III). And as the Psalmist says, "All the glory of the king's daughter is within" (Psalm XLV). Saint Jerome explains these verses thus: "the voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land: The turtle-dove, the most chaste bird, always dwelling in the heights, is a type of the Savior." And a little later, "And immediately the turtle-dove says to the turtle-dove: The fig tree has brought forth its green figs, that is, the precepts of the old law have fallen, and from the Gospel, the flowering vines have given forth their fragrance." — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:14
Because your voice is sweet, etc. Indeed, the voice of that soul is sweet to the Lord, which knows how either to announce the words of the Lord to neighbors or to resound praises to the Lord Himself sweetly with the prophet, How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalm 119)! That face seems beautiful to the Lord, which strives to present itself as worthy to behold His face, which is accustomed to say to Him from the innermost heart, I have sought Your face, O Lord; Your face will I seek; do not turn Your face away from me (Psalm 27). However, our diligence in cleanliness will not be sufficient for us, if we do not also correct those who err, as much as we can, if we do not care to defend the weaker ones from their snares... — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:14
Show me your face, etc. You who in the hidden recesses of quiet, like a dove in the clefts of the rock, or in the hole of the wall, desire to be concealed, I pray that you come forth into the public sphere of action, and show your faith from your works, and declare to others also outwardly as an example what beauty you have within. For indeed to me, who perceive the inner part of the heart, I consider your face shown when I see your action demonstrating unblemished, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, for the benefit of others. For as long as one does something to the least of these, they do it to Me. Let your voice sound in my ears, namely the voice of praise or preaching, that is, either which praises me in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, or which by proclaiming stirs the mouths and minds of others to my praise. Therefore, the bride shows her face to the Lord in what she does in His sight; she also shows the sound of her voice in what she rightly says before Him. It is also to be considered more attentively what He says, Show me your face. He says, yours, not another's, that is, holy and unblemished: for such I have made it, cleansing it by the washing of water with the word; such I have perfected by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, signing upon you the light of my face. Let your voice sound in my ears, not another's, that is, the one which I taught you to have on your wedding day, by which you promised to keep your chastity for me. Again show me your face, let your voice sound in my ears, that is, to me, not to others, show your face. To my ears, not others, remember to give your voice; that is, for the sake of my love, not any other reason, and take care to do good works and speak holy words; for whoever expends their good works or words for human approval shows the beauty of their face or the sweetness of their voice to externals rather than to the Creator. But also according to the letter, women who strive to beautify the face of their body for the deception of fools and to soften their words over oil are transgressors of this Lord's precept, and therefore remain unworthy of that eminent praise by which the Lord glorifies His bride... — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:15
Catch for us the little foxes, etc. Indeed, the foxes that destroy the vineyards are heretics and schismatics, who with the teeth of perverse doctrine are accustomed to tear apart the flourishing vineyards of Christ, that is, the unripe minds of the faithful. If only we did not know how much they tend to damage them! Therefore Christ commanded His bride, with her maidens, whom He usually calls the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, with preachers exalted in holy humility, busily in pious labor to catch the little foxes, that is, as soon as they begin to discern and challenge the tricks of the fraudulent; lest, having grown larger over time, they are driven away from harming His spiritual vineyards with that much more difficulty, as they have already accustomed to graze longer; and beautifully, He who had first spoken of the vineyards in the plural, again used the singular number. For "our vineyard has blossomed"; thus indeed, He calls many vineyards one vineyard, just as He wished to call many churches throughout the world one Church for Himself. For He said the vineyards have blossomed, to show widely germinating populations of the chosen; and rightly, where He admonished to catch the foxes, there soon marked the singular appellation vineyard, to teach that for this reason above all, heretics should be pursued and crushed, lest the infestation tear apart and scatter into parts the faith of the Church, which ought to be one. Moreover, the nature of foxes aptly aligns with the manners and words of heretics, because they are indeed very deceitful animals, which hide in holes or caves, and when they appear, they never run in straight paths, but in winding turns. How these fit with the deceit and fraud of heretics, anyone can easily understand. It should not be overlooked that He did not say, "Catch for yourselves," when speaking to the children of the Church, or "Your vineyard has blossomed"; but, "Catch for us the little foxes, for our vineyard has blossomed"; so that He might more strongly incite all, who could, to conquer or correct the wickedness of heretics or bad Catholics, showing that they serve Him in this endeavor, and to demonstrate Himself as the defender of the vineyard, which is the rewarder of pious labors. Rightly, therefore, His beloved friend and bride responds immediately with the simplicity of a dove's heart: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:15
This animal, which is very shrewd with respect to deceit and craftiness, represents the Jews, Gentiles and heretics, who are always plotting against the church of God, and, as it were, continuously making a racket with their babbling voices. Concerning them the command is given to the guardians of the church: "Catch for us the tiny foxes which are wrecking the vineyards." — Commentary on Acts 19:14
Cânticos 2:16
My beloved is mine, and I am his, etc. The meaning of this response is as broad as it seems to be briefly concluded. For it may rightly be understood in this way: My beloved is mine, and I am his, we are united by true and sincere love. It may also be understood in this way: My beloved has promised me such words of His divine exhortation, consolation, and promise, and I will always offer Him a clear face of my conduct and a pure voice of my speech and grace. But it can also be very decently accepted that, since pronouns usually have great force, the Church, that is, the multitude of all the elect, says, My beloved is mine, and no other; and again, My beloved is mine, not to anyone else, implying that He grants eternal favor of His love and repays fruitfully; and I am His, not to anyone else; I am His, not any other crowd of people, implying that I am always united with Him in full devotion of humility and obedience. To all these meanings aptly fits what follows: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:16
Who feeds among the lilies. That is, who is accustomed to rejoice in the most radiant and sweetest fragrance of my virtues, who delights in the most pleasing fruit of the glittering churches throughout the world. Thus indeed the holy universal Church is sometimes described in the plural as lilies, sometimes in the singular as a lily. For as it says, As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters. Similarly, it refers to vineyards in the plural, where it says: Blooming vineyards; and again in the singular as a vineyard, where it adds, For our vineyard has blossomed, it represents the one Church. It is named in the singular because there is one heart and one soul of the multitude of believers (Acts IV); and it is also very aptly named in the plural because that unity of faithful heart and soul is no longer contained in a few, but in a multitude of believers. Noteworthy is also that lilies, even in that they are accustomed to heal limbs burned by fire, correspond to the acts of the saints. If they chance to detect hearts being burned by the flames of vices, they immediately extend the help of brotherly love to heal them, and lest the heat of desire or luxury, arrogance or anger, or other crimes overwhelm them, they provide them with the refreshment of their consolation and exhortation with diligent care. Some interpret the Lord feeding among the lilies as among the purest choirs of virgins, and rightly so, because both their chastity of the flesh shines outwardly and the brilliance of their inviolate hearts shines inwardly. Again, the Lord feeds among the lilies, that is, among the most pleasing virtues or bands of saints, in the very reason that He is born among them; for since He Himself, the Mediator of God and men, willed to be of one nature with His Church, hence the same Church is often called His body and He the head of the body of the Church. He feeds among the lilies when the number of the faithful within the Church is increased through the fountain of regeneration. He feeds among the lilies when the faithful, who are certainly members of Him, advance in the love of the highest by the illustrious examples of previous faithful. And it is noteworthy that here the beloved is said to feed, while above he is said to lead the pastures: the bride saying, Tell me, whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at midday; for he is fed in us, because we are His body, and members from His member; He feeds us because He is our head, in whom we all rightly glory, each saying, But now has He exalted my head above my enemies, implying that He will also later exalt us, and gather us to the head; and since this pasturing of the Lord, which takes place in the progress of His saints, extends to the end of this age (for when they reach His vision, they will have nothing further to advance in), it is rightly added: — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:17
Return, be like, my beloved, a roe or a young deer, etc. Because, he says, you have stirred and provoked me to cultivate the vineyards, that is, to instruct and multiply the faithful people, who have been ordered to drive away the cunning plots of attackers, like little foxes, from these same vineyards, because you wanted me to show my face to you, although you have not yet promised to reveal your face clearly to me, but making your acquaintance partly known to me, as if you speak to me through windows and lattice work. I beseech you to return more often from general instruction, to illuminate more sublimely the hearts of the more advanced, and just as the gaze, though rare, is with delight seen on the mountains from the roe or the young deer, so may your presence be any kind of traces of your greatness in the exalted minds. I pray that you reveal the sweetness of immortal life, which you promise to all my members in recompense, to be speculated upon even by some along the way, albeit from a distance. Furthermore, the name of the mountains suits the minds of those who have learned to open the eyes of the heart to the contemplation of heavenly things; when it is said, Over the mountains of Bether. For Bether is interpreted as a rising house, or a house of watches; and those who ascend more diligently in mind to the desires of the higher things, who more zealously watch to receive these, deservedly see the heavenly mysteries more excellently than others. But if it is read, as some manuscripts have, Over the mountains of Bethel, that is, the house of God, it has no question at all; for it is clear that the hearts of the righteous are rightly called mountains of the house of God, as opposed to the mountains of Samaria and Esau, and the like, that is, of heretics and all the proud. In another edition, we have seen written instead of this name, Over the mountains of spices and perfumes, which equally fits the minds of the saints, who are not dried up by vain thoughts, but, as with the healthful juices of the aromatic tree, are always refreshed with the internal sweetness and charity: about which juices and perfumes it has been signified often in this volume under the name of incense, myrrh, and aloes, and the like. But because lovers of truth come not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles, and from both peoples one Church of the faithful is gathered, it remains in the song of love, after the vocation of Judea and the most sweet dialogue with its Redeemer, also to relate specifically how the Gentiles, in what order, have come to the recognition of salvation, and with what love they have held this found. Thus follows the voice of the beloved Church from the Gentiles. — Commentary on the Song of Songs
Cânticos 2:17
Until the day breaks, etc. That is, until the eternal light of the future age arises, and the shadows of this present life, that is, of ignorance or error, under which even we faithful now walk, who use the lamp of the word of God, until they pass away. For when that day desired by all nations begins to break forth, the Lord will no longer feed among the lilies, that is, among the assemblies of the saints, whom He will rather refresh with the eternal vision of His glory. "I will be satisfied," he says, "when your glory is revealed" (Psalm 16); and, "Blessed are those who hunger now, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5). Nor is this, which compares present life to the shadows of night, and future life to the day, contrary to the apostolic saying; which testifies of this life we now live, saying, "The night is far gone; the day is at hand" (Romans 15); for, to speak briefly, the present life of the faithful, who, casting off the works of darkness, put on the armor of light, is indeed day in comparison to the unbelievers, who know or love nothing of true light; but in comparison to the future blessedness, where true light is seen eternally, it is still a very dark night. However, because the holy Church in this world recognizes two spiritual lives, one active and the other contemplative, Divine Scripture customarily speaks now of this, now of that, and now of both together. Above, making mention of the contemplative life, it says of the Lord, "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag." And then beginning with the active life, it says, "Behold, he stands behind our wall," and so on, until it says, "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes." All these things, well considered, urge us to the duty of good action. Then he adds of both together, "My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feeds among the lilies until the day breaks and the shadows flee away": for in both lives the beloved feeds among the lilies, because the Lord delights in the pure outward works and the sweet inner contemplation of the eternal ones of his chosen ones, and he is refreshed in his members. And this until the true light of day breaks, for then neither are we troubled by any labor of good work, nor do even the most perfect behold heavenly things through a glass darkly and momentarily, but the whole Church will see the King of Heaven in His beauty forever: of which vision, since any taste, however slight, greatly delights the spouse of Christ, it is aptly added: — Commentary on the Song of Songs