6. In Him therefore let us be and in Him abide, of Whom Isaiah says, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace. Who are they that preach but Peter, Paul, and all the Apostles? What do they preach to us but the Lord Jesus? He is our Peace, He is our chief Good, for He is Good from Good, and from a good tree is gathered good fruit. And good also is His Spirit, Who takes of Him and leads His servants forth into the land of righteousness. For who that hath the Spirit of God within him will deny that He is good, since He says Himself, Is thine eye evil because I am good? May this Good which the merciful God gives to them that seek Him come into our soul, and into our inmost heart. He is our Treasure, He is our Way, He is our Wisdom, He is our Righteousness, our Shepherd, the good Shepherd, He is our Life. Thou seest how many goods are in this one Good! These goods the Evangelists preach to us. David seeking for these goods saith, Who will shew us any good? And he shews that the Lord Himself is our Good by adding, Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy Countenance upon us. But Who is the Light of the Father's Countenance, but the Brightness of His Glory, and the Image of the invisible God, in Whom the Father is both seen and glorified, as He also glorifies His Son?
8. Wherefore the Lord Jesus Himself is that chief Good which was announced to us by Prophets, declared by Angels, promised by the Father, preached by Apostles. He hath come to us as ripeness; nor as ripeness only, but as ripeness in the mountains; to the intent that in our counsels there should be nothing sour, or unripe, nothing harsh or bitter in our actions or manners, the first Preacher of good tidings hath come among us. Wherefore also He saith, I, Who spoke, am present with you, that is, I Who spoke in the Prophets, am present in that Body which I took of the Virgin; I am present as the inward Likeness of God, and the express Image of His person, I am present too as Man. But who knows Me? For they saw the Man, but His Works made them believe He was above man. Was He not as man when weeping over Lazarus? again, was He not above man, when He raised him to life? Was He not as man when scourged? and again, above man when He took away the sin of the world?
9. To Him therefore let us hasten in Whom is the chief Good: for He is the bounty and patience of Israel, Who calls thee to repentance, that thou come not into condemnation but mayest receive the remission of thy sins. He saith, Repent. This is He of Whom the Prophet Amos cries, Seek good. He is the chief Good, Who is in need of nothing, but abounds in all things. And well may He abound, in Whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; of Whose fulness we have all received, and in Whom we are filled, as saith the Evangelist.
10. If then the mind with its capacities of desire and pleasure hath tasted the chief Good, and by means of these two affections hath drank It in, unalloyed by sorrow and fear, it is wonderfully inflamed. For having embraced the Word of God, she knows no measure and yet feels no satiety, as it is written, Thou art good and gracious, O teach me Thy statutes: having embraced the Word of God, she desires Him above all beauty, she loves Him above all joy, she is delighted with Him above all perfumes, she desires often to see, often to look upon Him, often to be drawn to Him that she may follow. Thy Name, it is said, is as ointment poured forth; therefore we maidens love Thee, therefore we strive but cannot attain to Thee. Draw us that we may run after Thee, that by the fragrance of Thy ointments we may gain power to follow Thee.
11. And the mind presses forward to the sight of internal mysteries, to the place of rest of the Word, to the very dwelling of that chief Good, His light and brightness. In that haven and home-retreat she hastens to hear His words, and having heard, finds them sweeter than all other things. Learn of the Prophet who had tasted and saith, O how sweet are Thy words unto my throat, yea sweeter than honey unto my mouth. For what can that soul desire which hath once tasted the sweetness of the Word, and seen His brightness? When Moses received the Law he remained forty days on the mount and required no bodily food; Elijah, hastening to this rest, prayed that his life might be taken away; Peter, himself also beholding on the Mount the glory of the Lord's Resurrection, would fain not have come down, saying, It is good for us to be here. How great then is the glory of the Divine Essence and the graces of the Word, which things the Angels desire to look into.
12. The soul then which beholds this chief Good, requires not the body, and understands that it ought to have as little connexion with it as possible; it renounces the world, withdraws itself from the chains of the flesh, and extricates itself from all the bonds of earthly pleasures. Thus Stephen beheld Jesus, and feared not being stoned, nay, while he was being stoned, prayed not for himself but for his murderers. Paul also, when caught up to the third heaven, knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body: caught up, I say, into Paradise, he became invisible to the presence of his own body, and having heard the words of God he blushed to descend again to the infirmities of the body.
13. Thus, knowing what he had seen and heard in Paradise, he cried saying, Why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? Touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using. For he would have us of this world in figure and semblance, not in use or possession, using as though we used it not, as our place of sojourn, not of rest, walking through it as in a vision, not with desire, so as to pass as lightly as possible over the mere shadow of this world. In this way S. Paul, who walked by faith not by sight, was absent from the body and present with the Lord, and although upon earth conversed not with earthly but with heavenly things.
11. Wherefore let our soul, wishing to draw near to God, raise herself from, the body, and ever adhere to that chief End which is divine, Which is everlasting, Which was from the beginning, and Which was with God, that is, the Word of God. This is that Divine Being, in Whom we live and move and have our being. This is That which was in the beginning, the true I AM. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was not yea nor nay but in Him was yea. He bid Moses say, I AM hath sent me.
15. With this Good therefore let our soul be, and if possible, be continually, that each of us may say, My soul is continually in my hand. And such will be the case, if it be not in the flesh, but in the spirit, and does not entangle itself in earthly things. For when it turns back to carnal things, then the allurements of the body creep over it, then it swells with rage and anger, then it is pierced with sorrow, then it is lifted up with arrogance, then it is bowed down with grief.
16. These are the heavy griefs of the soul by which it is often brought down to death, while its eyes are blinded so that they see not the light of true glory, and the riches of its eternal heritage. But by keeping them always fixed on God, it will receive from Christ the brightness of wisdom, so as to have its vision enlightened by the knowledge of God, and to behold that hope of our calling, and see that which is good and well-pleasing and perfect. For that which is good is well-pleasing to the Father, and that which is well-pleasing is perfect, as it is written in the Gospel, Love your enemies, that ye may be the children of your Father Which is in heaven, for, He sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust, which is surely a proof of goodness. Afterwards He concludes by saying, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in heaven is perfect. For charity is perfect; in short it is the fulfilling of the Law; for what can be so good as charity which thinketh no evil?
17. Fly then those regions where dwell envy, ambition, and contention. Therefore let thy mind open itself to receive this Good, that it may mount above the clouds, that it may be renewed as the eagle, and like the eagle spread abroad its wings, that with new vigour in its pinions it may fearlessly soar aloft and leave its earthly dwelling-place behind it, for the earthly habitation weigheth down the mind. Let it put off old things, let it cast off wandering desires, let it purge its eyes that it may see that Fountain of true wisdom, that Source of eternal life Which flows and abounds with all things and is in want of nothing. For who hath given to Him, seeing that of Him and through Him and to Him are all things?
18. The Fountain of life then is that chief Good from Which the means of life are dispensed to all, but It hath life abiding in Itself. It receiveth from none as though It were in need, It confers good on others rather than borrows from others for Itself, for It hath no need of us. Thus in the person of man it is said, my goods are nothing unto Thee. What then can be more lovely than to approach to Him, to cleave to Him; what pleasure can be greater? He who has seen and tasted freely of the Fountain of living water, what else can he desire? what kingdoms? what powers? what riches? perceiving how miserable even in this world is the condition of kings, how mutable the state of empires, how short the space of this life, in what bondage sovereigns themselves must live, seeing that their life is according to the will of others, not their own.
19. But what rich man passes to eternal life unless he be supported by the riches of virtue, that gift which is the portion of all, and declared to be impossible for the rich alone? Happiness then does not consist in using these things but in perceiving that whereby you may despise them, may regard them as void of truth , may judge them to be empty and fruitless, and may love the true beauty of naked truth which confesses the cheating vanities of this world.
20. Lift up therefore your eyes, O my soul; those eyes of which the Word of God saith, Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes. Go up then to the palm tree, overcome the world, that thou mayest reach the height of the Word. Leave out of doors the vain shows of this world, leave its malice, but bring in with you that goodness of mind which has grace in the tree of life, that is, if she wash her robes and enter into the city which is the true grace of the saints, wherein is the Tabernacle of God, around which the scribes of the Lord encamp, where neither day nor sun nor moon afford light, but the Lord Himself is the light thereof, and enlightens all that city. For He is the Light of the world, not indeed the visible light, but the intellectual brightness of the souls which are in this world, upon which He pours the bright beams of reason and of prudence, and in the Gospel is said to inspire with the breath of His spiritual influences the inmost soul, and the recesses of the mind.
21. If then any man hath begun to be an inhabitant of that heavenly city, an inhabitant, that is, by his life and manners, let him not depart from it, let him not go out again, or retrace his steps, the steps, that is, not of his body but of his mind; let him not turn back. Behind is luxury, behind is impurity. When Lot went up into the mountain he left behind him the crimes of Sodom, but she who looked back, could not reach the higher ground. It is not your feet but your manners which are never to turn back. Let not your hands hang down, or the knees of your faith and devotion become feeble. Let not the weakness of your will be backsliding, let there be no recurrence of crime. Thou hast entered in, remain therefore; thou hast arrived, stay still; escape for thy life.
22. In your ascent your steps must tend directly upwards, no man can safely turn back. Here is the way, there, downfall; here ascent, there a precipice. In ascending there is labour, in descending danger; but the Lord is mighty, Who, when thou art founded there will guard and hedge thee round with prophetic walls and apostolic bulwarks. Therefore the Lord says to thee, Come, get you down, for the press is full. Let us be found within, not out of doors. In the Gospel too the Son of God saith, He which shall be upon the house-top let him not come down to take away his vessels. And this He says not of this house-top, but of that of which it is said, He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault.
23. Remain within therefore, within Jerusalem, within thine own soul, peaceful, meek, and tranquil. Leave her not, nor descend in order to raise up this vessel of thine, either with honour, or wealth, or pride. Remain within, that aliens may not pass through thee, that sins may not pass through thy mind, vain acts., and idle thoughts: and they will not pass, if thou wilt wage a holy war in the cause of faith and devotion, for the love of truth against the snares of passion, and wilt take up the arms of God against spiritual wickedness and the craft of the devil, who tempts our senses by fraud and stratagem, but who is easily crushed by the gentle warrior, who sees no strife, but, as becomes the servant of God, teaches the faith with modesty, and convinces those who oppose themselves. Of him the Scripture says, Let the warrior who is gentle arise , and let him that is weak say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
24. Supported by this faith, even he who is weak shall prevail, and his soul will be holy, and the prophetic or apostolic mountains shall drop down new wine for him, and the hills shall flow with milk, like that hill which gave milk to the Corinthians to drink, and water shall flow for him from their vessels, and from their well-heads. From his belly shall flow living water, that spiritual water which the Holy Spirit supplies to His faithful; may He vouchsafe to water thy soul also, that in thee may be a fountain springing up into life eternal. Farewell; love me as a son, for I love you as a father,
> > LETTER XXX. [A.D.389.] > > S. AMBROSE here continues the subject of the last Letter, dwelling- especially on the duty of rising above the level of earthly things, and bringing together various passages of the Old Testament which he interprets spiritually as setting forth this Lesson. The true follower of Christ will build Him a Temple in his heart, which his Lord will fill with the adornment of spiritual graces.
AMBROSE TO IRENAEUS, GREETING.
1. AFTER I had finished my last letter and directed it to be conveyed to you, the words which the Lord spake by the prophet Haggai came into my mind, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses? What is the meaning of this but that we ought to dwell on high, not in low and subterranean abodes? For they who dwell beneath the earth, cannot build the temple of God, but say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built, because it is the mark of sensual persons to seek underground dwellings, courting the cool of summer, being enervated by indulgence and requiring shady retreats to enable them to bear the heat, or because the slothful live at ease beneath the earth, or lastly because dark and shady places suit them best, concealing, (as they believe,) their crimes. I am compassed about with darkness, the walls cover me, what need I to fear? But in vain do they hope for this, when God beholds the hidden depths of the abyss, and discovers all things before they take place.
2. But neither Elijah nor Eiisha dwelt in underground dwellings. Moreover the former carried the dead son of the widow up into the loft where he abode, and there raised him to life; and for the latter, that great woman, the Shunamite, prepared a chamber on the wall, and there she obtained the privilege of conceiving a son, for she was barren, and there also she saw the miracle of his restoration to life. And what shall I say of Peter who at the sixth hour went up upon the house-top, and there learnt the mystery of the baptism of the Gentiles. But the homicide Absalom had reared for himself a pillar in the King's dale, and then, after his death, he was cast into a great pit. So then the saints ascend unto the Lord, the wicked descend to crime; the saints are on the mountains, the wicked in the valleys; For God is the God of the hills, not of the plains.
3. Those therefore who dwelt in the plain, where God dwells not, could not have the house of God in themselves; for this is the house which God required of them, that they should build up themselves, and should erect within them the temple of God with the living stones of faith. For it was not the erection of earthly walls nor of wooden roofs that He required, for these, had they existed, would have been destroyed by the enemies' hand; but He sought for that temple which should be raised in men's minds, to whom it might be said, Ye are the Temple of God, wherein the Lord Jesus was to dwell, and from whence He was to proceed for the redemption of the world. Thus in the womb of a Virgin a sacred chamber was to be prepared, wherein the King of heaven might dwell, and the human Body might become the temple of God, Which also when It was destroyed, was to be raised again in three days.
4. But such a house as this sensual persons, they who dwell in cieled houses and delight in chased silver, do not build. For as they despise pure silver, so also they despise simple dwellings. They enlarge the site of their houses, they add more and more, joining house to house and farm to farm, they dig up the ground; so that the very earth itself gives way to their habitations, and like sons of the earth they are laid up within her womb, and hidden in her bowels. They surely are those of whom Jeremiah says, Woe unto him that buildeth his house in unrighteousness. For he who builds in righteousness, builds not on earth but in heaven.
5. Thou hast built, saith the Prophet, a house, measure the upper chambers of it, even airy chambers, furnished with windows, deled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Now he measureth the upper chambers, who, having contemplated the judgment of God, judgeth the judgment of the humble and the judgment of the poor. But he who seeks after gain and the blood of the innocent builds not his chambers with judgment, nor keeps the due measure, because he has not Christ, nor looks for the breath of Divine grace upon him, nor does he desire the brightness of full light, nor has he chambers painted with vermilion, for it cannot be said to him, Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet.
6. A man of this sort, it is said, shall not be buried, for he who has burrowed in the earth, and buried himself alive, so to speak, in a tomb, has deprived himself when dead of the rest of burial. And thus, laid in the pit of carnal pleasures, he has found no grave from whence to rise. Such a man therefore builds no temple to God, because he hath not known the time of his correction. How then can such men build a temple, who like wild beasts betake themselves to dens and hiding places, who like serpents bury themselves in ditches, and burrow in the earth like crafty foxes?
7. Neither does he build a sepulchre for himself who dies before the time, for he is dead while he liveth; and he hears not the voice of Haggai, that is being interpreted, of the Feaster, for he enters not the Tabernacle of God, in the voice of praise and thanksgiving, the sound of one feasting. For how can he hear His voice, who sees not
His works? If he saw them, he would have heard the Word which has been put in His Hand, rejoicing in His acts, whereby He knocked and it was opened to Him, and He descended into his soul that He might feed therein upon the food of sincerity and truth.
8. Now because he has not heard, the word of Haggai comes again to hand, and says, Rise up from your cieled houses that are weighed down by wickedness, and go up to the mountain of the heavenly Scriptures, and hew wood, the wood of wisdom, the wood of life, the wood of knowledge; and make straight your ways, direct your acts that they may keep their due order which is useful and necessary for building the house of God.
9. For if ye do it not, the heaven over you shall be stayed of her dew, that is, the heavenly Word, Which descends as the dew upon the grass, shall not temper the fevered motions of your bodily passions, nor extinguish the fiery darts of your various desires; and the earth, that is, your soul, shall be stayed from her fruit, so that it shall be dried up, unless fully watered by the Word of God, and sprinkled with heavenly dew, even the fulness of spiritual Grace.
10. And as He knew how slothful they are who dwelt beneath the earth, and in the dark abodes of pleasure, I will stir up, it is said, the spirit of Jerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, that they may be stirred up to build the Divine house. For except the Lord build the house, their labour is lost that build it. Now Zerubbabel means, 'constant overflowing,' like the Fountain of life, and the Word of God, by Whom and from Whom are all things and in Whom all things consist. Thus saith the overflowing Fountain, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink; drink, that is, from the stream of the unfailing flood. We read also of Zabulon, a nocturnal flood, that is to say prophetic, but it also is now brightened by the intermixture of this stream, whereby was swallowed up that flood of vanity typified by Jezabel, which was opposed to truth and to the utterances of prophets, and was so torn in pieces by dogs that not a trace of it remained, but all its frame with every mark of its posterity was destroyed. Zerubbabel therefore of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the High Priest, thus designated both by tribe and name seem to represent two persons, though one only is meant; for He Who as Almighty, is born from the Almighty, as Redeemer is born of the Virgin, being the Same in the diversity of His two divisible natures, hath fulfilled as the Giant of salvation the verity of the one Son of God.
11. Now being about to raise from the dead holy Zerubbabel He says, Yet once, it is a little while, I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. Once before he had shaken these things when He delivered his people from Egypt, when there was in heaven a pillar of fire, dry land among the waves, a wall in the sea, a path in the waters, when in the desert a daily supply of heavenly food was produced, and the rock was melted into streams of water. But He shook them also afterwards in the Passion of the Lord Jesus, when the heaven was covered with darkness, the sun withdrew his light, the rocks were rent, the tombs opened, the dead raised, the Dragon, vanquished on his own waves, saw the fishers of men not only sailing, but even walking on the sea without danger.
12. The dry land was also shaken when the barren Gentile nations began to ripen with the harvest of devotion and faith, and the desert and the Gentiles were so much shaken, that the preaching of the Apostles, whom He sent to call the Gentiles, was so loud and vehement, that their sound went out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world. So greatly, indeed, was the desert shaken that more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, and the desert blossomed as a rose, the elect of the Gentiles entered in to the remnant of the people, that the remnant might be saved according to the election of grace.
13. And I will fill, it is said, this house with My silver and gold, with the heavenly oracles, which are as silver tried in the fire, and in the brightness of the true light, glistening like spiritual gold in the secret hearts of the saints. These riches He confers on His Church, riches whereby spiritual treasures are increased, and the glory of the house is exalted above the former glory which the elect people enjoyed.
14. For peace and tranquillity of the soul is above all glory of any house; for peace passeth all understanding. This is that peace above all peace which shall be granted after the third shaking of the heaven, the sea, the earth and the dry land, when He shall destroy all Principalities and Powers. For heaven and earth shall pass away, and all the fashion of this world; and every man shall rise up against his brother with the sword, that is, with the word piercing the marrow of the soul, that whatever opposes itself, the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem may be cut off, as Zechariah says. And thus there will be peace over all, the passions of the body offering no resistance, and the unbelieving mind no obstacle, that Christ may be all in all, offering in subjection to the Father the hearts of all men.
15. Wherefore to Him alone is it mystically said, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel, and will make thee as a signet, for I have chosen thee. When our mind shall have become peaceful so that it may be said to her, Return, return, O Shulamite, which signifies 'peaceful,' or, to use your own name, Irenice, then shall she receive Christ like a signet on herself, that is, the Image of God, that she may be according to that Image, for as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And it behoves us to bear the image of the heavenly, that is, peace.
16. And that we may know the truth of this, it is said in the Canticles to the soul now fully perfect, that which may the Lord Jesus say to you also, Set me as a seal upon thine arm; that peace may shine in your heart and Christ in your works, and that wisdom and righteousness and redemption may be formed in you. Farewell, my son: love me for I love you.
> Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine luna > Felices operum; quintam fuge, etc.
> > > > > Procedit e thalamo suo, > > > > > Pudoris aula regia > > > > > Geminae Gigas substantiae > > > > > Alacris ut currat viam. > > > > > Egressus Ejus a Patre, > > > > > Regressus Ejus ad Patrem, > > > > > Excursus usque ad Inferos, > > > > > Recursus ad sedem Dei.
In the De Incarn. ch. v. he gives a fuller explanation. 'Him the Prophet Daniel describes as a Giant, because being of a twofold nature, He partaketh in one Person both of the Godhead and of a human Body, and exulted in going forth as a Bridegroom from His chamber, like a Giant, to run His course. He is Bridegroom of the soul as being the Word, He is a Giant of earth because He fulfilled all the duties of our daily life, and, though He was ever the eternal God, took upon Him the Mystery of the Incarnation.