Part 43

Sidenote: For Mic. v. 10.

Sidenote: 2 Cor. vii. 5.

Sidenote: Eph. ii. 14.

18. Then there shall be to them _dew from the Lord_, and rest; then the soul of the just shall be _as a young lion among the flocks of sheep_. I cannot doubt but that this similitude should, after the manner of the Gospel, be referred to Christ, for He has said, _Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father_. _his chariots shall be broken_; that is to say, the senseless impulses and motions of the body shall be appeased; that condition shall cease wherein _Without are fightings, within are fears_, and over all, that is, within and without, tranquillity shall prevail; nor shall there be any resistance or repugnance to this good will, because the obedience of the flesh, when _the middle wall of partition is broken down_, and both are made one, shall abolish all discord.

Sidenote: Mic. vi. 8.

Sidenote: Ib. vii. 1.

Sidenote: Ib. 2.

19. But if any weak soul, like Israel according to the flesh have stumbled, and, shaken by persecutions, have separated herself in some degree from the love of Christ, she is checked and reproved as faithless, and ungrateful, and unbelieving, as one who, after being freed from the vanities of the world, has looked behind her and so relapsed into them again; as one from whom no gifts, no sacrifice of bulls, but only to know what is good and to do justly, has been required. _He hath showed thee, o man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to have mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?_ But since the weaker soul has not kept this commandment, the Lord says to her, _Woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage_. And the prophet, in whom the Lord spoke, says to that soul, _Woe is me, the good man is perished out of the earth_. This is as though the Lord Himself spoke, in compassion for the future punishment of sin, and as weeping over our transgressions.

Sidenote: Ib. 8.

20. Then the soul, learning that she will gather no fruit from what she has sown; that in the loss of her harvest nothing will remain to strengthen her, that she will press her olives, but will find no oil of gladness, nor will drink the wine of pleasantness; finding also in the works of the flesh all things full of blood, full of circumvention, of fraud and deceit, hollow shows of affection, and pre-concerted guile; nay, those of her own household adverse to her; and therefore that the motions of her companion the body, which are grievous enemies of the soul, must be guarded against; turns to God, and begins to hope in Him, and knowing that the flesh is truly an enemy to her, says to it, _Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy, when I fall I shall arise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me_.

Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 5.

Sidenote: Mic. vii. 9.

Sidenote: Mic. vii. 9.

Sidenote: Ib.

21. Finding moreover that she is mocked by some power which opposes her following a better path, and domineers over her, so that she has been delivered _for the destruction of the flesh_, to be afflicted with various evils, assigned to her either by the Lord to satisfy for her sins, or by the Evil One who is envious of her conversion, and desires to harass and regain her to himself, finding this, she says, _I will bear the indignation of the Lord_, Who either chastens me in my fall, or has given thee power to persecute me, _because I have sinned against Him_, but I will endure _until He plead my cause_. For unless I shall confess, and pay the price of my iniquities, I cannot be justified. But being justified and having paid double for my sins, He shall _execute judgment for me_, laying aside His wrath, since the sentence against me is satisfied. _He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness_ and gaze on His delights. Then she that is mine enemy, that is, the malice of the devil, shall see the light of my reconciliation and _shame shall cover her which saith to me, Where is the Lord thy God?_ She shall behold in me His pity and His love.

22. Wherefore let us not listen to him when we are in any of the troubles of this world, be it bodily pain, or the loss of our children, or of other necessaries, let us not listen to his words, _Where is the Lord thy God?_ It is under severe pain that his temptations are to be feared, it is then that he seeks to turn the sick soul astray.

Sidenote: Ib. 18.

Sidenote: Ps. xxxii. 1.

23. Wherefore the soul which has not listened to his allurements, seeing afterwards the wonderful works of God, seeing herself in heaven, and the devil creeping upon the earth, will congratulate herself saying, _Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by transgression?_ Thou hast not been mindful of Thy indignation, but hast cast all our iniquities into the sea as the lead of Egypt, and hast graciously returned to have pity upon us, both forgiving and hiding our offences, as it is written, _Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered_. For some sins Thou dost wash away in the blood of Thy Son, others Thou dost remit unto us, that by good works and confession we may cover our errors. The expression therefore _that pardoneth iniquities_, appertains to remission; because He takes them away altogether, so that the things which He remembers not are as though they did not exist. But the words _passeth by transgression_, signify that inasmuch as we confess our failings, and cover them with the fruit of our good works, they are referred to the author of our fault, and the instigator of our sin. For what else does he who confesses his fault do but prove himself to have been beguiled by the craft and malice of that spiritual wickedness which is his adversary?

24. For this therefore this soul gives thanks, that the Lord both _pardoneth iniquities and passeth by transgressions_, and _casts them into the deep of the sea_. Which may also be referred to Baptism, wherein the Egyptian is drowned, the Hebrew rises again; and whereby by the depths of His wisdom, and the multitude of her good works her former sins are covered, through the riches of the mercy of our God, Who is mindful of the promise which He gave to Abraham, and suffers not that soul which is heir of Abraham to perish.

25. It is by these means that such a soul is recovered. But do you, my son, who from the first flower of boyhood have been an heir of the Church which bore and which sustains you, persevere in your purpose, mindful of the grace of God, and of the gift which you have received by the imposition of my hands, that in this degree[282] also, as in the holy office of deacon, you may shew faith and industry, and expect a recompense from the Lord Jesus.

Farewell; love me as a son, for I also love you.

LETTER LXXI.

S. AMBROSE in this letter continues the subject of the last, and, having described in that the steps by which the fallen soul recovers herself, here considers how the faithful soul is taken in charge, taught and conducted to perfection by Christ: and shews that the stages in the progress of such a soul are typified by the journies of Christ.

AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.

Sidenote: Rom. xi. 25.

1. IN my last letter I spoke of the soul that has made in its progress certain devious circuits, wavering, as Israel according to the flesh did of old, to and fro. For Israel herself also, when _the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in_, shall be delivered by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: the Gentile soul meanwhile, whose transgression has been lighter, having by her conversion worked her own recovery. In my present letter I will treat of the daughter of the Church; and consider how the Lord Jesus first took her under His care, taught her, and, in His Gospel, led her on to perfection.

2. Now it was as she lay in misery and confusion that He first took her under His care,――for how else but miserably can that soul live, which is exiled from Paradise?――and brought her to Bethlehem. The progress then, of this soul is at once signified in that it goes up to the “house of bread[283],” where it can know no death or barrenness of faith. Observe, I am now speaking of souls in general, those souls by which we live and move, not of any soul in particular; for it is not of the individual or species, but of souls in general that I purpose to discourse.

3. Christ went down into Egypt, as Protector and Guide of our soul, from thence He returned into Judæa. He was in the wilderness, in Capernaum; near the borders of Zabulon; by the sea coast; He passed through the corn fields; He was in Bethphage; in Ephraim; in Bethany; then He passed over into the garden, where He gave Himself up; on Calvary, where He suffered.

Sidenote: Phil. ii. 8.

4. All these are the progresses of our soul, and exercised thereby she receives the graces of a holy life[284]. For the human race, when excluded from Paradise in Adam and Eve, and banished to the village[285], began to roam up and down and to wander about with careless steps: but in His own good time the Lord Jesus _emptied Himself_ that He might receive this exile into himself, and re-form her again to her previous state of grace. And thus, when found, she retraced, as the Gospel lesson teaches us, her devious course of error, and was recalled to Paradise.

Sidenote: 1 Kings x. 22.

5. He led her through the cornfields that He might satisfy her hunger, first in the desert, then to Capernaum, making her abode to be not in the city but in the field: next He brought her to the borders of Zabulon, near unto the floods of night, that is, the darker riddles of the prophets; that she might learn thereby to reach to the borders of the Gentiles, that common centre, and not to fear the storms and billows of this world. Why should she, seeing that Christ has ships of Tarshish, mystical ships I mean, which traverse the sea, and bring pious offerings for the building of the Temple? In such ships as these Christ sails, and like a good pilot rests in the stern while the sea is calm; when it is disturbed He awakes, and rebukes the winds, that He may anew shew peace on His disciples. Furthermore, by passing over to the Gentiles, He delivers the soul which was bound by the chains of the Law, that she may not pass over and keep company with the heathen.

Sidenote: S. John xi. 54.

Sidenote: Ib. xii. 1.

6. He came to Bethany to the “place of obedience;” therefore was the dead there raised; for when the flesh is subdued to the spirit, human nature no longer lies as if dead in the tomb, but is raised again by the grace of Christ; there also she professes to offer herself to ‘suffering’[286] for the Name of God. From the place of obedience, as John tells us, He is led to Ephraim, that is, to the “fecundity of good fruits.” Hence He returns to Bethany, that is, to “obedience;” for she who has once tasted the fruit of holy obedience is for the most part ready to preserve it and to be proved thereby.

7. And now, having been proved, she comes to Jerusalem, being made worthy to become the temple of God wherein Christ may dwell. Here it is that the Lord Jesus, sitting upon the foal of an ass, is received with the joy and congratulation of the age of innocence.

Sidenote: Ib. xviii. 8.

Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 43.

Sidenote: Ib. 42.

8. Afterwards are taught in the garden the words of eternal life; in that place where the Lord permitted Himself to be taken, as John the Evangelist writes, signifying that our soul, or rather human nature, released from the bonds of error, is restored by Christ to that abode from whence in Adam she was cast. Wherefore to the thief who confessed Him it is said, _Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise_. The thief had said, _Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom_. Christ answered not concerning His kingdom, but yet to the purpose, _To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise_, that is, What has been lost must first be restored, then the increase bestowed; that thus the progress may be through Paradise to the kingdom, not through the kingdom to Paradise.

Sidenote: S. Matt. xvi. 19.

9. For the disciples it is reserved that they may receive an ample reward for their labours; and therefore to the thief He promised a sojourn, but deferred the kingdom. So that to him who is converted under the stroke of death, and confesses the Lord Jesus, to him let an abode in Paradise be vouchsafed, but for him who has undergone long travail, who has fought for Christ, who has won over souls and offered himself for Christ, for his wages let the kingdom of God be prepared; and let him rejoice in the fruition of this reward. To Peter it is said, _I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven_; and thus, while the convert from robbery obtains rest, on him who has been proved in the Apostolate authority is bestowed.

Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 22.

10. This is the Evangelical soul, the soul of the Gentiles, the daughter of the Church, far better than the soul cast out of Judæa; raising herself from her earthly course to the Lord Jesus and to higher things by good counsels and works; received by Christ upon Golgotha. Upon Golgotha was the sepulchre of Adam; that Christ by His Cross might raise him from death. Thus where in Adam was the death of all, there in Christ was the resurrection of all.

Farewell, my son; love me, for I also love you.

LETTER LXXII.

IN this letter S. Ambrose deals with the question of the rite of circumcision, and explains to Constantius why it was established in the Old Testament and yet done away in the New. He speaks also of the true and spiritual circumcision which belongs to Christians.

AMBROSE TO CONSTANTIUS.

Sidenote: Acts xv. 10.

Sidenote: S. John viii. 56.

Sidenote: Gen. xvii. 10.

1. MANY persons have raised an important question why circumcision should be enjoined as profitable by the authority of the Old Testament, and rejected as useless by the teaching of the New; especially since it was Abraham, who _saw the day_ of the Lord Jesus _and was glad_, who first received the command to observe the rite of circumcision. For it is manifest that he directed his mind not to the literal but to the spiritual sense of the Divine Law, and so in the sacrifice of the lamb saw the true passion of the Lord’s Body.

2. What then shall we consider to have been the aim of our father Abraham, in first instituting that which his posterity were not to follow? or for what reason are the bodies of infants circumcised, and in their very birth subjected to dangers, and this at the Divine command, so that peril of their life ensues from a mystery of religion. What is the meaning of this? For the ground of the truth is hidden, and either something should have been signified by an ♦intelligible mystery, or else it should have been indicated by a mystery which was not so full of danger.

3. And why was the sign of the Divine Testament attached to that member which is considered as less comely to sight; or with what purpose did the Creator of our body Himself, in the very beginning of our race, choose that His work should be wounded and stained with blood, and a portion of it cut off, which He, Who has disposed all things in order, deemed proper to form together with the other members, as though it were necessary? For this portion of our bodies is either contrary to nature, and then no man ought to have that which is contrary to nature, or it is according to nature, and that ought not to be cut off which was created according to the perfection of nature; especially since aliens from the portion of the Lord our God are wont to make this a chief subject of ridicule. Again as it is God’s purpose, as He has frequently declared, to induce as many persons as possible to the observance of holy religion, how much more would they be invited, were not some deterred either by the danger or reproach of this very circumcision.

4. To return therefore to my first purpose and follow the order I have proposed, it seems good to speak of the nature itself of circumcision. The defence of this ought to be twofold, for so is the accusation, the one brought by the Gentiles, the other by those who are considered as belonging to the people of God, more vigorously on the part of the Gentiles, for they deem men marked with circumcision to be worthy even of scorn and disgrace. Yet their own wisest men approve of circumcision, so as to think it right to circumcise those whom they select to know and celebrate their mysteries[287].

5. The Egyptians too, who apply themselves to geometry and observing the courses of the stars, consider a priest who does not bear the mark of circumcision impious. For they believe that neither the wisdom of incantation, nor geometry, nor astronomy can attain their due power without the seal of circumcision. And therefore, in order to render their operations efficacious they choose to solemnize a certain purification of their own by means of the secret rite of circumcision.

6. And we find in ancient history that not only the Egyptians but also some of the Æthiopians Arabs and Phœnicians used circumcision. And in maintaining this custom they think that they are maintaining one still to approved, for being thus initiated by means of the first fruits of their own body and blood, they conceive that by the consecration of this small portion, the snares which demons lay for our kind will be defeated; and that those who attempt to injure the well-being of the whole man, may find their power baffled either by the law or the semblance of sacred circumcision. For I am of opinion that heretofore the Prince of devils has deemed that his arts would lose their baneful efficacy if he were to attempt to injure one whom he found initiated by the seal of sacred circumcision, or one who seemed at least in this respect to obey the Divine law.

Sidenote: Gen. xvii. 12.

7. Now he who diligently considers the functions of our several members will be able to judge that it was for no unmeaning purpose that as regards this little portion of this member the child was not only circumcised but circumcised also on the eighth day; when the mother of the child begins to be in pure blood, having before the eighth day been considered as sitting in unclean blood. Let so much have been said in reply to those who are not joined with us in unity of faith; on which account discussion with them, as differing from us, becomes more difficult.

Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. i. 18, 19.

8. But to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we have to offer the following reply, which, when we were disputing against the opinions of Gentiles, we were unwilling to disclose. For if we were _redeemed not with corruptible silver and gold, but with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ_, and purchased from no one but him who had purchased with money, and was owner of, the services of our now sinful race, beyond a doubt he demanded a price for releasing from his service those whom he kept in bondage. But the price of our freedom was the Blood of the Lord Jesus, which of necessity was to be paid to him to whom we were sold by our sins.

Sidenote: Rom. vi. 5 sq.

9. Until, therefore, this price should have been paid for all men which by the shedding of the Lord’s Blood had to be so paid for the absolution of all, the blood of every man, who, by the Law and solemn custom were to follow the precepts of holy religion, was required. But, since one Lord Christ suffered, seeing that the ransom is now paid for all, there is now no longer any need that the blood of every man one by one should be shed by circumcision, for in the Blood of Christ the circumcision of all has been solemnized, and in His Cross we are all crucified together with Him, and buried in His sepulchre, and _planted together in the likeness of His death, that henceforth we should not serve sin: for he that is dead, is free from sin_.

Sidenote: S. Matt. xvi. 24.

10. But if any one, such as Marcion and Manichæus, deem the judgment of God to be worthy of blame, either because He thought fit to give command concerning the observance of circumcision, or because He published a law directing the effusion of blood; he must needs consider the Lord Jesus also worthy of blame, Who shed not a little but much blood for the redemption of the world, and up to this hour commands us also to shed our blood for the great contest of Religion, saying, _If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me_. But if in the case of a man offering his whole self out of piety, and cleansing himself by the effusion of much blood, such an accusation is not just, how can we blame the Law, for exacting a little drop of blood, when we proclaim the command of the Lord Jesus for the shedding of much blood, and the death of the whole body?

11. Nor was the very symbol and semblance of circumcision useless, for the people of God, signed thereby as by a certain bodily seal, was distinguished from the other nations. But the name of Christ being now bestowed upon them they have no need of a bodily sign, for they have obtained the honour of a Divine appellation. But what was there absurd in somewhat of pain or labour seeming to be imposed for piety’s sake, to the intent that by such contests devotion might be better tried? It is becoming also that from the very cradle of life the symbol of religion should grow with our growth, and that all of a maturer age should be ashamed to yield either to labour or pain when their tender infancy had conquered both.