Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts
Song of Solomon 5
There are 42 footnotes for this reference.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 394, footnote 4 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Epistles of Cyprian. (HTML)
Firmilian, Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, to Cyprian, Against the Letter of Stephen. A.D. 256. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2939 (In-Text, Margin)
... Church, it is she herself who alone bears sons of God. For there are not many spouses of Christ, since the apostle says, “I have espoused you, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ;” and, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, for the King hath greatly desired thy beauty;” and, “Come with me, my spouse, from Lebanon; thou shalt come, and shalt pass over from the source of thy faith;” and, “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.”[Song of Solomon 5:1] We see that one person is everywhere set forward, because also the spouse is one. But the synagogue of heretics is not one with us, because the spouse is not an adulteress and a harlot. Whence also she cannot bear children of God; unless, as appears ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 456, footnote 1 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)
On the Lord's Prayer. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3387 (In-Text, Margin)
... remember you when you ask, if you yourself do not remember yourself? This is absolutely to take no precaution against the enemy; this is, when you pray to God, to offend the majesty of God by the carelessness of your prayer; this is to be watchful with your eyes, and to be asleep with your heart, while the Christian, even though he is asleep with his eyes, ought to be awake with his heart, as it is written in the person of the Church speaking in the Song of Songs, “I sleep, yet my heart waketh.”[Song of Solomon 5:2] Wherefore the apostle anxiously and carefully warns us, saying, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same;” teaching, that is, and showing that those are able to obtain from God what they ask, whom God sees to be watchful in their prayer.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 3, page 553, footnote 10 (Image)
Theodoret, Jerome and Gennadius, Rufinus and Jerome
Life and Works of Rufinus with Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus. (HTML)
A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed. (HTML)
Section 26 (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3343 (In-Text, Margin)
... even in his day, said to the people, “Their vine is of the vineyards of Sodom, and their branch of Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, and their cluster a cluster of bitterness.” And again, the Prophet upbraiding them says, “Oh foolish people and unwise, have ye thus requited the Lord?” Moreover, in the Canticles the same things are foretold, where even the garden in which the Lord was crucified is indicated: “I have come into my garden, my sister, my spouse, and have gathered in my myrrh.”[Song of Solomon 5:1] Here the Prophet has plainly set forth the wine mingled with myrrh which the Lord has given Him to drink.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 281, footnote 7 (Image)
Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters
Arian History. (Historia Arianorum ad Monachos.) (HTML)
Arian History. (Historia Arianorum ad Monachos.) (HTML)
Second Arian Persecution under Constantius. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1615 (In-Text, Margin)
... more so, and not the part of men who have confidence in what they believe, to force and compel the unwilling. In this manner it is that the Devil, when he has no truth on his side, attacks and breaks down the doors of them that admit him with axes and hammers. But our Saviour is so gentle that He teaches thus, ‘If any man wills to come after Me,’ and, ‘Whoever wills to be My disciple;’ and coming to each He does not force them, but knocks at the door and says, ‘Open unto Me, My sister, My spouse[Song of Solomon 5:2];’ and if they open to Him, He enters in, but if they delay and will not, He departs from them. For the truth is not preached with swords or with darts, nor by means of soldiers; but by persuasion and counsel. But what persuasion is there where fear ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 24, footnote 15 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 382 (In-Text, Margin)
... shall they hear the words: “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground; there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldæans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstone and grind meal; uncover thy locks, make bare the legs, pass over the rivers; thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen.” And shall she come to this after the bridal-chamber of God the Son, after the kisses of Him who is to her both kinsman and spouse?[Song of Solomon 5:2] Yes, she of whom the prophetic utterance once sang, “Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in a vesture of gold wrought about with divers colours,” shall be made naked, and her skirts shall be discovered upon her face. She shall sit by the waters ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 32, footnote 16 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 529 (In-Text, Margin)
25. Ever let the privacy of your chamber guard you; ever let the Bridegroom sport with you within. Do you pray? You speak to the Bridegroom. Do you read? He speaks to you. When sleep overtakes you He will come behind and put His hand through the hole of the door, and your heart shall be moved for Him; and you will awake and rise up and say: “I am sick of love.”[Song of Solomon 5:2] Then He will reply: “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 32, footnote 16 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 529 (In-Text, Margin)
25. Ever let the privacy of your chamber guard you; ever let the Bridegroom sport with you within. Do you pray? You speak to the Bridegroom. Do you read? He speaks to you. When sleep overtakes you He will come behind and put His hand through the hole of the door, and your heart shall be moved for Him; and you will awake and rise up and say: “I am sick of love.”[Song of Solomon 5:4] Then He will reply: “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 32, footnote 16 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 529 (In-Text, Margin)
25. Ever let the privacy of your chamber guard you; ever let the Bridegroom sport with you within. Do you pray? You speak to the Bridegroom. Do you read? He speaks to you. When sleep overtakes you He will come behind and put His hand through the hole of the door, and your heart shall be moved for Him; and you will awake and rise up and say: “I am sick of love.”[Song of Solomon 5:8] Then He will reply: “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 32, footnote 21 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 534 (In-Text, Margin)
... the streets; do not go round the corners of the city. For though you may say: “I will rise now and go about the city: in the streets and in the broad ways I will seek Him whom my soul loveth,” and though you may ask the watchmen: “Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth?” no one will deign to answer you. The Bridegroom cannot be found in the streets: “Strait and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life.” So the Song goes on: “I sought him but I could not find him: I called him but he gave me no answer.”[Song of Solomon 5:6] And would that failure to find Him were all. You will be wounded and stripped, you will lament and say: “The watchmen that went about the city found me: they smote me, they wounded me, they took away my veil from me.” Now if one who could say: “I ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 32, footnote 22 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 535 (In-Text, Margin)
... the watchmen: “Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth?” no one will deign to answer you. The Bridegroom cannot be found in the streets: “Strait and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life.” So the Song goes on: “I sought him but I could not find him: I called him but he gave me no answer.” And would that failure to find Him were all. You will be wounded and stripped, you will lament and say: “The watchmen that went about the city found me: they smote me, they wounded me, they took away my veil from me.”[Song of Solomon 5:7] Now if one who could say: “I sleep but my heart waketh,” and “A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts”; if one who could speak thus suffered so much because she went abroad, what shall become of us who ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 32, footnote 23 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 536 (In-Text, Margin)
... deign to answer you. The Bridegroom cannot be found in the streets: “Strait and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life.” So the Song goes on: “I sought him but I could not find him: I called him but he gave me no answer.” And would that failure to find Him were all. You will be wounded and stripped, you will lament and say: “The watchmen that went about the city found me: they smote me, they wounded me, they took away my veil from me.” Now if one who could say: “I sleep but my heart waketh,”[Song of Solomon 5:2] and “A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts”; if one who could speak thus suffered so much because she went abroad, what shall become of us who are but young girls; of us who, when the bride goes in ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 33, footnote 8 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 545 (In-Text, Margin)
... the Gospel, pray to your Father in secret, He will come and knock, saying: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man…open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Then straightway you will eagerly reply: “It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled.” It is impossible that you should refuse, and say: “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?”[Song of Solomon 5:2-3] Arise forthwith and open. Otherwise while you linger He may pass on and you may have mournfully to say: “I opened to my beloved, but my beloved was gone.” Why need the doors of your heart be closed to the Bridegroom? Let them be open to Christ but ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 33, footnote 9 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 546 (In-Text, Margin)
... to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Then straightway you will eagerly reply: “It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled.” It is impossible that you should refuse, and say: “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?” Arise forthwith and open. Otherwise while you linger He may pass on and you may have mournfully to say: “I opened to my beloved, but my beloved was gone.”[Song of Solomon 5:6] Why need the doors of your heart be closed to the Bridegroom? Let them be open to Christ but closed to the devil according to the saying: “If the spirit of him who hath power rise up against thee, leave not thy place.” Daniel, in that upper story to ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 138, footnote 15 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Pammachius. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1973 (In-Text, Margin)
10. Whether you read or write, whether you wake or sleep, let the herdsman’s horn of Amos always ring in your ears. Let the sound of the clarion arouse your soul, let the divine love carry you out of yourself; and then seek upon your bed him whom your soul loveth, and boldly say: “I sleep, but my heart waketh.”[Song of Solomon 5:2] And when you have found him and taken hold of him, let him not go. And if you fall asleep for a moment and He escapes from your hands, do not forthwith despair. Go out into the streets and charge the daughters of Jerusalem: then shall you find him lying down in the noontide weary and drunk with passion, or wet with the dew of night by the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 138, footnote 16 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Pammachius. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1974 (In-Text, Margin)
... your soul loveth, and boldly say: “I sleep, but my heart waketh.” And when you have found him and taken hold of him, let him not go. And if you fall asleep for a moment and He escapes from your hands, do not forthwith despair. Go out into the streets and charge the daughters of Jerusalem: then shall you find him lying down in the noontide weary and drunk with passion, or wet with the dew of night by the flocks of his companions, or fragrant with many kinds of spices, amid the apples of the garden.[Song of Solomon 5:2] There give to him your breasts, let him suck your learned bosom, let him rest in the midst of his heritage, his feathers as those of a dove overlaid with silver and his inward parts with the brightness of gold. This young child, this mere boy, who ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 152, footnote 16 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Lucinius. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2217 (In-Text, Margin)
... where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary,” or, as he sings in another place, “lo, then would I wander far off and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.” Since you have left Sodom and are hastening to the mountains, I beseech you with a father’s affection not to look behind you. Your hands have grasped the handle of the plough, the hem of the Saviour’s garment, and His locks wet with the dew of night;[Song of Solomon 5:2] do not let them go. Do not come down from the housetop of virtue to seek for the clothes which you wore of old, nor return home from the field. Do not like Lot set your heart on the plain or upon the pleasant gardens; for these are watered not, as ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 156, footnote 14 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Theodora. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2299 (In-Text, Margin)
May you be kept holy both in body and spirit by the Samaritan—that is, saviour and keeper—of whom it is said in the psalm, “He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” May the watcher and the holy one who came down to Daniel come also to you, that you too may be able to say, “I sleep but my heart waketh.”[Song of Solomon 5:2]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 192, footnote 19 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Laeta. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2701 (In-Text, Margin)
... her imitate the retirement of Mary whom Gabriel found alone in her chamber and who was frightened, it would appear, by seeing a man there. Let the child emulate her of whom it is written that “the king’s daughter is all glorious within.” Wounded with love’s arrow let her say to her beloved, “the king hath brought me into his chambers.” At no time let her go abroad, lest the watchmen find her that go about the city, and lest they smite and wound her and take away from her the veil of her chastity,[Song of Solomon 5:7] and leave her naked in her blood. Nay rather when one knocketh at her door let her say: “I am a wall and my breasts like towers. I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 192, footnote 21 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Laeta. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2703 (In-Text, Margin)
... and who was frightened, it would appear, by seeing a man there. Let the child emulate her of whom it is written that “the king’s daughter is all glorious within.” Wounded with love’s arrow let her say to her beloved, “the king hath brought me into his chambers.” At no time let her go abroad, lest the watchmen find her that go about the city, and lest they smite and wound her and take away from her the veil of her chastity, and leave her naked in her blood. Nay rather when one knocketh at her door[Song of Solomon 5:2] let her say: “I am a wall and my breasts like towers. I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 193, footnote 1 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Laeta. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2705 (In-Text, Margin)
... written that “the king’s daughter is all glorious within.” Wounded with love’s arrow let her say to her beloved, “the king hath brought me into his chambers.” At no time let her go abroad, lest the watchmen find her that go about the city, and lest they smite and wound her and take away from her the veil of her chastity, and leave her naked in her blood. Nay rather when one knocketh at her door let her say: “I am a wall and my breasts like towers. I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?”[Song of Solomon 5:3]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 211, footnote 8 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Eustochium. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3012 (In-Text, Margin)
32. Be not fearful, Eustochium: you are endowed with a splendid heritage. The Lord is your portion; and, to increase your joy, your mother has now after a long martyrdom won her crown. It is not only the shedding of blood that is accounted a confession: the spotless service of a devout mind is itself a daily martyrdom. Both alike are crowned; with roses and violets in the one case, with lilies in the other. Thus in the Song of Songs it is written: “my beloved is white and ruddy;”[Song of Solomon 5:10] for, whether the victory be won in peace or in war, God gives the same guerdon to those who win it. Like Abraham your mother heard the words: “get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, unto a land that I will shew thee;” and not only that but the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 369, footnote 15 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Treatises. (HTML)
Against Jovinianus. (HTML)
Book I (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4468 (In-Text, Margin)
... ravished my heart, my bride, my sister.” The name sister excludes all suspicion of unhallowed love. “How fair are thy breasts with wine,” those breasts concerning which he had said above, My beloved is mine, and I am his: “betwixt my breasts shall he lie,” that is in the princely portion of the heart where the Word of God has its lodging. What wine is that which gives beauty to the breasts of the bride, and fills them with the milk of chastity? That, forsooth, of which the bridegroom goes on to speak:[Song of Solomon 5:1] “I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends: yea, drink and be drunken, my brethren.” Hence the Apostles also were said to be filled with new wine; with new, he says, not with old wine; because new wine is put into fresh ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 370, footnote 1 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Treatises. (HTML)
Against Jovinianus. (HTML)
Book I (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4474 (In-Text, Margin)
... up is my sister, my bride: a garden shut up, a fountain sealed.” That which is shut up and sealed reminds us of the mother of our Lord who was a mother and a Virgin. Hence it was that no one before or after our Saviour was laid in his new tomb, hewn in the solid rock. And yet she that was ever a Virgin is the mother of many virgins. For next we read: “Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with precious fruits.” By pomegranates and fruits is signified the blending of all virtues in virginity.[Song of Solomon 5:10] “My beloved is white and ruddy”; white in virginity, ruddy in martyrdom. And because He is white and ruddy, therefore it is immediately added “His mouth is most sweet, yea, he is altogether lovely.” The virgin bridegroom having been praised by the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 370, footnote 2 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Treatises. (HTML)
Against Jovinianus. (HTML)
Book I (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4475 (In-Text, Margin)
... a mother and a Virgin. Hence it was that no one before or after our Saviour was laid in his new tomb, hewn in the solid rock. And yet she that was ever a Virgin is the mother of many virgins. For next we read: “Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with precious fruits.” By pomegranates and fruits is signified the blending of all virtues in virginity. “My beloved is white and ruddy”; white in virginity, ruddy in martyrdom. And because He is white and ruddy, therefore it is immediately added[Song of Solomon 5:16] “His mouth is most sweet, yea, he is altogether lovely.” The virgin bridegroom having been praised by the virgin bride, in turn praises the virgin bride, and says to her: “How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O daughter of Aminadab,” which is, ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 441, footnote 21 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Treatises. (HTML)
To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5086 (In-Text, Margin)
... new wine from Bosor, that is from flesh, or from the tribulation of the world: for He Himself has conquered the world. And, therefore, His garments are red and shining, because He is beauteous in form more than the sons of men, and on account of the glory of His triumph they have been changed into a white robe; and then, in truth, as concerns Christ’s flesh, were fulfilled the words, “Who is this that cometh up all in white, leaning upon her beloved?” And that which is written in the same book:[Song of Solomon 5:10] “My beloved is white and ruddy.” These men are his true followers who have not defiled their gar ments with women, for they have continued virgins, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. And so they shall be in white ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 16, footnote 9 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)
On Baptism. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 604 (In-Text, Margin)
... formerly a viper’s brood, put off, saith he, the slough of thy former sinful life. For every serpent creeps into a hole and casts its old slough, and having rubbed off the old skin, grows young again in body. In like manner enter thou also through the strait and narrow gate: rub off thy former self by fasting, and drive out that which is destroying thee. Put off the old man with his doings, and quote that saying in the Canticles, I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on[Song of Solomon 5:3]?
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 91, footnote 5 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)
On the words, Crucified and Buried. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1622 (In-Text, Margin)
32. Of this garden I sang of old to My spouse in the Canticles, and spoke to her thus. I am come into My garden, My sister, My spouse[Song of Solomon 5:1]; (now in the place where He was crucified was a garden;) and what takest Thou thence? I have gathered My myrrh; having drunk wine mingled with myrrh, and vinegar, after receiving which, He said, It is finished. For the mystery has been fulfilled; the things that are written have been accomplished; sins are forgiven. For Christ being come an High-Priest of the good things to come, by the greater and more ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 97, footnote 2 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)
On the Words, And Rose Again from the Dead on the Third Day, and Ascended into the Heavens, and Sat on the Right Hand of the Father. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1709 (In-Text, Margin)
... am the vine! He was planted therefore in the earth in order that the curse which came because of Adam might be rooted out. The earth was condemned to thorns and thistles: the true Vine sprang up out of the earth, that the saying might be fulfilled, Truth sprang up out of the earth, and righteousness looked down from heaven. And what will He that is buried in the garden say? I have gathered My myrrh with My spices: and again, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices[Song of Solomon 5:1]. Now these are the symbols of the burying; and in the Gospels it is said, The women came unto the sepulchre bringing the spices which they had prepared : Nicodemus also bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes. And farther on it is ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 112, footnote 8 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)
On the Clause, And Shall Come in Glory to Judge the Quick and the Dead; Of Whose Kingdom There Shall Be No End. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1944 (In-Text, Margin)
... shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. How does the shepherd make the separation? Does he examine out of a book which is a sheep and which a goat? or does he distinguish by their evident marks? Does not the wool show the sheep, and the hairy and rough skin the goat? In like manner, if thou hast been just now cleansed from thy sins, thy deeds shall be henceforth as pure wool; and thy robe shall remain unstained, and thou shalt ever say, I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on[Song of Solomon 5:3]? By thy vesture shalt thou be known for a sheep. But if thou be found hairy, like Esau, who was rough with hair, and wicked in mind, who for food lost his birthright and sold his privilege, thou shalt be one of those on the left hand. But God forbid ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 126, footnote 13 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)
Continuation of the Discourse on the Holy Ghost. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2146 (In-Text, Margin)
... the Saviour, who is the giver of such grace. But perhaps He came down in the form of a dove, as some say, to exhibit a figure of that dove who is pure and innocent and undefiled, and also helps the prayers for the children she has begotten, and for forgiveness of sins; even as it was emblematically foretold that Christ should be thus manifested in the appearance of His eyes; for in the Canticles she cries concerning the Bridegroom, and says, Thine eyes are as doves by the rivers of water[Song of Solomon 5:12].
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 147, footnote 6 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)
On the Mysteries. II: Of Baptism. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2398 (In-Text, Margin)
... nakedness put off from Himself the principalities and powers, and openly triumphed over them on the tree. For since the adverse powers made their lair in your members, ye may no longer wear that old garment; I do not at all mean this visible one, but the old man, which waxeth corrupt in the lusts of deceit. May the soul which has once put him off, never again put him on, but say with the Spouse of Christ in the Song of Songs, I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on[Song of Solomon 5:3]? O wondrous thing! ye were naked in the sight of all, and were not ashamed; for truly ye bore the likeness of the first-formed Adam, who was naked in the garden, and was not ashamed.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 309, footnote 18 (Image)
Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen. (HTML)
The Third Theological Oration. On the Son. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3589 (In-Text, Margin)
... the Word, and is proclaimed by the Voice of one crying in the wilderness. He is bruised and wounded, but He healeth every disease and every infirmity. He is lifted up and nailed to the Tree, but by the Tree of Life He restoreth us; yea, He saveth even the Robber crucified with Him; yea, He wrapped the visible world in darkness. He is given vinegar to drink mingled with gall. Who? He who turned the water into wine, who is the destroyer of the bitter taste, who is Sweetness and altogether desire.[Song of Solomon 5:16] He lays down His life, but He has power to take it again; and the veil is rent, for the mysterious doors of Heaven are opened; the rocks are cleft, the dead arise. He dies, but He gives life, and by His death destroys death. He is buried, but He ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 8, page 94, footnote 6 (Image)
Basil: Letters and Select Works
The Hexæmeron. (HTML)
The creation of moving creatures. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1638 (In-Text, Margin)
... of His servants, let me here bring the ship of my discourse to anchor, and await the day to deliver you the rest. Let us, therefore, all arise, and, giving thanks for what has been said, let us ask for strength to hear the rest. Whilst taking your food may the conversation at your table turn upon what has occupied us this morning and this evening. Filled with these thoughts may you, even in sleep, enjoy the pleasure of the day, so that you may be permitted to say, “I sleep but my heart waketh,”[Song of Solomon 5:2] meditating day and night upon the law of the Lord, to Whom be glory and power world without end. Amen.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 95, footnote 4 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
On the Holy Spirit. (HTML)
Book I. (HTML)
Preface. (HTML)
... which Thou didst put on for my sake; be Thou stripped that Thou mayest clothe us with Thy mercy. Gird Thyself for our sakes with a towel, that Thou mayest gird us with Thy gift of immortality. Pour water into the basin, wash not only our feet but also the head, and not only of the body, but also the footsteps of the soul. I wish to put off all the filth of our frailty, so that I also may say: “By night I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?”[Song of Solomon 5:3]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 117, footnote 3 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
On the Holy Spirit. (HTML)
Book II. (HTML)
Introduction. (HTML)
... and faith; the hair of the Nazarite perfect in the Law, consecrated in sparingness and abstinence, with which she (a type of the Church), who poured ointment on the feet of the Lord, wiped the feet of the heavenly Word, for then she knew Christ also after the flesh. That hair it is of which it is said: “Thy hair is as flocks of goats,” growing on that head of which it is said: “The head of the man is Christ,” and in another place: “His head is as fine gold, and his locks like black pine-trees.”[Song of Solomon 5:11]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 325, footnote 2 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
On the Mysteries. (HTML)
Chapter IX. In order that no one through observing the outward part should waver in faith, many instances are brought forward wherein the outward nature has been changed, and so it is proved that bread is made the true body of Christ. The treatise then is brought to a termination with certain remarks as to the effects of the sacrament, the disposition of the recipients, and such like. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2900 (In-Text, Margin)
56. For which reason, too, the Church, guarding the depth of the heavenly mysteries, repels the furious storms of wind, and calls to her the sweetness of the grace of spring, and knowing that her garden cannot displease Christ, invites the Bridegroom, saying: “Arise, O north wind, and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, and let my ointments flow down. Let my Brother come down to His garden, and eat the fruit of His trees.”[Song of Solomon 5:1] For it has good trees and fruitful, which have dipped their roots in the water of the sacred spring, and with fresh growth have shot forth into good fruits, so as now not to be cut with the axe of the prophet, but to abound with the fruitfulness of the Gospel.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 325, footnote 3 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
On the Mysteries. (HTML)
Chapter IX. In order that no one through observing the outward part should waver in faith, many instances are brought forward wherein the outward nature has been changed, and so it is proved that bread is made the true body of Christ. The treatise then is brought to a termination with certain remarks as to the effects of the sacrament, the disposition of the recipients, and such like. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2901 (In-Text, Margin)
57. Lastly, the Lord also, delighted with their fertility, answers: “I have entered into My garden, My sister, My spouse; I have gathered My myrrh with My spices, I have eaten My meat with My honey, I have drunk My drink with My milk.”[Song of Solomon 5:1] Understand, you faithful, why He spoke of meat and drink. And there is no doubt that He Himself eats and drinks in us, as you have read that He says that in our persons He is in prison.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 325, footnote 5 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
On the Mysteries. (HTML)
Chapter IX. In order that no one through observing the outward part should waver in faith, many instances are brought forward wherein the outward nature has been changed, and so it is proved that bread is made the true body of Christ. The treatise then is brought to a termination with certain remarks as to the effects of the sacrament, the disposition of the recipients, and such like. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2903 (In-Text, Margin)
58. Wherefore, too, the Church, beholding so great grace, exhorts her sons and her friends to come together to the sacraments, saying: “Eat, my friends, and drink and be inebriated, my brother.”[Song of Solomon 5:1] What we eat and what we drink the Holy Spirit has elsewhere made plain by the prophet, saying, “Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man that hopeth in Him.” In that sacrament is Christ, because it is the Body of Christ, it is therefore not bodily food but spiritual. Whence the Apostle says of its type: “Our fathers ate spiritual food and drank spiritual drink,” for the Body of God is ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 370, footnote 10 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
Concerning Virgins. (HTML)
Book I. (HTML)
Chapter IX. Other passages from the Song of Songs are considered with relation to the present subject, and St. Ambrose exhorting the virgin to seek for Christ, points out where He may be found. A description of His perfections follows, and a comparison is made between virgins and the angels. (HTML)
... a door to thy lips,” that you, too, may be able to say: “As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons. In His shadow I delighted and sat down, and His fruit was sweet to my palate. I found Him Whom my soul loved, I held Him and would not let him go. My beloved came down into His garden to eat the fruit of His trees. Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field. Set me as a signet upon Thine heart, and as a seal upon Thine arm. My Beloved is white and ruddy.”[Song of Solomon 5:10] For it is fitting, O Virgin, that you should fully know Him Whom you love, and should recognize in Him all the mystery of His Divine Nature and the Body which He has assumed. He is white fittingly, for He is the brightness of the Father; and ruddy, ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 381, footnote 5 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
Concerning Virgins. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
Chapter I. St. Ambrose now goes back to the address of Liberius when he gave the veil to Marcellina. Touching on the crowds pressing to the bridal feast of that Spouse Who feeds them all, he passes on to the fitness of her profession on the day on which Christ was born of a Virgin, and concludes with a fervent exhortation to love Him. (HTML)
... of men, of a Virgin, but was begotten of the Father before all things, resembling His mother in body, His Father in power. Only-begotten on earth, and Only-begotten in heaven. God of God, born of a Virgin, Righteousness from the Father, Power from the Mighty One, Light of Light, not unequal to His Father; nor separated in power, not confused by extension of the Word or enlargement as though mingled with the Father, but distinguished from the Father by virtue of His generation. He is your Brother,[Song of Solomon 5:1] without Whom neither things in heaven, nor things in the sea, nor things on earth consist. The good Word of the Father, Which was, it is said, “in the beginning,” here you have His eternity. “And,” it is said, “the Word was with God.” Here you have ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 430, footnote 7 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part II. Containing Conferences XI-XVII. (HTML)
Conference XIII. The Third Conference of Abbot Chæremon. On the Protection of God. (HTML)
Chapter XII. That a good will should not always be attributed to grace, nor always to man himself. (HTML)
... and strengthened their arms; and they have imagined evil against me;” and He exhorts us to strengthen ourselves when He says: “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and make strong the feeble knees.” Jesus cries: “If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink;” the prophet also cries to Him: “I have laboured with crying, my jaws are become hoarse: mine eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my God.” The Lord seeks us, when He says: “I sought and there was no man. I called, and there was none to answer;”[Song of Solomon 5:6] and He Himself is sought by the bride who mourns with tears: “I sought on my bed by night Him whom my soul loved: I sought Him and found Him not; I called Him, and He gave me no answer.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 617, footnote 7 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius. (HTML)
Book VII. (HTML)
Chapter XXV. He shows that Ambrose agrees with S. Hilary. (HTML)
Ambrose, that illustrious priest of God, who never leaving the Lord’s hand, ever shone like a jewel upon the finger of God, thus speaks in his book to the Virgins: “My brother is white and ruddy.[Song of Solomon 5:10] White because He is the glory of the Father: ruddy because He was born of the Virgin. But remember that in Him the tokens of Divinity are of longer standing than the mysteries of the body. For He did not begin to exist from the Virgin, but He who was already in existence, came into the Virgin.” Again on Christmas Day: “See the miracle of the mother of the Lord: A Virgin conceived, a ...