That the Ark Which Noah Was Ordered to Make Figures In Every Respect Christ and the Church.

Chapter 26.—That the Ark Which Noah Was Ordered to Make Figures In Every Respect Christ and the Church.

Caput XXVI. Quod arca, quam Noe iussus est facere, in omnibus Christum ecclesiamque significet.

Moreover, inasmuch as God commanded Noah, a just man, and, as the truthful Scripture says, a man perfect in his generation,—not indeed with the perfection of the citizens of the city of God in that immortal condition in which they equal the angels, but in so far as they can be perfect in their sojourn in this world,—inasmuch as God commanded him, I say, to make an ark, in which he might be rescued from the destruction of the flood, along with his family, i.e., his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law, and along with the animals who, in obedience to God’s command, came to him into the ark: this is certainly a figure of the city of God sojourning in this world; that is to say, of the church, which is rescued by the wood on which hung the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus. For even its very dimensions, in length, breadth, and height, represent the human body in which He came, as it had been foretold. For the length of the human body, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, is six times its breadth from side to side, and ten times its depth or thickness, measuring from back to front: that is to say, if you measure a man as he lies on his back or on his face, he is six times as long from head to foot as he is broad from side to side, and ten times as long as he is high from the ground. And therefore the ark was made 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height. And its having a door made in the side of it certainly signified the wound which was made when the side of the Crucified was pierced with the spear; for by this those who come to Him enter; for thence flowed the sacraments by which those who believe are initiated. And the fact that it was ordered to be made of squared timbers, signifies the immoveable steadiness of the life of the saints; for however you turn a cube, it still stands. And the other peculiarities of the ark’s construction are signs of features of the church.

Iam uero quod Noe homini iusto et, sicut de illo scriptura ueridica loquitur, in sua generatione perfecto (non utique sicut perficiendi sunt ciues ciuitatis Dei in illa inmortalitate, qua aequabuntur angelis Dei, sed sicut esse possunt in hac peregrinatione perfecti) imperat Deus, ut arcam faciat, in qua cum suis, id est uxore, filiis et nuribus, et cum animalibus, quae ad illum ex Dei praecepto in arcam ingressa sunt, liberaretur a diluuii uastitate: procul dubio figura est peregrinantis in hoc saeculo ciuitatis Dei, hoc est ecclesiae, quae fit salua per lignum, in quo pependit mediator Dei et hominum, homo Christus Iesus. Nam et mensurae ipsae/longitudinis et altitudinis et latitudinis eius significant corpus humanum, in cuius ueritate ad homines praenuntiatus est uenturus et uenit. Humani quippe corporis longitudo a uertice usque ad uestigia sexiens tantum habet quam latitudo, quae est ab uno latere ad alterum latus, et deciens tantum quam altitudo, cuius altitudinis mensura est in latere a dorso ad uentrem; uelut si iacentem hominem metiaris supinum seu pronum, sexiens tantum longus est a capite ad pedes, quam latus a dextra in sinistram uel a sinistra in dextram, et deciens. quam altus a terra. Unde facta est arca trecentorum in longitudine cubitorum et quinquaginta in latitudine et triginta in altitudine. Et quod ostium in latere accepit, profecto illud est uulnus, quando latus crucifixi lancea perforatum est; hac quippe ad illum uenientes ingrediuntur, quia inde sacramenta manarunt, quibus credentes initiantur. Et quod de lignis quadratis fieri iubetur, undique stabilem uitam sanctorum significat: quacumque enim uerteris quadratum, stabit; et cetera, quae in eiusdem arcae constructione dicuntur, ecclesiasticarum signa sunt rerum.

But we have not now time to pursue this subject; and, indeed, we have already dwelt upon it in the work we wrote against Faustus the Manichean, who denies that there is anything prophesied of Christ in the Hebrew books. It may be that one man’s exposition excels another’s, and that ours is not the best; but all that is said must be referred to this city of God we speak of, which sojourns in this wicked world as in a deluge, at least if the expositor would not widely miss the meaning of the author. For example, the interpretation I have given in the work against Faustus, of the words, “with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it,” is, that because the church is gathered out of all nations, it is said to have two stories, to represent the two kinds of men,—the circumcision, to wit, and the uncircumcision, or, as the apostle otherwise calls them, Jews and Gentiles; and to have three stories, because all the nations were replenished from the three sons of Noah. Now any one may object to this interpretation, and may give another which harmonizes with the rule of faith. For as the ark was to have rooms not only on the lower, but also on the upper stories, which were called “third stories,” that there might be a habitable space on the third floor from the basement, some one may interpret these to mean the three graces commended by the apostle.—faith, hope, and charity. Or even more suitably they may be supposed to represent those three harvests in the gospel, thirty-fold, sixty-fold, an hundred-fold,—chaste marriage dwelling in the ground floor, chaste widowhood in the upper, and chaste virginity in the top story. Or any better interpretation may be given, so long as the reference to this city is maintained. And the same statement I would make of all the remaining particulars in this passage which require exposition, viz., that although different explanations are given, yet they must all agree with the one harmonious catholic faith.

Sed ea nunc persequi longum est; et hoc iam fecimus in opere, quod aduersus Faustum Manichaeum scripsimus, negantem in Hebraeorum libris aliquid de Christo esse prophetatum. Et fieri quidem potest, ut et nobis quispiam et alius alio exponat haec aptius, dum tamen ea, quae dicuntur, ad hanc de qua loquimur Dei ciuitatem in hoc saeculo maligno tamquam in diluuio peregrinantem omnia referantur. si ab eius sensu. qui ista conscripsit, non uult longe aberrare, qui exponit. Exempli gratia, uelut si quispiam, quod hic scriptum est: Inferiora bicamerata et tricamerata facies eam, non quod ego in illo opere dixi uelit intellegi, quia ex omnibus gentibus ecclesia congregatur, bicameratam dictam propter duo genera hominum, circumcisionem scilicet et praeputium, quos apostolus et alio modo dicit Iudaeos et Graecos; tricameratam uero eo, quod omnes gentes de tribus filiis Noe post diluuium reparatae sunt; sed aliud dicat aliquid, quod a fidei regula non sit alienum. Nam quoniam non solas in inferioribus mansiones habere arcam uoluit, uerum etiam in superioribus (et haec dixit bicamerata) et in superioribus superiorum (et haec appellauit tricamerata), ut ab imo sursum uersus tertia consurgeret habitatio: possunt hic intellegi et tria illa, quae commendat apostolus, fides, spes, caritas; possunt etiam multo conuenientius tres illae ubertates euangelicae, tricena, sexagena, centena, ut in infimo habitet pudicitia coniugalis, supra uidualis adque hac superior uirginalis, et si quid melius secundum fidem ciuitatis huius intellegi et dici potest. Hoc etiam de ceteris, quae hic exponenda sunt, dixerim, quia, etsi non uno disseruntur modo, ad unam tamen catholicae fidei concordiam reuocanda sunt.

Chapter 27.—Of the Ark and the Deluge, and that We Cannot Agree with Those Who Receive the Bare History, But Reject the Allegorical Interpretation, Nor with Those Who Maintain the Figurative and Not the Historical Meaning.

Caput XXVII. De arca adque diluuio nec illis esse consentiendum, qui solam historiam recipiunt sine allegorica significatione, nec illis, qui solas figuras defendunt repudiata historica ueritate.

Yet no one ought to suppose either that these things were written for no purpose, or that we should study only the historical truth, apart from any allegorical meanings; or, on the contrary, that they are only allegories, and that there were no such facts at all, or that, whether it be so or no, there is here no prophecy of the church. For what right-minded man will contend that books so religiously preserved during thousands of years, and transmitted by so orderly a succession, were written without an object, or that only the bare historical facts are to be considered when we read them? For, not to mention other instances, if the number of the animals entailed the construction of an ark of great size, where was the necessity of sending into it two unclean and seven clean animals of each species, when both could have been preserved in equal numbers? Or could not God, who ordered them to be preserved in order to replenish the race, restore them in the same way He had created them?

Non tamen quisquam putare debet aut frustra haec esse conscripta, aut tantummodo rerum gestarum ueritatem sine ullis allegoricis significationibus hic esse quaerendam, aut e contrario haec omnino gesta non esse, sed solas esse uerborum figuras, aut quidquid illud est nequaquam ad prophetiam ecclesiae pertinere. Quis enim nisi mente peruersus inaniter scriptos esse contendat libros per annorum milia tanta religione et tam ordinatae successionis obseruantia custoditos, aut solas res gestas illic intuendas, ubi certe, ut alia omittam, si numerositas animalium cogebat arcae tantam fieri magnitudinem, inmunda bina et munda septena intromitti animalia quid cogebat, cum aequalis numeri possent utraque seruari? Aut uero Deus, qui propter genus reparandum seruanda praecepit, eo modo illa, quo instituerat, restituere non ualebat?

But they who contend that these things never happened, but are only figures setting forth other things, in the first place suppose that there could not be a flood so great that the water should rise fifteen cubits above the highest mountains, because it is said that clouds cannot rise above the top of Mount Olympus, because it reaches the sky where there is none of that thicker atmosphere in which winds, clouds, and rains have their origin. They do not reflect that the densest element of all, earth, can exist there; or perhaps they deny that the top of the mountain is earth. Why, then, do these measurers and weighers of the elements contend that earth can be raised to those aerial altitudes, and that water cannot, while they admit that water is lighter, and liker to ascend than earth? What reason do they adduce why earth, the heavier and lower element, has for so many ages scaled to the tranquil ether, while water, the lighter, and more likely to ascend, is not suffered to do the same even for a brief space of time?

Qui uero non esse gesta, sed solas rerum significandarum figuras esse contendunt, primum opinantur tam magnum fieri non potuisse diluuium, ut altissimos montes quindecim cubitis aqua crescendo transcenderet, propter Olympi uerticem montis, supra quem perhibentur nubes non posse concrescere, quod tam sublime iam caelum sit, ut non ibi sit aer iste crassior, ubi uenti nebulae imbresque gignuntur; nec adtendunt omnium elementorum crassissimam terram ibi esse potuisse. An forte negant esse terram uerticem montis? Quur igitur usque ad illa caeli spatia terris exaltari licuisse, et aquis exaltari non licuisse contendunt, cum isti mens ores et pensores elementorum aquas terris perhibeant superiores adque leuiores? Quid itaque rationis adferunt, quare terra grauior et inferior locum caeli tranquillioris inuaserit per uolumina tot annorum, et aqua leuior ac superior permissa non sit hoc facere saltem ad tempus exiguum?

They say, too, that the area of that ark could not contain so many kinds of animals of both sexes, two of the unclean and seven of the clean. But they seem to me to reckon only one area of 300 cubits long and 50 broad, and not to remember that there was another similar in the story above, and yet another as large in the story above that again; and that there was consequently an area of 900 cubits by 150. And if we accept what Origen has with some appropriateness suggested, that Moses the man of God, being, as it is written, “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” who delighted in geometry, may have meant geometrical cubits, of which they say that one is equal to six of our cubits, then who does not see what a capacity these dimensions give to the ark? For as to their objection that an ark of such size could not be built, it is a very silly calumny; for they are aware that huge cities have been built, and they should remember that the ark was an hundred years in building. Or, perhaps, though stone can adhere to stone when cemented with nothing but lime, so that a wall of several miles may be constructed, yet plank cannot be riveted to plank by mortices, bolts, nails, and pitch-glue, so as to construct an ark which was not made with curved ribs but straight timbers, which was not to be launched by its builders, but to be lifted by the natural pressure of the water when it reached it, and which was to be preserved from shipwreck as it floated about rather by divine oversight than by human skill.

Dicunt etiam non potuisse capere arcae illius quantitatem animalium genera tam multa in utroque sexu, bina de inmundis, septena de mundis. Qui mihi uidentur non conputare nisi trecenta cubita longitudinis et latitudinis quinquaginta, nec cogitare aliud tantum esse in superioribus itemque aliud tantum in superioribus superiorum, ac per hoc ter ducta illa cubita fieri nongenta super centum quinquaginta. Si autem cogitemus quod Origenes non ineleganter adstruxit, Moysen scilicet hominem Dei eruditum, sicut scriptum est, omni sapientia Aegyptiorum, qui geometricam dilexerunt, geometrica cubita significare potuisse, ubi unum quantum sex nostra ualere adseuerant, quis non uideat quantum rerum capere illa potuit magnitudo? Nam illud quod disputant tantae magnitudinis arcam non potuisse conpingi, ineptissime calumniantur, cum sciant inmensas urbes fuisse constructas, nec adtendunt centum annos, quibus arca illa est fabricata; nisi forte lapis lapidi adhaerere potest sola calce coniunctus, ut murus per tot milia circumagatur, et lignum ligno per suscudines, epiros, clauos, gluten bituminis non potest adhaerere, ut fabricetur arca non curuis, sed rectis lineis longe lateque porrecta, quam nullus in mare mittat conatus hominum, sed leuet unda, cum uenerit, naturali ordine ponderum, magisque diuina prouidentia quam humana prudentia natantem gubernet, ne incurrat ubicumque naufragium.

As to another customary inquiry of the scrupulous about the very minute creatures, not only such as mice and lizards, but also locusts, beetles, flies, fleas, and so forth, whether there were not in the ark a larger number of them than was determined by God in His command, those persons who are moved by this difficulty are to be reminded that the words “every creeping thing of the earth” only indicate that it was not needful to preserve in the ark the animals that can live in the water, whether the fishes that live submerged in it, or the sea-birds that swim on its surface. Then, when it is said “male and female,” no doubt reference is made to the repairing of the races, and consequently there was no need for those creatures being in the ark which are born without the union of the sexes from inanimate things, or from their corruption; or if they were in the ark, they might be there as they commonly are in houses, not in any determinate numbers; or if it was necessary that there should be a definite number of all those animals that cannot naturally live in the water, that so the most sacred mystery which was being enacted might be bodied forth and perfectly figured in actual realities, still this was not the care of Noah or his sons, but of God. For Noah did not catch the animals and put them into the ark, but gave them entrance as they came seeking it. For this is the force of the words, “They shall come unto thee,”—not, that is to say, by man’s effort, but by God’s will. But certainly we are not required to believe that those which have no sex also came; for it is expressly and definitely said, “They shall be male and female.” For there are some animals which are born out of corruption, but yet afterwards they themselves copulate and produce offspring, as flies; but others, which have no sex, like bees. Then, as to those animals which have sex, but without ability to propagate their kind, like mules and she-mules, it is probable that they were not in the ark, but that it was counted sufficient to preserve their parents, to wit, the horse and the ass; and this applies to all hybrids. Yet, if it was necessary for the completeness of the mystery, they were there; for even this species has “male and female.”

Quod autem scrupulosissime quaeri solet de minutissimis bestiolis, non solum quales sunt mures et stelliones, uerum etiam quales lucustae, scarabei, muscae denique et pulices, utrum non amplioris numeri in arca illa fuerint, quam qui est definitus, cum hoc imperaret Deus, prius admonendi sunt, quos haec mouent, sic accipiendum esse quod dictum est: Quae repunt super terram, ut necesse non fuerit conseruari in arca, quae possunt in aquis uiuere, non solum mersa, sicut pisces, uerum etiam supernatantia, sicut multae alites. Deinde cum dicitur: Masculus et femina erunt, profecto intellegitur ad reparandum genus dici; ac per hoc nec illa necesse fuerat ibi esse, quae possunt sine concubitu de quibusque rebus uel rerum corruptionibus nasci; uel si fuerunt, sicut in domibus esse consuerunt, sine ullo numero definito esse potuisse; aut si mysterium sacratissimum, quod agebatur, et tantae rei figura etiam ueritate facti aliter non posset inpleri, nisi ut omnia ibi certo illo numero essent, quae uiuere in aquis natura prohibente non possent, non fuit ista cura illius hominis uel illorum hominum, sed diuina. Non enim ea Noe capta intromittebat, sed uenientia et intrantia permittebat. Ad hoc enim ualet quod dictum est: Intrabunt ad te; non scilicet hominis actu, sed Dei nutu; ita sane, ut non illic fuisse credenda sint, quae sexu carent. Praescriptum enim adque definitum est: Masculus et femina erunt. Alia sunt quippe quae de quibusque rebus sine concubitu ita nascuntur, ut postea concumbant et generent, sicut muscae; alia uero in quibus nihil sit maris et feminae, sicut apes. Ea porro quae sic habent sexum, ut non habeant fetum, sicut muli et mutae, mirum si fuerunt ibi, ac non potius parentes eorum ibi fuisse suffecerit, equinum uidelicet adque asininum genus; et si qua alia sunt, quae commixtione diuersi generis genus aliquod gignunt. Sed si et hoc ad mysterium pertinebat, ibi erant.

Another question is commonly raised regarding the food of the carnivorous animals,—whether, without transgressing the command which fixed the number to be preserved, there were necessarily others included in the ark for their sustenance; or, as is more probable, there might be some food which was not flesh, and which yet suited all. For we know how many animals whose food is flesh eat also vegetable products and fruits, especially figs and chestnuts. What wonder is it, therefore, if that wise and just man was instructed by God what would suit each, so that without flesh he prepared and stored provision fit for every species? And what is there which hunger would not make animals eat? Or what could not be made sweet and wholesome by God, who, with a divine facility, might have enabled them to do without food at all, had it not been requisite to the completeness of so great a mystery that they should be fed? But none but a contentious man can suppose that there was no prefiguring of the church in so manifold and circumstantial a detail. For the nations have already so filled the church, and are comprehended in the framework of its unity, the clean and unclean together, until the appointed end, that this one very manifest fulfillment leaves no doubt how we should interpret even those others which are somewhat more obscure, and which cannot so readily be discerned. And since this is so, if not even the most audacious will presume to assert that these things were written without a purpose, or that though the events really happened they mean nothing, or that they did not really happen, but are only allegory, or that at all events they are far from having any figurative reference to the church; if it has been made out that, on the other hand, we must rather believe that there was a wise purpose in their being committed to memory and to writing, and that they did happen, and have a significance, and that this significance has a prophetic reference to the church, then this book, having served this purpose, may now be closed, that we may go on to trace in the history subsequent to the deluge the courses of the two cities,—the earthly, that lives according to men, and the heavenly, that lives according to God.

Habet enim et hoc genus masculum et feminam. Solet etiam mouere nonnullos, genera escarum, quae illic habere poterant animalia, quae non nisi carne uesci putantur, utrum praeter numerum ibi fuerint sine transgressione mandati, quae aliorum alendorum necessitas illic coegisset includi; an uero, quod potius est credendum, praeter carnes aliqua alimenta esse potuerint, quae omnibus conuenirent. Nouimus enim quam multa animalia, quibus caro cibus est, frugibus pomisque uescantur et maxime fico adque castaneis. Quid ergo mirum, si uir ille sapiens et iustus, etiam diuinitus admonitus quid cuique congrueret, sine carnibus aptam cuique generi alimoniam praeparauit et condidit? Quid est autem, quo uesci non cogeret fames? aut quid non suaue ac salubre facere posset Deus, qui etiam, ut sine cibo uiuerent. diuina facilitate donaret, nisi ut pascerentur etiam hoc inplendae figurae tanti mysterii conueniret? Non autem ad praefigurandam ecclesiam pertinere tam multiplicia rerum signa gestarum, nisi fuerit. contentiosus, nemo permittitur opinari. Iam enim gentes ita ecclesiam repleuerunt, mundique et inmundi, donec certum ueniatur ad finem, ita eius unitatis quadam conpagine continentur, ut ex hoc uno manifestissimo etiam de ceteris, quae obscurius aliquanto dicta sunt et difficilius agnosci queunt, dubitare fas non sit. Quae cum ita sint, sic nec inaniter ista esse conscripta putare quisquam uel durus audebit, nec nihil significare cum gesta sint, nec sola dicta esse significatiua non facta, nec aliena esse ab ecclesia significanda probabiliter dici potest; sed magis credendum est et sapienter esse memoriae litterisque mandata, et gesta esse, et significare aliquid, et ipsum aliquid ad praefigurandam ecclesiam pertinere. Iam usque ad hunc articulum perductus liber iste claudendus est, ut ambarum ciuitatum cursus, terrenae scilicet secundum hominem uiuentis et caelestis secundum Deum, post diluuium et deinceps in rebus consequentibus requiratur.

Book XVI.

Liber XVI

Argument—In the former part of this book, from the first to the twelfth chapter, the progress of the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly, from Noah to Abraham, is exhibited from Holy Scripture: In the latter part, the progress of the heavenly alone, from Abraham to the kings of Israel, is the subject.

Chapter 1.—Whether, After the Deluge, from Noah to Abraham, Any Families Can Be Found Who Lived According to God.

Caput I. An post diluuium a Noe usque ad Abraham aliquae familiae secundum Deum uiuentium reperiantur.

It is difficult to discover from Scripture, whether, after the deluge, traces of the holy city are continuous, or are so interrupted by intervening seasons of godlessness, that not a single worshipper of the one true God was found among men; because from Noah, who, with his wife, three sons, and as many daughters-in-law, achieved deliverance in the ark from the destruction of the deluge, down to Abraham, we do not find in the canonical books that the piety of any one is celebrated by express divine testimony, unless it be in the case of Noah, who commends with a prophetic benediction his two sons Shem and Japheth, while he beheld and foresaw what was long afterwards to happen. It was also by this prophetic spirit that, when his middle son—that is, the son who was younger than the first and older than the last born—had sinned against him, he cursed him not in his own person, but in his son’s (his own grandson’s), in the words, “Cursed be the lad Canaan; a servant shall he be unto his brethren.” Now Canaan was born of Ham, who, so far from covering his sleeping father’s nakedness, had divulged it. For the same reason also he subjoins the blessing on his two other sons, the oldest and youngest, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall gladden Japheth, and he shall dwell in the houses of Shem.” And so, too, the planting of the vine by Noah, and his intoxication by its fruit, and his nakedness while he slept, and the other things done at that time, and recorded, are all of them pregnant with prophetic meanings, and veiled in mysteries.

Post diluuium procurrentis sanctae uestigia ciuitatis utrum continuata sint an intercurrentibus inpietatis interrupta temporibus, ita ut nullus hominum ueri unius Dei cultor existeret, ad liquidum scripturis loquentibus inuenire difficile est, propterea quia in canonicis libris post Noe, qui cum coniuge ac tribus filiis totidemque nuribus suis meruit per arcam uastatione diluuii liberari, non inuenimus usque Abraham cuiusquam pietatem euidenti diuino eloquio praedicatam, nisi quod Noe duos filios suos Sem et lapheth prophetica benedictione commendat, intuens et praeuidens quod longe fuerat post futurum. Unde factum est etiam illud, ut filium suum medium, hoc est primogenito iuniorem ultimoque maiorem, qui peccauerat in patrem, non in ipso, sed in filio eius suo nepote maledicerethis uerbis: Maledictus Chanaan puer, famulus erit fratribus suis. Chanaan porro natus fuerat ex Cham, qui patris dormientis nec texerat, sed potius prodiderat nuditatem. Unde etiam quod secutus adiunxit benedictionem duorum maximi et minimi filiorum dicens: Benedictus Dominus Deus Sem, et erit Chanaan puer illius; latificet Deus Iapheth, et habitet in domibus Sem, sicut ipsa eiusdem Noe et uineae plantatio et ex eius fructu inebriatio et dormientis enudatio, et quae ibi cetera facta adque conscripta sunt, propheticis sunt grauidata sensibus et uelata tegminibus.

Chapter 2.—What Was Prophetically Prefigured in the Sons of Noah.

Caput II. Quid in filiis Noe prophetice fuerit praefiguratum.

The things which then were hidden are now sufficiently revealed by the actual events which have followed. For who can carefully and intelligently consider these things without recognizing them accomplished in Christ? Shem, of whom Christ was born in the flesh, means “named.” And what is of greater name than Christ, the fragrance of whose name is now everywhere perceived, so that even prophecy sings of it beforehand, comparing it in the Song of Songs, to ointment poured forth? Is it not also in the houses of Christ, that is, in the churches, that the “enlargement” of the nations dwells? For Japheth means “enlargement.” And Ham (i.e., hot), who was the middle son of Noah, and, as it were, separated himself from both, and remained between them, neither belonging to the first-fruits of Israel nor to the fullness of the Gentiles, what does he signify but the tribe of heretics, hot with the spirit, not of patience, but of impatience, with which the breasts of heretics are wont to blaze, and with which they disturb the peace of the saints? But even the heretics yield an advantage to those that make proficiency, according to the apostle’s saying, “There must also be heresies, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” Whence, too, it is elsewhere said, “The son that receives instruction will be wise, and he uses the foolish as his servant.” For while the hot restlessness of heretics stirs questions about many articles of the catholic faith, the necessity of defending them forces us both to investigate them more accurately, to understand them more clearly, and to proclaim them more earnestly; and the question mooted by an adversary becomes the occasion of instruction. However, not only those who are openly separated from the church, but also all who glory in the Christian name, and at the same time lead abandoned lives, may without absurdity seem to be figured by Noah’s middle son: for the passion of Christ, which was signified by that man’s nakedness, is at once proclaimed by their profession, and dishonored by their wicked conduct. Of such, therefore, it has been said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” And therefore was Ham cursed in his son, he being, as it were, his fruit. So, too, this son of his, Canaan, is fitly interpreted “their movement,” which is nothing else than their work. But Shem and Japheth, that is to say, the circumcision and uncircumcision, or, as the apostle otherwise calls them, the Jews and Greeks, but called and justified, having somehow discovered the nakedness of their father (which signifies the Saviour’s passion), took a garment and laid it upon their backs, and entered backwards and covered their father’s nakedness, without their seeing what their reverence hid. For we both honor the passion of Christ as accomplished for us, and we hate the crime of the Jews who crucified Him. The garment signifies the sacrament, their backs the memory of things past: for the church celebrates the passion of Christ as already accomplished, and no longer to be looked forward to, now that Japheth already dwells in the habitations of Shem, and their wicked brother between them.

‘Sed nunc rerum effectu iam in posteris consecuto, quae operta fuerant, satis aperta sunt. Quis enim haec diligenter et intellegenter aduertens non agnoscat in Christo? Sem quippe, de cuius semine in carne natus est Christus, interpretatur nominatus. Quid autem nominatius Christo, cuius nomen ubique iam fragrat, ita ut in cantico canticorum etiam ipsa praecedente prophetia unguento conparetur effuso; in cuius domibus, id est ecclesiis, habitat gentium latitudo? Nam Iapheth latitudo interpretatur. Cham porro, quod interpretatur calidus, medius Noe filius, tamquam se ab utroque discernens et inter utrumque remanens, nec in primitiis Israelitarum nec in plenitudine gentium, quid significat nisi haereticorum genus calidum, non spiritu sapientiae, sed inpatientiae, quo solent haereticorum feruere praecordia et pacem perturbare sanctorum ? Sed haec in usum cedunt proficientium, iuxta illud apostoli: Oportet et haereses esse, ut probati manifesti fiant in uobis. Unde etiam scriptum est: Filius eruditus sapiens erit, inprudente autem ministro utetur. Multa quippe ad fidem catholicam pertinentia, dum haereticorum calida inquietudine exagitantur, ut aduersus eos defendi possint, et considerantur diligentius et intelleguntur clarius et instantius praedicantur, et ab aduersario mota quaestio discendi existit occasio. Quamuis non solum qui sunt apertissime separati, uerum omnes, qui Christiano uocabulo gloriantur et perdite uiuunt, non absurde possunt uideri medio Noe filio figurati; passionem quippe Christi, quae illius hominis nuditate significata est, et adnuntiant profitendo, et male agendo exhonorant. De talibus ergo dictum est: Ex fructibus eorum cognoscetis eos. Ideo Cham in filio suo maledictus est, tamquam in fructu suo, id est in opere suo. Unde conuenienter et ipse filius eius Chanaan interpretatur motus eorum; quod aliud quid est quam opus eorum? Sem uero et Iapheth tamquam circumcisio et praeputium, uel sicut alio modo eos appellat apostolus, ludaei et Graeci, sed uocati et iustificati, cognita quoquo modo nuditate patris, qua significabatur passio Saluatoris, sumentes uestimentum posuerunt supra dorsa sua et intrauerunt auersi et operuerunt nuditatem patris sui, nec uiderunt quod reuerendo texerunt. Quodam enim modo in passione Christi et quod pro nobis factum est honoramus et Iudaeorum facinus auersamur. Yestimentum significat sacramentum, dorsa memoriam praeteritorum, quia passionem Christi eo scilicet iam tempore, quo habitat Iapheth in domibus Sem et malus frater in medio eorum, transactam celebrat ecclesia, non adhuc prospectat futuram. Sed malus frater in filio suo, hoc est in opere suo, puer. id est seruus est fratrum bonorum, cum ad exercitationem patientiae uel ad prouectum sapientiae scienter utuntur malis boni.

But the wicked brother is, in the person of his son (i.e., his work), the boy, or slave, of his good brothers, when good men make a skillful use of bad men, either for the exercise of their patience or for their advancement in wisdom. For the apostle testifies that there are some who preach Christ from no pure motives; “but,” says he, “whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” For it is Christ Himself who planted the vine of which the prophet says, “The vine of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel;” and He drinks of its wine, whether we thus understand that cup of which He says, “Can ye drink of the cup that I shall drink of?” and, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” by which He obviously means His passion. Or, as wine is the fruit of the vine, we may prefer to understand that from this vine, that is to say, from the race of Israel, He has assumed flesh and blood that He might suffer; “and he was drunken,” that is, He suffered; “and was naked,” that is, His weakness appeared in His suffering, as the apostle says, “though He was crucified through weakness.” Wherefore the same apostle says, “The weakness of God is stronger than men; and the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” And when to the expression “he was naked” Scripture adds “in his house,” it elegantly intimates that Jesus was to suffer the cross and death at the hands of His own household, His own kith and kin, the Jews. This passion of Christ is only externally and verbally professed by the reprobate, for what they profess, they do not understand. But the elect hold in the inner man this so great mystery, and honor inwardly in the heart this weakness and foolishness of God. And of this there is a figure in Ham going out to proclaim his father’s nakedness; while Shem and Japheth, to cover or honor it, went in, that is to say, did it inwardly.

Sunt enim teste apostolo, qui Christum adnuntiant non caste; sed siue occasione, inquit, siue ueritate Christus adnuntietur [in hoc gaudeo, sed et gaudebo]. Ipse quippe plantauit uineam, de qua dicit propheta: Vinea Domini Sabaoth domus Israel est, et bibit de uino eius (siue ille calix hic intellegatur, de quo dicit: Potestis bibere calicem, quem ego bibiturus sum? et: Pater, si fieri potest, transeat calix iste, quo suam sine dubio significat passionem; siue, quia uinum fructus est uineae, hoc potius illo significatum est, quod ex ipsa uinea, hoc est ex genere Israelitarum, carnem pro nobis et sanguinem, ut pati posset, adsumsit), et inebriatus est, idest passus est, et nudatus est; ibi namque nudata est, id est apparuit, eius infirmitas, de qua dicit apostolus: Etsi crucifixu.s est ex infirmitate. Unde idem dicit: Infirmum Dei fortius est hominibus, et stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus. Quod uero cum dictum esset: Et nudatus est, addidit scriptura: In domo sua, eleganter ostendit, quod a suae carnis gente et domesticis sanguinis sui, utique Iudaeis, fuerat crucem mortemque passurus. Hanc passionem Christi foris in sono tantum uocis reprobi adnuntiant; non enim quod adnuntiant intellegunt. Probi autem in interiore homine habent tam grande mysterium adque honorant intus in corde infirmum et stultum Dei, quia fortius et sapientius est hominibus. Huius rei figura est, quod Cham exiens hoc nuntiauit foris; Sem uero et Iapheth, ut hoc uelarent, id est honorarent, ingressi sunt, hoc est interius id egerunt.

These secrets of divine Scripture we investigate as well as we can. All will not accept our interpretation with equal confidence, but all hold it certain that these things were neither done nor recorded without some foreshadowing of future events, and that they are to be referred only to Christ and His church, which is the city of God, proclaimed from the very beginning of human history by figures which we now see everywhere accomplished. From the blessing of the two sons of Noah, and the cursing of the middle son, down to Abraham, or for more than a thousand years, there is, as I have said, no mention of any righteous persons who worshipped God. I do not therefore conclude that there were none; but it had been tedious to mention every one, and would have displayed historical accuracy rather than prophetic foresight. The object of the writer of these sacred books, or rather of the Spirit of God in him, is not only to record the past, but to depict the future, so far as it regards the city of God; for whatever is said of those who are not its citizens, is given either for her instruction, or as a foil to enhance her glory. Yet we are not to suppose that all that is recorded has some signification; but those things which have no signification of their own are interwoven for the sake of the things which are significant. It is only the ploughshare that cleaves the soil; but to effect this, other parts of the plough are requisite. It is only the strings in harps and other musical instruments which produce melodious sounds; but that they may do so, there are other parts of the instrument which are not indeed struck by those who sing, but are connected with the strings which are struck, and produce musical notes. So in this prophetic history some things are narrated which have no significance, but are, as it were, the framework to which the significant things are attached.

Haec scripturae secreta diuinae indagamus, ut possumus, alius alio magis minusue congruenter, uerum tamen fideliter certum tenentes non ea sine aliqua praefiguratione futurorum gesta adque conscripta neque nisi ad Christum et eius ecclesiam, quae ciuitas Dei est, esse referenda; cuius ab initio generis humani non defuit praedicatio, quam per omnia uidemus inpleri. Benedictis igitur duobus filiis Noe adque uno in medio eorum maledicto deinceps usque ad Abraham de iustorum aliquorum, qui pie Deum colerent, commemoratione silentium est per annos amplius quam mille. Nec eos defuisse crediderim, sed si omnes commemorarentur, nimis longum fieret, et esset haec historica magis diligentia quam prophetica prouidentia. Illa itaque exsequitur litterarum sacrarum scriptor istarum uel potius per eum Dei Spiritus, quibus non solum narrentur praeterita, uerum etiam praenuntientur futura, quae tamen pertinent ad ciuitatem Dei; quia et de hominibus, qui non sunt ciues eius, quidquid hic dicitur, ad hoc dicitur, ut illa ex conparatione contraria uel proficiat uel emineat. Non sane omnia, quae gesta narrantur, aliquid etiam significare putanda sunt; sed propter illa, quae aliquid significant, etiam ea, quae nihil significant, adtexuntur. Solo enim uomere terra proscinditur; sed ut hoc fieri possit, etiam cetera aratri membra sunt necessaria; et soli nerui in citharis adque huius modi uasis musicis aptantur ad cantum; sed ut aptari possint, insunt et cetera in conpagibus organorum, quae non percutiuntur a canentibus, sed ea, quae percussa resonant, his conectuntur. Ita in prophetica historia dicuntur et aliqua, quae nihil significant, sed quibus adhaereant quae significant et quodam modo religentur.