Exposition of Psalm 118 5.12.1–5.40.2
Latin text: CSEL 62 (Latin text: Schenkl/Petschenig, CSEL 62, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Exposition 5, chapter 12
5.12.1CSEL 62:88
Constitue mihi aliquos ex circumcisione credentes in lege doctos obseruantiae sollicitae uiros et nunc euangelii agnitione inluminatos, spiritali saginatos gratia; dicit in his ecclesia, quae uidet Christum, quae sponsum recipit, quae cibo eius pascitur: i n umbra eius concupiui et sedi et fructus eius dulcis in faucibus meis. qui fructus eius dulcis nisi praedicatio dominicae passionis, ut ipse ait:
Picture for me some believers from the circumcision, men learned in the law, of careful observance, and now enlightened by the knowledge of the gospel and fed with spiritual grace: in them the church speaks which sees Christ, which receives the bridegroom, which is fed on his food: “In his shadow I longed and sat down, and his fruit is sweet in my throat.” What is his sweet fruit but the preaching of the Lord’s passion, as he himself says:
Song 2:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jewish believers who came to the gospel speak as the church tasting Christ’s fruit, his passion.
- Song 2:3.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.12.1 (CSEL 62:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-12-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-12-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.12.2CSEL 62:88
ecce hereditas domini filii, merces fructus uentris? qui enim dulcior fructus potest esse in faucibus nostris quam remissio peccatorum? et bene flos est ecclesia, quae fructum adnuntiat, hoc est dominum Iesum Christum, de quo dictum est Mariae: benedicta tu inter mulieres et benedictus fructus uentris tui.
“Behold, the inheritance of the Lord is sons, the reward the fruit of the womb”? For what fruit can be sweeter in our throat than the forgiveness of sins? And well is the church a flower, which proclaims the fruit, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it was said to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
Ps 127:3 (126:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 1:42 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The sweet fruit is Christ, the fruit of Mary’s womb, and the forgiveness he brings.
- Ps 127:3 (LXX 126:3); Luke 1:42.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.12.2 (CSEL 62:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-12-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-12-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 13
5.13.1CSEL 62:88–89
Ergo ubi gustauit fructum suauitatis, inpatiens ad perfectiora festinat dicens: introducite me in domum uini, constituite in me dilectionem. confirmate me in unguentis, stipate me in malis, quia uulnerata dilectionis ego sum. laeua eius sub capite meo et dextera eius amplexabitur me. adiuraui uos, filiae Hierusalem, in uirtutibus et fortitudinibus agri, si suscitaueritis et resuscitaueritis dilectionem usque quo uoluerit.
So when she has tasted the fruit of sweetness, impatient, she hastens to more perfect things, saying: “Bring me into the house of wine, set love in order in me. Strengthen me with ointments, surround me with apples, for I am wounded with love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me. I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, whether you will rouse and rouse up love until it pleases.”
Song 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Having tasted Christ’s fruit, the bride asks to be brought into the house of wine.
- Song 2:4–7 (Greek form).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.13.1 (CSEL 62:88–89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-13-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.13.2CSEL 62:89
merito quaeri eum, mento aeSlQerat, quia bene omnia in hoc cursu atque itinere disposuit imperator noster. primum omnium fidei fundamento tabernaculum hoc confirmandum putauit: deinde, si qua est nobis aspera atque arida et praerupta mansio, imperator tamen iste turbata discernit, arida inrigat, deserta fecundat. si quid amaritudinis, si quid temptationis, si quid infirmitatis est, ductor noster et amara temperat et sollicita mitigat, dura dissoluit et inualida confirmat.
Rightly she sought him, rightly she had desired him, because our commander arranged everything well in this course and journey. First of all he thought this tent should be made firm on the foundation of faith; then, if there is any rough, dry, or steep station for us, this commander nevertheless sorts out what is troubled, waters what is dry, makes fruitful what is desert. If there is any bitterness, any temptation, any weakness, our leader tempers bitter things, soothes anxious ones, loosens hard ones, and strengthens weak ones.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, our commander, makes each station of the journey bearable.
- The digital text is garbled at the start (“merito quaeri eum, mento aeSlQerat”); read as “merito quaesierat eum, merito desiderat”, translated by sense, without corrections.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.13.2 (CSEL 62:89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-13-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-13-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 14
5.14.1CSEL 62:89
Sicubi uult requiescere rex terrae exercitum suum, non ignobilem uicum, non commeatibus indigentem, non harenosa et nuda gignentium, sed urbem aedificiis nobilem, refertam et uberem copiarum aut agrum amoenum et uirentem pascuis aut nemorosa et campestria statiuis oportuna decernit. ergo si reges terrae norunt commoda prouidere sequentibus se, quanto magis deus, qui bonus est, nouit quemadmodum profutura disponat diligentibus se! ac primum si incognitum carpendum est iter, duces eliguntur uiarum qui praecurrant agmini.
Wherever an earthly king wishes to rest his army, he chooses not an ignoble village, not one lacking supplies, not sandy and bare of growing things, but a city distinguished by its buildings, full and rich in provisions, or a pleasant field green with pastures, or wooded and level places suitable for camps. If, then, the kings of the earth know how to provide comforts for those who follow them, how much more does God, who is good, know how to arrange what will profit those who love him! And first, if an unknown road is to be taken, guides of the roads are chosen to go ahead of the column.
Rom 8:28 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: If earthly kings provide for their armies, how much more does God for those who love him.
- Rom 8:28.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.14.1 (CSEL 62:89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-14-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.14.2CSEL 62:89
sed hoc imperatores isti iniuriosum sibi arbitrantur; deus autem praeibat, cum Hebraei facerent iter, denique in columna nubis loquebatur ad eos. et ut scias, quia praeibat, deus, inquit, praeibat illorum iter, die quidem in columna nubis ostendens illis uiam, noctu autem in columna ignis, et non deficiebat columna nubis interdiu.
But these commanders think this beneath them; yet God went ahead when the Hebrews made their journey; indeed in the pillar of cloud he spoke to them. And so that you may know that he went ahead: “God,” it says, “went before them on their way, by day in a pillar of cloud showing them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, and the pillar of cloud did not fail by day.”
Ps 99:7 (98:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 13:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 13:22 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God himself went before Israel in the pillars of cloud and fire.
- Ps 99:7 (LXX 98:7); Exod 13:21–22.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.14.2 (CSEL 62:89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-14-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 15
5.15.1CSEL 62:89–90
Hanc praecedentem nubis columnam sequens ecclesia non deficiente, ne ipsa deficeret, umbra eius refrigerabatur, et ideo dicit: in umbra eius concupiui et sedi et fructus eius dulcis in faucibus meis. quia a domino pascebatur deducta in locum pascuum et aquam refectionis.
Following this pillar of cloud that went before and did not fail, the church, so as not to fail herself, was refreshed by its shade, and so she says: “In his shadow I longed and sat down, and his fruit is sweet in my throat,” because she was fed by the Lord, led into a place of pasture and to the water of refreshment.
Song 2:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 23:2 (22:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Following the pillar of cloud, the church is refreshed in its shade and fed by the Lord.
- Song 2:3; Ps 23:2 (LXX 22:2).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.15.1 (CSEL 62:89–90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-15-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.15.2CSEL 62:90
introducite me in domum uini. copiis praeparatis quaerit progredi ad aliam mansionem, in qua mysteriorum gratiam et laetitiae capiat suauitatem. hinc quoque promouens uerum iter ait: constituite in me dilectionem. bona statiua, ubi plenitudo est caritatis. confirmate me, inquit, in unguentis, stipate me i n malis.
“Bring me into the house of wine.” With provisions prepared, she seeks to advance to another station, in which she may receive the grace of the mysteries and the sweetness of gladness. Moving on from here too on the true journey, she says: “Set love in order in me.” A good camp, where there is the fullness of charity. “Strengthen me,” she says, “with ointments; surround me with apples.”
Song 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bride moves on to the house of wine and the station of love.
- Song 2:4–5.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.15.2 (CSEL 62:90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-15-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-15-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 16
5.16.1CSEL 62:90
Habes alias mansiones, ad quas ecclesia cum delectatione succedit. istae mansiones sunt crucis Christi et sepulturae, in quibus uulnerata est ecclesia, sed uulnere caritatis; uulnus enim est quod Christus excepit, sed unguentum est quod effudit, pomum est quod pependit. hoc pomum gustauit ecclesia et ait: et fructus eius dulcis in faucibus meis. et ut scias, quia pomum est dominus, legisti supra:
You have other stations, to which the church passes with delight. These are the stations of the cross of Christ and of his burial, in which the church was wounded, but with the wound of love; for it is a wound that Christ received, but an ointment that he poured out, an apple that hung. The church tasted this apple and said: “And his fruit is sweet in my throat.” And so that you may know that the Lord is the apple, you have read above:
Song 2:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Song 2:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The cross and burial of Christ are stations where the church is wounded with love.
- Song 2:5, 3.
Topics: Christology, Passion and death of Christ
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.16.1 (CSEL 62:90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-16-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-16-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.16.2CSEL 62:90
tamquam malum in lignis siluae, ita consobrinus meus. nos quoque uulnus fatemur, cum praedicamus Christum crucifixum, sed bonus odor sumus deo, quia crux Christi Iudaeis scandalum, Graecis stultitia, nobis autem uirtus dei atque sapientia est. hoc uulnere ecclesia uulneratur, cum saluatoris sui praedicat mortem, sed hoc uulnus est caritatis. denique qui non credit negat, qui diligit confitetur: Manicheus negat, christianus fatetur. et ideo scriptum: utilia uulnera amici quam uoluntaria oscula inimici. pulchre ergo dicit ecclesia: quia uulnerata caritatis ego sum.
“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my cousin.” We too confess a wound when we preach Christ crucified, but we are a good fragrance to God, because the cross of Christ is a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Greeks, but to us the power and wisdom of God. With this wound the church is wounded when she preaches the death of her Savior, but this wound is of love. Indeed he who does not believe denies it; he who loves confesses it: the Manichee denies, the Christian confesses. And so it is written: “Better are the wounds of a friend than the willing kisses of an enemy.” Beautifully, then, the church says: “For I am wounded with love.”
Song 2:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:24 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 2:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 27:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Preaching the crucified Christ wounds the church with love; the Manichee denies the cross, the Christian confesses it.
- Song 2:3, 5; 1 Cor 1:23–24; 2 Cor 2:15; Prov 27:6 (Greek form). The Manichees denied that Christ truly suffered in the flesh.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): silu ae → siluae.
Topics: Heresy, Passion and death of Christ, Manichaeism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.16.2 (CSEL 62:90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-16-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-16-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 17
5.17.1CSEL 62:90–91
Nudemus membra nostra bono uulneri, nudemus sagittae electae. sagitta haec Christus est, qui dicit: posuit me sicut sagittam electam. bonum ergo hac uulnerari sagitta. non mediocris mansionis iste processus; non omnes possunt dicere. quia uulnerati sunt dilectionis. dicebant apostoli.
Let us bare our limbs to the good wound, let us bare them to the chosen arrow. This arrow is Christ, who says: “He has made me like a chosen arrow.” It is good, then, to be wounded by this arrow. This is no slight advance in the stations; not all can say that they are wounded with love. The apostles said it,
Isa 49:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is the chosen arrow; to be wounded by him is a great advance.
- Isa 49:2.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.17.1 (CSEL 62:90–91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-17-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-17-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.17.2CSEL 62:91
cum pro Christo lapidarentur et Christum praedicarent; dicebat Paulus, cum ter uirgis caederetur et die ac nocte Christum adorandum gentibus disputaret; dicunt hoc martyres, qui uulnerantur pro Christo et, quia uulnerari pro eius meruerunt nomine. plus diligunt.
when they were stoned for Christ and preached Christ; Paul said it, when he was beaten with rods three times and day and night argued to the Gentiles that Christ should be worshiped; the martyrs say it, who are wounded for Christ and, because they have deserved to be wounded for his name, love the more.
Acts 14:19 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 11:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 20:31 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The apostles, Paul, and the martyrs, wounded for Christ, loved him the more.
- Acts 14:19; 2 Cor 11:25; Acts 20:31.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): dilig-unt → diligunt.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.17.2 (CSEL 62:91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-17-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-17-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 18
5.18.1CSEL 62:91
Ad hanc ergo ueniens mansionem ecclesia, ad hunc processum, ut pro Christo filios suos offerat. ut excipiat uulnera caritatis, quasi bona fidei alimenta repperiens pietatisque fructus gustauit ipsa et hortari ceteros coepit dicens: ̒gustate et uidete quoniam suauis est dominus, sicut malum. et in malo uulnus est, sed tamen suaue est.
Coming, then, to this station, to this advance, so as to offer her sons for Christ and receive the wounds of love, as though finding good nourishment of faith, the church herself tasted the fruits of godliness and began to exhort others, saying: “Taste and see that the Lord is sweet,” like an apple. In the apple too there is a wound, but yet it is sweet.
Ps 34:8 (33:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The church, offering her martyrs, invites all to taste that the Lord is sweet.
- Ps 34:8 (LXX 33:9). The digital text’s “m malo” is read as “in malo”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): et m malo → et in malo.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.18.1 (CSEL 62:91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-18-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-18-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.18.2CSEL 62:91
uenit ulterius ad uallem botryonis, uidit ingentis uuam magnitudinis quam duo portare uix poterant, unus qui praecederet, alius qui sequeretur. gustauit mysterium, gustauit in Iesu Naue. gustauit in Caleph, qui dicebant populo: uidimus terram profluentem mel et lac. gustate et uidete quam suauis est dominus.
She came further to the valley of the cluster; she saw a bunch of grapes of huge size, which two could barely carry, one going before and the other following. She tasted the mystery; she tasted it in Joshua son of Nun, she tasted it in Caleb, who said to the people: “We have seen a land flowing with honey and milk.” “Taste and see how sweet the Lord is.”
Num 13:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Num 13:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Num 14:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 34:8 (33:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The great cluster of Eshcol, carried by two, is a mystery the church tasted in Joshua and Caleb.
- Num 13:23–27; 14:6–8; Ps 34:8. The two bearers are often read as the two Testaments, the one in front not seeing the grapes. The digital text’s “uemt lteriun” is read as “uenit ulterius”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uemt lteriun → uenit ulterius.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.18.2 (CSEL 62:91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-18-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-18-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 19
5.19.1CSEL 62:91
Et addidit ecclesia dicere: laeua eius sub capite meo et dextera eius conplectetur m e. adiuraui uos, filiae Hierusalem m, i n uirtutibus e t fortitudinibus agri, si suscitaueritis et resuscitaueritis caritatem usque quo uoluerit. et istae mansiones sunt uia regali incedentis ecclesiae;
And the church went on to say: “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me. I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, whether you will rouse and rouse up love until it pleases.” These too are stations of the church as she advances on the royal road;
Song 2:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bride’s rest in the bridegroom’s embrace is a further station on the royal road.
- Song 2:6–7. Spaced and doubled letters in the digital text are translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.19.1 (CSEL 62:91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.19.2CSEL 62:91–92
multae enim sunt mansiones apud patrem meum, testificatur dominus Iesus: ecce uenio et accersio uos. bona mansio sapientiae et siue in laeua eius siue in dextra bona mansio, quia uia regalis est. ideoque sapientes nuntii dicunt: u ia regali ibimus, non deuertemus dextra neque
for “there are many mansions with my Father,” the Lord Jesus testifies; “behold, I come and will take you.” A good station is that of wisdom, and whether at his left or at his right it is a good station, because it is the royal road. And so the wise messengers say: “We will go by the royal road; we will not turn aside to the right or
John 14:2 (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Num 20:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: There are many mansions with the Father, on the royal road of wisdom.
- John 14:2–3; Num 20:17. The digital text’s “m u 11 a e” is read as “multae”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): m u 11 a e enim → multae enim.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.19.2 (CSEL 62:91–92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.19.3CSEL 62:92
sinistra, quoad usque transeamus terminos tuos. hoc dixerunt missi a Moyse nuntii ad regem Edom, hoc est ̒terrenum, quia terrena omnia siue in dextra siue in sinistra mala sunt. mala mansio insipientia, mala mansio intemperantia, et ideo pertransit has mansiones Hebraeus; non deuertit ad eas, sed pertransit, ut perueniat ad sinistram sapientiae et dexteram et in ipsis maneat, ubi diuitiae simplicitatis, ubi gloria, ubi longitudo uitae est; longitudo enim uitae in dextera eius, ut ait Salomon, in sinistra autem eius diuitiae et gloria.
the left, until we pass through your borders.” This the messengers sent by Moses said to the king of Edom, that is, “earthly,” because all earthly things, whether on the right or on the left, are evil. An evil station is folly, an evil station is intemperance; and so the Hebrew passes through these stations; he does not turn aside to them, but passes through, so as to reach the left hand and the right hand of wisdom and to remain in them, where there are the riches of simplicity, where there is glory, where there is length of life; for “length of life is in her right hand,” as Solomon says, “and in her left hand riches and glory.”
Num 20:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Num 20:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 3:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Israel passed by Edom’s “earthly” stations to reach wisdom’s right hand of life and left hand of riches.
- Num 20:14–17; Prov 3:16.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.19.3 (CSEL 62:92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.19.4CSEL 62:92
in dextra uita est, in sinistra requies. utinam super sinistram eius requiescam, ne quaeram ceruicalia! uae enim his qui adsuunt ceruicalia, Ezechiel dicit. has mansiones praeparat ecclesiae suae bonus ductor et per uias sapientiae dirigit iter eius. denique laudat Sapiens uias eius: uiae eius uiae bonae et omnes semitae eius in pace.
In the right hand is life, in the left rest. Would that I might rest on his left hand, so as not to seek pillows! For “woe to those who sew pillows,” says Ezekiel. These stations the good guide prepares for his church and directs her journey through the ways of wisdom. Indeed the wise man praises her ways: “Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are in peace.”
Song 2:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 13:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 3:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ guides the church through the ways of wisdom, which are peace.
- Song 2:6; Ezek 13:18 (Greek form); Prov 3:17.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.19.4 (CSEL 62:92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-19-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 20
5.20.1CSEL 62:92
Sed quia sapientia, honestas, claritas ita perfecta sunt, si habeant caritatem — plenitudo enim legis caritas est —, suscitari et resuscitari uult caritatem, suscitari in ueteri testamento, resuscitari in nouo.
But because wisdom, honor, and renown are perfect only if they have love (for love is the fulfillment of the law), she wishes love to be roused and roused up: roused in the old testament, roused up in the new.
Rom 13:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Love, the fulfillment of the law, is roused in the Old Testament and roused again in the New.
- Rom 13:10; 1 Cor 13:1–3; Song 2:7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (punctuation slip in the digital text): sapientia; honestas → sapientia, honestas.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.20.1 (CSEL 62:92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-20-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.20.2CSEL 62:92–93
caritas deus est, ut legimus, caritas Christus est. suscitatur tamquam leo et catulus leonis, ut Iudae ascendat ex germine: resuscitatur ut dormiens, ut recumbens, quia non humana, sed sua et patris maiestate est suscitatus a mortuis. unde ait scriptura: quis suscitabit illum? non enim poterat illum aut angelus aut potestas suscitare aliena, cum ipse alios resuscitaret.
God is love, as we read; love is Christ. He is roused like a lion and a lion’s whelp, so as to come up from the shoot of Judah; he is roused up as one sleeping, as one lying down, because he was raised from the dead not by human majesty but by his own and the Father’s. Hence Scripture says: “Who will rouse him up?” For no angel or power could rouse him by another’s strength, since he himself raised up others.
1 John 4:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 49:9 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 1:1 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, who is love, was raised from the dead by his own and the Father’s power.
- 1 John 4:8, 16; Gen 49:9 (Greek form); John 10:18; Gal 1:1.
Topics: Christology, Trinity, Resurrection and ascension of Christ
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.20.2 (CSEL 62:92–93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-20-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.20.3CSEL 62:93
ergo cum hic dicit: si suscitaueritis aut resuscitaueritis caritatem usque quo uoluer i t, de his dicit, qui resurrectionem eius possint congrue praedicare, ut audientibus ardorem fidei et deuotionis accendant. uel suscitatur Christus in his qui primum accedunt, resuscitatur in his, qui postquam accesserint dormierunt. dormit ergo Christus in neglegentibus, suscitatur in sanctis.
So when she says here, “whether you will rouse or rouse up love until it pleases,” she speaks of those who can fittingly preach his resurrection, so as to kindle in their hearers the ardor of faith and devotion. Or Christ is roused in those who first come to him, roused up in those who, after they have come, have fallen asleep. Christ, then, sleeps in the negligent and is roused in the saints.
Song 2:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Love is roused by preachers of the resurrection; Christ sleeps in the negligent and wakes in the saints.
- Song 2:7. The digital text’s “cura” is read as “cum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): ergo cura hic dicit → ergo cum hic dicit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.20.3 (CSEL 62:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-20-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-20-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 21
5.21.1CSEL 62:93
Habet ergo ecclesia per quae gradiatur; habet habitacula mansionum, in quibus requiescunt sancti, de quibus iste est qui dicit: legem mihi constitue, domine, uiam iustitiarum tuarum. bene ait statue, ut in pectore eius inmobilis et fixa permaneat nec aliquo saeculi turbine ab eius conuellatur affectu, ut ipse sibi lex sit, opus habens legis scriptum in corde suo.
The church, then, has the ways by which to go forward; she has the dwellings of the stations in which the saints rest, among whom is he who says: “Set before me as a law, Lord, the way of your righteous ordinances.” He well says “set,” so that it may remain immovable and fixed in his breast and not be torn from his affection by any whirlwind of the world, so that he may be a law to himself, having the work of the law written in his heart.
Ps 119:33 (118:33 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 2:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God sets his law firmly in the saint’s heart, so that he becomes a law to himself.
- Ps 119:33; Rom 2:14–15.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.21.1 (CSEL 62:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-21-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 22
5.22.1CSEL 62:93
Et quaeram, inquit, illam semper; non est enim mediocre, quod requiritur paradisi gratia, dei regnum, angelorum consortium inmortalitatisque domicilium. non ergo uno die quaeritur nec duobus aut paucis mensibus, sed quaeritur semper et quaeritur per omnia, ut meritorum multa concurrant suffragia; διὰ παντὸς enim et omne tempus significat et per omnia. cum dicit igitur quaeram, sine fine dicit esse quaerendum. sed non satis est quaerere, nisi intellegas quod requiris.
“And I will seek it always,” he says; for what is sought is no slight thing: the grace of paradise, the kingdom of God, the fellowship of angels, and the dwelling of immortality. It is not sought, then, in one day nor in two or a few months, but it is sought always and sought through all things, so that many supports of merit may come together; for dia pantos signifies both all time and through all things. When he says, then, “I will seek,” he says that it must be sought without end. But it is not enough to seek, unless you understand what you seek.
Ps 119:33 (118:33 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The way of God must be sought always and in all things.
- Ps 119:33 (Greek διὰ παντός, “always”).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.22.1 (CSEL 62:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-22-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 23
5.23.1CSEL 62:93
Ideoque ait: da mihi intellectum, et perscrutabor legem tuam et custodiam illam in toto corde meo. quaerendum primum, deinde intellegendum perscrutandumque legis omne mysterium et in corde custodiendum. quis autem potest custodire legem dei, nisi intellectum acceperit? qui autem intellegit et scrutatur, scrutando in semitam mandatorum deducitur.
And so he says: “Give me understanding, and I will search out your law and keep it with my whole heart.” First one must seek, then understand and search out every mystery of the law and keep it in the heart. And who can keep the law of God unless he has received understanding? But he who understands and searches is led by searching into the path of the commandments.
Ps 119:34 (118:34 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 34: understanding is needed to search out and keep the law.
- Ps 118:34 (Ps 119:34). The digital text’s “perscrut ab or” is read as “perscrutabor”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): perscrut ab or → perscrutabor.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.23.1 (CSEL 62:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-23-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.23.2CSEL 62:93–94
in quo illud aduertendum, quia lex est iustitia, mandatum iudicium, sicut et in hac littera legimus. est legis uia stare in uiis legis, est uia iustitiarum secundum primum uersiculum. est ergo et testimoniorum uia: i n uia testimoniorum tuorum delectabar; est et uia mandatorum: uiam mandatorum tuorum cucurri. interrogemus ergo has uias, ut dicatur nobis: state in uiis legis et interrogate semitas aeter-
In this it must be noted that the law is righteousness, the commandment judgment, as we read in this letter too. There is a way of the law, to stand in the ways of the law; there is the way of righteous ordinances, according to the first verse. There is also the way of testimonies: “In the way of your testimonies I delighted”; there is also the way of the commandments: “I have run the way of your commandments.” Let us ask, then, about these ways, so that it may be said to us: “Stand in the ways of the law and ask about the eternal paths
Ps 119:33 (118:33 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 119:14 (118:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:32 (118:32 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 6:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture speaks of the ways of the law, of righteous ordinances, of testimonies, and of commandments.
- Ps 119:33, 14, 32; Jer 6:16 (Greek form). The digital text’s “lustitia” is read as “iustitia”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): lustitia → iustitia.
Topics: The law of Moses
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.23.2 (CSEL 62:93–94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-23-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.23.3CSEL 62:94
nas et uidete quae uia melior et ambulate in e a. cum omnes igitur ambulauerimus uias. ueniemus in omnium finem uiarum, qui ait: ego sum uia. Christus ergo finis uiarum; ipse est enim finis legis ad iustitiam omni credenti. hinc audeo dicere, quia finis iustitiarum Christus, qui est iustitia, finis testimoniorum Christus, de quo dictum est: estote mihi testes, et ego testis, dicit dominus, et puer meus quem elegi.
and see which is the better way, and walk in it.” When, then, we have all walked the ways, we shall come to the end of all ways, who says: “I am the way.” Christ, then, is the end of the ways; for he is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Hence I dare to say that Christ, who is righteousness, is the end of the righteous ordinances; Christ is the end of the testimonies, of whom it was said: “Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen.”
Jer 6:16 (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 43:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is the end of all the ways, of the law, of righteousness, and of the testimonies.
- Jer 6:16; John 14:6; Rom 10:4; Isa 43:10.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.23.3 (CSEL 62:94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-23-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-23-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 24
5.24.1CSEL 62:94
Aduertimus igitur, quantum nobis ambulandum sit, ut ueniamus ad Christum, ambulandum in lege, quia finis legis est Christus. sine lege ergo non peruenitur ad Christum. unde manifestum est quod haeretici, qui legem ueteris non accipiunt testamenti, etsi dicant quod Christum teneant, tamen tenere non possunt finem, qui initium non tenuerint. ipse est Iesus initium et finis. oportet
We notice, then, how far we must walk to come to Christ: we must walk in the law, because the end of the law is Christ. Without the law, then, one does not come to Christ. Hence it is clear that the heretics who do not accept the law of the old testament, even if they say they hold Christ, nevertheless cannot hold the end, since they have not held the beginning. Jesus himself is the beginning and the end. We must
Rom 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 22:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is reached only through the law; heretics who reject the Old Testament cannot hold Christ.
- Rom 10:4; Rev 21:6; 22:13. The heretics meant are those such as Marcion and the Manichees.
Topics: Heresy, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.24.1 (CSEL 62:94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-24-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-24-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.24.2CSEL 62:94–95
igitur, ut ambulemus secundum legem spiritalem, ut ueniamus ad legis finem dominum Iesum. oportet, ut sequamur testimonia, ut peruenire possimus ad magnum testimonium dominum Iesum. oportet etiam, ut in praeceptis domini ambulemus, ut perueniamus ad magnum praeceptum, de quo legistis: dictum est antiquis: non occides; ego autem dico uobis, hoc est: super omne praeceptum dico. itaque non usurpatorie dixerim, sed uere, quia, sicut sunt sancta sanctorum, ita praeceptum est praeceptorum.
therefore walk according to the spiritual law, so as to come to the end of the law, the Lord Jesus. We must follow the testimonies, so as to be able to reach the great testimony, the Lord Jesus. We must also walk in the Lord’s precepts, so as to reach the great precept, of which you have read: “It was said to those of old, You shall not kill; but I say to you,” that is: I say above every precept. And so I would say not presumptuously but truly that, as there is the holy of holies, so there is the precept of precepts.
Rom 7:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 5:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:22 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Following the law, testimonies, and precepts leads to Christ, the great testimony and the precept of precepts.
- Rom 7:14; Matt 5:21–22.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.24.2 (CSEL 62:94–95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-24-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-24-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 25
5.25.1CSEL 62:95
Sed ut ista seruare possimus, intellectum petamus a domino. intellegamus, quae sit circumcisio. circumcidit Iesus petrinis gladiis et abstulit obprobrium Aegypti a filiis Israel. petra Christus est; circumcidat te uerbum dei et gladius oris eius, et sic Aegypti carebis obprobrio. non igitur corporis, sed cordis intellegenda est circumcisio. si intellexeris legem, seruabis eam in corde tuo.
But so that we may keep these things, let us ask the Lord for understanding. Let us understand what circumcision is. Joshua circumcised with knives of rock and took away the reproach of Egypt from the sons of Israel. The rock is Christ; let the Word of God and the sword of his mouth circumcise you, and so you will be free of the reproach of Egypt. Circumcision, then, is to be understood not of the body but of the heart. If you understand the law, you will keep it in your heart.
Josh 5:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Josh 5:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 1:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 2:29 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: True circumcision is of the heart, done by Christ, the rock, and the sword of his word.
- Josh 5:2–9 (Greek form); 1 Cor 10:4; Rev 1:16; Rom 2:29. Ambrose plays on Iesus (Joshua and Jesus).
Topics: Circumcision
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.25.1 (CSEL 62:95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-25-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-25-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.25.2CSEL 62:95
Iudaeus in corde legem non seruat, sed in labiis legem recitat et legem ignorat. denique: populus hic, inquit, labiis me honorat, cor autem eorum longe est a me. quomodo potest legem tenere qui longe est a legis auctore? tertius uersiculus quid habeat, consideremus.
The Jew does not keep the law in his heart, but recites the law with his lips and does not know the law. Indeed: “This people,” it says, “honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” How can he hold the law who is far from the author of the law? Let us consider what the third verse contains.
Isa 29:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 15:8 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Keeping the law only with the lips leaves the heart far from God.
- Isa 29:13; Matt 15:8. Ambrose’s remark on the Jews is translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.25.2 (CSEL 62:95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-25-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-25-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 26
5.26.1CSEL 62:95
Deduc me in semitam mandatorum tuorum. quoniam uolui eam. quis hoc dicit nisi qui Christum sequitur? non potest alius hoc dicere nisi qui illud exequitur, quod scriptum est: post dominum deum tuum ambulabis et ipsi adhaerebis, quia ipse te deducit. quomodo deducat, audi: nisi qui tulerit crucem suam et post me secutus fuerit, non est me dignus.
“Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I have desired it.” Who says this but he who follows Christ? No one else can say this but he who carries out what is written: “You shall walk after the Lord your God and cleave to him,” because he himself leads you. How he leads, hear: “Unless one takes up his cross and follows after me, he is not worthy of me.”
Ps 119:35 (118:35 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 13:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 10:38 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 35: whoever follows Christ, carrying the cross, is led in the path of the commandments.
- Ps 118:35 (Ps 119:35); Deut 13:4; Matt 10:38.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.26.1 (CSEL 62:95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.26.2CSEL 62:95
praecedit ergo Christus, ut nos sequamur, praecedit uerbum. principium Christus est; ideo Sapientia dicit: dominus creauit me principium uiarum suarum. aduertimus. quod et principium Christus et finis uiarum sit. non uereor, ne quis dicat: creatum ergo Christum adseris? respondebo: ita creatum dico, quemadmodum factum legi, hoc est: factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, hoc est: secundum susceptionem carnis creatum, secundum quod est natus ex uirgine.
Christ, then, goes ahead so that we may follow; the Word goes ahead. Christ is the beginning; so Wisdom says: “The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways.” We notice that Christ is both the beginning and the end of the ways. I am not afraid that anyone will say: “So you assert that Christ was created?” I will answer: I say he was created in the same way that I read he was made, that is, “made of a woman, made under the law,” that is, created according to the taking up of the flesh, according to his being born of the Virgin.
Prov 8:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 4:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Wisdom’s words “the Lord created me” refer to Christ’s incarnation, not to his divine nature.
- Prov 8:22 (Greek form, a key text in the Arian controversy); Gal 4:4. Ambrose applies “created” to the incarnation; translated as written.
Topics: Christology, Heresy, Incarnation
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.26.2 (CSEL 62:95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.26.3CSEL 62:95–96
creatus est, ut redimeret creaturas, homo factus est, ut homines a morte perpetua liberaret. creatus est, ut uias mihi demonstraret aeternas, quibus homo redire possit ad dei regnum. ergo quia principium est uiarum dei, hoc principium sequamur.
He was created so as to redeem creatures; he was made man so as to free men from everlasting death. He was created so as to show me the eternal ways by which man can return to the kingdom of God. Since, then, he is the beginning of God’s ways, let us follow this beginning.
Prov 8:22 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ became a creature to redeem creatures and to show the way back to God.
Topics: Christology, Incarnation
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.26.3 (CSEL 62:95–96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.26.4CSEL 62:96
primus uiam noui ingressus testamenti, ut uia nobis deuotionis sterneret iter. si ieiunamus, ante nos ille ieiunauit. si pro nomine dei sustinemus iniurias, prius ille sustinuit pro nostra redemptione. ceruices suas posuit in flagella, maxillas suas in palmas; ascendit crucem, ut doceret mortem non esse metuendam. denique quasi praecedens ait Petro: t u me sequere, et ideo Petrus cursum consummauit, quia secutus est Christum.
He first entered the way of the new testament, so as to pave for us the road of devotion. If we fast, he fasted before us. If we suffer injuries for God’s name, he suffered them first for our redemption. He gave his neck to the scourges, his cheeks to the blows; he mounted the cross to teach that death is not to be feared. Indeed, as one going before, he says to Peter: “You follow me”; and so Peter finished his course, because he followed Christ.
Matt 4:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 50:6 (allusion, high confidence) · John 21:22 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ went first in fasting, suffering, and death, and Peter followed him to the end.
- Matt 4:2; Isa 50:6; John 21:22; 2 Tim 4:7. The digital text’s “noni” is read as “noui”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uiam noni ingressus → uiam noui ingressus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.26.4 (CSEL 62:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-26-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 27
5.27.1CSEL 62:96
Sequitur uersus quartus: inclina cor meum in testimonia tua e t non in auaritiam. utilitatem alii habent et puto, quod ideo mutatum sit, quia utilitas bonae rei uidetur esse expetenda potius quam declinanda. sed quia plerique lucrum pecuniarum utilitatem suam putant esse, ideo, si legimus
The fourth verse follows: “Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to greed.” Others have “profit,” and I think it was changed because the profit of a good thing seems to be sought rather than avoided. But because most people think the gain of money is their profit, therefore, if we read
Ps 119:36 (118:36 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 36: Ambrose notes the variant reading “profit” for “greed.”
- Ps 118:36 (Ps 119:36; Greek εἰς πλεονεξίαν, rendered “greed” or “profit” in Latin versions).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): in clina cor → inclina cor.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.27.1 (CSEL 62:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-27-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-27-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.27.2CSEL 62:96
"utilitatem", non animae utilitatem accipere debemus prophetam declinare, sed utilitatem pecuniae. sanctus enim lucra ista non nouit, sed omnia haec detrimentum arbitratur, ut Christum lucretur. et recte; quod enim putamus lucrum esse pecuniae, damnum est animae, quia uirtutis est detrimentum. ergo secundum eos, qui ita acceperunt, ut optet propheta inclinari cor suum in testimonia et non in auaritiam, et nos congruimus ad sensum. atque utinam precem
“profit,” we must understand that the prophet turns away not from the profit of the soul but from the profit of money. For the saint does not know these gains, but counts all these things as loss, so as to gain Christ. And rightly; for what we think is the gain of money is the loss of the soul, because it is a loss of virtue. So, according to those who have taken it to mean that the prophet wishes his heart to be inclined to the testimonies and not to greed, we too agree with the sense. And would that, following the prayer
Phil 3:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 3:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 8:36 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The profit he shuns is money, which the saint counts as loss for Christ.
- Phil 3:7–8; Mark 8:36.
Topics: Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.27.2 (CSEL 62:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-27-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-27-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.27.3CSEL 62:96–97
sancti sequentes et oremus quod ille orauit et quod oramus imitemur affectu! quid enim mihi prodest, si orem ut auertat cor meum dominus ab auaritia et ipse diebus ac noctibus pecuniae quaeram conpendia? si oramus sermone, conpatiamur et mente; audit sensum nostrum Iesus et cognoscens duobus istis non conuenire, sermoni et cupiditati, non exaudit loquentem. et ideo, qui bene uolebat orare, dicebat: orabo spiritu, orabo et mente: psallam spiritu, psallam et mente. ita magis audit orantem, si aspernatur auaritiam.
of the saint, we might both pray what he prayed and imitate in affection what we pray! For what use is it to me if I pray that the Lord turn my heart away from greed while I myself seek gains of money day and night? If we pray with speech, let us feel it with the mind too; Jesus hears our thought and, knowing that these two, speech and desire, do not agree, he does not hear the speaker. And so he who wished to pray well said: “I will pray with the spirit, I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, I will sing with the mind also.” So he hears the one praying the more if he spurns greed.
1 Cor 14:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Prayer against greed is heard only if the heart agrees with the words.
- 1 Cor 14:15.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.27.3 (CSEL 62:96–97; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-27-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-27-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 28
5.28.1CSEL 62:97
Sed quia inualidi sumus et plerumque uolentes auertere cor nostrum a pecunia uel auro uel argento capimur aspectu et agrum aut aedificium uidentes alienum concupiscimus, bene addidit propheta dicens: auerte oculos s meos, ne uideant uanitate s, in uia tua uiuifica me. etenim qui in uia est dei, uanitates non aspicit; uia perfecta Christus est.
But because we are weak and often, wishing to turn our heart away from money, we are caught by the sight of gold or silver, and seeing another’s field or building we covet it, the prophet well added, saying: “Turn away my eyes, lest they see vanities; in your way give me life.” For he who is in the way of God does not look at vanities; the perfect way is Christ.
Ps 119:37 (118:37 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 37: because the eyes awaken covetousness, he asks God to turn them from vanities.
- Ps 118:37 (Ps 119:37). Spaced letters in the digital text are translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.28.1 (CSEL 62:97; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-28-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-28-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.28.2CSEL 62:97
qui igitur in Christo est, quomodo potest uanitates aspicere, cum Christus in carne sua omnes mundi huius crucifixerit uanitates? auertamus igitur oculos nostros a uanitatibus, ne, quod oculus uiderit, animus concupiscat; mystica enim differamus interim. utinam hac interpretatione possimus reuocare ad diuersa circensium ludorum atque theatralium spectacula festinantes! uanitas est illa quam cernis. pantomimum aspicis, uanitas est; luctatores aspicis, uanitas est.
How, then, can he who is in Christ look at vanities, when Christ crucified all the vanities of this world in his flesh? Let us turn our eyes away from vanities, then, lest the mind covet what the eye has seen; the mystical sense we may put off for the moment. Would that by this interpretation we could call back those hurrying to the various shows of the circus games and the theater! What you see there is vanity. You watch a pantomime: it is vanity; you watch wrestlers: it is vanity,
Gal 6:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The shows of the circus and theater are vanities from which the eyes must be turned.
- Gal 6:14.
Topics: Ethics, Games, shows, and the theatre
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.28.2 (CSEL 62:97; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-28-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-28-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.28.3CSEL 62:97
quia cernis eos de uiridibus frondibus luctantes habere coronas; illi enim ueri sunt luctatores, qui aduersum huius saeculi luctantur inlecebras et non capit oculos suos palaestra membrorum. equos currentes aspicis, uanitas est, quia uane currunt qui ascendentem saluare non possunt. denique recursus ipse te doceat, quia uane currunt qui non directum conficiunt iter, obliuiscentes superiora et ea quae posteriora sunt adpetentes.
because you see them win crowns of green leaves for their wrestling; but those are the true wrestlers who wrestle against the enticements of this world, and whose eyes the wrestling of limbs does not capture. You watch horses racing: it is vanity, because they run in vain who cannot save their rider. Indeed let the very turning back of the course teach you that they run in vain who do not complete a straight course, forgetting what lies ahead and reaching for what lies behind.
1 Cor 9:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 33:17 (32:17 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 3:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Athletes and chariots run in vain; true wrestlers fight worldly enticements.
- 1 Cor 9:25; Ps 33:17 (LXX 32:17); Phil 3:13 (inverted).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.28.3 (CSEL 62:97; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-28-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-28-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 29
5.29.1CSEL 62:97–98
Ante nos est Christus, ante nos brauium eius, ad quod peruenit qui non in incertum cucurrit nec reuocauit cursum suum, sed incitauit. ad hunc dirige oculos tuos, auerte ab spectaculis, auerte ab omni saeculari pompa. sicubi populares cognoueris plausus, auerte ab his oculos tuos, inflecte, deprime et serua eos, ut erigas melioribus.
Christ is before us, his prize is before us, which he reached who did not run uncertainly nor turn back his course, but spurred it on. Direct your eyes to this; turn them away from the shows, turn them away from all worldly pomp. Wherever you notice popular applause, turn your eyes away from it, bend them, lower them, and keep them, so that you may raise them to better things.
Phil 3:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Fix your eyes on Christ, the prize, and turn them from worldly spectacles.
- Phil 3:14; 1 Cor 9:26.
Topics: Games, shows, and the theatre
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.29.1 (CSEL 62:97–98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-29-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-29-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.29.2CSEL 62:98
erige ad caelum; uel nocte stellarum monilia, orbem lunae decorum, uel die solem aspice. specta mare, terram circumspice, ut opere facta diuino omnis creatura te pascat. quae formarum gratia in ipsis bestiis, quantus decor in hominibus, quanta in auibus pulchritudo! haec intuere, et non uidebis iniquitatem et contradictionem in ciuitate; haec uide, et non introibit mors per fenestras oculorum tuorum.
Raise them to heaven; by night look on the jewels of the stars, the lovely orb of the moon, or by day the sun. Look at the sea, gaze around at the earth, so that every creature made by divine work may feed you. What grace of forms in the very beasts, how great a beauty in men, how much loveliness in birds! Look at these, and you will not see iniquity and contradiction in the city; see these, and death will not enter through the windows of your eyes.
Ps 55:9 (54:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 9:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Instead of shows, contemplate the beauty of God’s creation.
- Ps 55:9 (LXX 54:10); Jer 9:21. The digital text’s “aspic-e” is read as “aspice”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): aspic-e → aspice.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.29.2 (CSEL 62:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-29-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-29-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 30
5.30.1CSEL 62:98
Si uideris mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, intrauit mors per fenestram; si uideris possessionem minoris aut uiduae et concupieris diripere eam, intrauit mors per fenestram; si uideris aliena
If you look at a woman to lust after her, death has entered through the window; if you see the property of a minor or a widow and lust to seize it, death has entered through the window; if you see another’s
Matt 5:28 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 9:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Lust and covetousness let death in through the windows of the eyes.
- Matt 5:28; Jer 9:21.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.30.1 (CSEL 62:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.30.2CSEL 62:98
monilia aurum argentum et concupieris ut extorqueas, intrauit mors per fenestram. claude ergo hanc fenestram, qua uideris alienae mulieris pulchritudinem, ne mors possit intrare; oculi tui non uideant alienam, ne lingua peruersum loquatur. tuam ergo fenestram claude, ne morti pateat intranti. sed etiam alienam fenestram caue; a fenestra enim domus suae intrat fornicaria.
jewels, gold, silver, and lust to extort them, death has entered through the window. Shut this window, then, through which you see another woman’s beauty, so that death cannot enter; let your eyes not look on another’s wife, lest your tongue speak perversely. Shut your own window, then, so that it is not open to death as it enters. But beware of another’s window too; for “from the window of her house the harlot enters.”
Prov 23:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 7:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Shut the windows of the eyes against another’s wife and against the harlot.
- Prov 23:33 (Greek form); Prov 7:6 (Greek form, “from the window of her house”).
Topics: Ethics, Sexual morality
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.30.2 (CSEL 62:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.30.3CSEL 62:98
a fenestra sua intrat, tum intrat, cum aliquem petulantis oculi temptat lasciuia. exclude igitur hanc fenestram uerbi ostio, ne capiaris oculis meretricis et abripiaris palpebris. sed non una est fenestra, per quam mors consueuit intrare. est et fenestra uerborum, per quam sermones commeant meretricis. et ideo te ab aliena uxore custodi, ne te sermonibus gratiosis adoriatur; a fenestra enim domus suae intrat.
She enters from her window; she enters when the wantonness of a lustful eye tempts someone. Shut this window, then, with the door of the word, so as not to be captured by the harlot’s eyes and carried off by her eyelids. But there is not one window only by which death is accustomed to enter. There is also the window of words, through which the harlot’s speeches pass. And so guard yourself from another man’s wife, lest she attack you with charming words; for from the window of her house she enters.
Prov 6:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 7:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 7:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Death enters also through the window of seductive words; guard yourself from another man’s wife.
- Prov 6:24–25; 7:5, 6.
Topics: Ethics, Sexual morality
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.30.3 (CSEL 62:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.30.4CSEL 62:98–99
intrat mors per oscula, et ideo caue, ne te laqueis labiorum suorum alliget. intrat mors, si te meretrix osculetur, intrat mors, si cito adquiescas loquenti. intrat mors, si loquaris, intrat mors, si multum loquaris — multiloquio enim peccatum incurritur —, intrat mors etiam si non loquaris et Christum timeas confiteri — ore enim confessio fit ad salutem —, intrat mors etiam per cauernas aurium et ideo aures spinis sunt saepiendae, ut inlecebras meretricii sermonis excludas. haec moralia.
Death enters through kisses, and so beware lest she bind you with the snares of her lips. Death enters if the harlot kisses you; death enters if you quickly agree with her as she speaks. Death enters if you speak, death enters if you speak much (for by much speaking sin is incurred); death enters even if you do not speak and are afraid to confess Christ (for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation); death enters even through the openings of the ears, and so the ears must be hedged with thorns, so as to shut out the enticements of the harlot’s speech. So much for the moral sense.
Prov 7:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 7:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Prov 10:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 10:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Death enters by kisses, by speech and by silence, and through the ears.
- Prov 7:13, 21; Prov 10:19; Rom 10:10; Sir 28:24 (Vulgate 28:28: “hedge your ears with thorns”).
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 28:24 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; allusion)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.30.4 (CSEL 62:98–99; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-30-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 31
5.31.1CSEL 62:99
Sunt etiam mystici oculi, quos auertere debeas a uanitate; est enim et sensuum uanitas, quam oculi animae tuae uidere non debeant, quia illi eam uident quos apostolus damnat. unde ipso magis auctore discamus, quae uanitas et qui oculi sint. manifestum enim esse plerosque, qui uanitate sensus sui obscurati sunt corde et alienati a uita dei propter ignorantiam quae in ipsis est, propter caecitatem cordis eorum. illos tamen gentes apostolus dicit.
There are also mystical eyes, which you ought to turn away from vanity; for there is also a vanity of thoughts, which the eyes of your soul ought not to see, because those see it whom the apostle condemns. So let us learn rather from him as authority what vanity is and what the eyes are. For it is clear that there are many who in the vanity of their mind are darkened in heart and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. Yet the apostle calls them Gentiles.
Eph 4:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Mystically, the eyes of the soul must turn from the vanity of mind that Paul ascribes to the Gentiles.
- Eph 4:17–18. The digital text’s “mystic-i” is read as “mystici”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): mystic-i → mystici.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.31.1 (CSEL 62:99; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-31-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-31-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.31.2CSEL 62:99
ignoret igitur gentilis ille quod non didicit, ignoret quod non credidit: tibi ignorare non licet quod confiteris. Christus non in uanitate uenit, sed in uirtute, non inflauit sensum hominis, sed uiuificauit, non caecitatem cordis, sed inluminationem mentis operatus est. inflammauit cor tuum, ut conprehendas quae mandatorum caelestium ratio, quae animae substantia, quae uitae futurae gratia, in quo statu posthaec erimus.
Let that Gentile, then, be ignorant of what he has not learned, be ignorant of what he has not believed: you may not be ignorant of what you confess. Christ did not come in vanity but in power; he did not puff up the mind of man but gave it life; he worked not blindness of heart but enlightenment of mind. He set your heart on fire, so that you might grasp what is the meaning of the heavenly commandments, what is the substance of the soul, what is the grace of the life to come, in what state we shall be hereafter.
Luke 24:32 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ came to enlighten the mind, so that Christians may understand the commandments, the soul, and the life to come.
- Luke 24:32.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.31.2 (CSEL 62:99; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-31-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-31-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 32
5.32.1CSEL 62:99–100
Erige igitur mentem, utere naturali ingenio; ad imaginem dei factus es, ut superna aspicias et terrena non quaeras. noli curuare ceruicem tuam mundi premendam pondere; noli inhiare auro atque argento, ne te saeculi uinculis alligandum praebeas. ideo dixit dominus: nolite possidere aurum atque argentum, ne nos auri atque argenti cupiditas auara possideat. noli ergo
Lift up your mind, then, use your natural ability; you were made in the image of God, so that you might look at things above and not seek earthly things. Do not bend your neck to be pressed down by the weight of the world; do not gape after gold and silver, lest you offer yourself to be bound with the chains of the world. That is why the Lord said, “Do not possess gold or silver,” lest greedy desire for gold and silver possess us. Do not, then,
Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 3:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 10:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Made in God’s image, we should seek things above, not gold and silver.
- Gen 1:26; Col 3:1–2; Matt 10:9. The stray “u m” in the digital text is not translated.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letters in the digital text): argentum u m, ne → argentum, ne.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.32.1 (CSEL 62:99–100; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-32-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-32-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.32.2CSEL 62:100
inserere collum tuum diaboli laqueis. strangulat auaritia pauperem in hoc saeculo, sed in perpetuum diues suis laqueis suffocatur, cuius sensus in uanitate est, in tenebris ambulat, qui in his laborat, quae sibi prodesse non possint. uanitas est sollicitudo uitae huius: unde non in crapula et ebrietate, non in deliciis corporis, sed in cognitione praeceptorum caelestium delectationem nostri debemus ponere. in uanitate currit, qui sibi successibus uidetur afluere saecularibus, qui tamquam umbra praetereunt. auerte igitur oculos tuos, ne uanitatem uideant.
put your neck into the devil’s snares. Greed strangles the poor man in this world, but the rich man is choked by his own snares for ever, whose mind is in vanity, who walks in darkness, who labors at things that cannot profit him. The anxiety of this life is vanity: hence we ought to set our delight not in carousing and drunkenness, not in the pleasures of the body, but in the knowledge of the heavenly precepts. He runs in vanity who seems to himself to abound in worldly successes, which pass away like a shadow. Turn away your eyes, then, lest they see vanity.
1 Tim 6:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 4:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 21:34 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 13:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 144:4 (143:4 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 119:37 (118:37 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Greed snares rich and poor; delight should be in God’s precepts, not passing successes.
- 1 Tim 6:9; Eph 4:17; Luke 21:34; Rom 13:13; Ps 144:4 (LXX 143:4); Ps 119:37. The digital text’s “afluere” is translated as “affluere”.
Topics: Ethics, Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.32.2 (CSEL 62:100; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-32-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-32-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 33
5.33.1CSEL 62:100
Sed non satis est ut tu auertas, ne forte uelis et non possis, offundat tibi diabolus uanitatum spectacula, incentiua inserat uoluptatum; pete ut dominus auertat oculos tuos. et haec gratia dei et hoc
But it is not enough for you to turn them away, lest perhaps you wish to and cannot, if the devil spreads before you spectacles of vanities and inserts incentives to pleasures; ask that the Lord turn away your eyes. This too is the grace of God, and this
Ps 119:37 (118:37 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We must ask the Lord himself to turn our eyes away from vanities.
- Ps 119:37.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.33.1 (CSEL 62:100; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-33-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-33-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.33.2CSEL 62:100
munus est domini, ut oculos animae nostrae a negotiis mundi huius auertat. beatitudo enim omnis a domino est: beatus autem uir, cui nomen domini spes eius et non respexit in uanitates et insanias falsas. qui non respicit haec, beatus est; qui autem respicit, insanus atque furiosus est. et ideo resipiscat unusquisque a furore saecularium cupiditatum, quae ita mentem animumque perturbant, ut compos sui esse non possit.
is the gift of the Lord, that he turns the eyes of our soul away from the business of this world. For all blessedness is from the Lord: “Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord and who has not looked to vanities and false madness.” He who does not look at these things is blessed; but he who looks is mad and raving. And so let each one come to his senses from the madness of worldly desires, which so disturb the mind and spirit that one cannot be master of oneself.
Ps 40:4 (39:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: It is God’s gift to turn the soul’s eyes from worldly vanities, which drive men mad.
- Ps 40:4 (LXX 39:5).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.33.2 (CSEL 62:100; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-33-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-33-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 34
5.34.1CSEL 62:100
Si in nauigio fluctuante sis constitutus, auertis a sentina oculos, ne uomitum moueat tibi; si in ciuitate ambulans aliquid faetidi odoris offendas, longe refugis atque declinas:
If you are placed in a tossing ship, you turn your eyes away from the bilge, so that it does not make you vomit; if, walking in the city, you come upon something with a foul smell, you flee far off and turn aside;
Notes and citation
Summary: We instinctively turn from bilge and stench.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.34.1 (CSEL 62:100; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-34-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-34-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.34.2CSEL 62:100–101
si quid occurrat quod horreat oculus tuus, clauditur aut auertitur. in salo saeculi huius fluctuas, influit sentina uitiorum; in hoc nauigio tui corporis mouetur aestus cupiditatum, et non auertis oculos animae tuae, ne uideant sentinam libidinum, ne aspiciant mundi huius stercora, ne faetor inmundus nares repleat tuae mentis, in quibus spiritus sanctus esse consueuit, ut possis dicere: spiritus diuinus qui est in naribus meis? nares igitur animae tuae a faetore auertantur criminum diuersorum; est enim in his uelut quoddam insigne iudicii.
if anything meets you that your eye shrinks from, it is closed or turned away. You are tossed on the sea of this world, the bilge of vices flows in; in this ship of your body the tide of desires is stirred, and you do not turn the eyes of your soul away, so that they do not see the bilge of lusts, do not look at the dung of this world, so that the unclean stench does not fill the nostrils of your mind, in which the Holy Spirit is accustomed to be, so that you can say: “The divine spirit which is in my nostrils.” Let the nostrils of your soul, then, be turned away from the stench of various crimes; for in them there is a kind of mark of judgment.
Job 27:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Yet in the ship of the body we do not turn the soul’s eyes and nostrils from the stench of vice.
- Job 27:3. The digital text’s “si auid” is read as “si quid”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): si auid occurrat → si quid occurrat.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.34.2 (CSEL 62:100–101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-34-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-34-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.34.3CSEL 62:101
unde dicitur sponsae: nares tuae sicut turris Libani prospiciens faciem Damasci, eo quod unguentum ueri sacerdotis, quod de capite descendit in barbam, hoc est odor ille diuinus, odor gratiae spiritalis, qui de patre in Christo erat et sacramento incarnationis descendit in terras, ut omnia fuso replerentur unguento, emineat praecelsi potestate iudicii et nares repleat animae, ut bene olentia discernat et faetida, suauia sanctorum, qui possunt dicere: Christi enim bonus odor sumus deo, faetida peccatorum.
Hence it is said to the bride: “Your nostrils are like the tower of Lebanon looking toward the face of Damascus,” because the ointment of the true priest, which comes down from the head onto the beard, that is, that divine fragrance, the fragrance of spiritual grace, which was in Christ from the Father and came down to earth by the sacrament of the incarnation, so that all things might be filled with the poured-out ointment, stands out by the power of a lofty judgment and fills the nostrils of the soul, so that it may distinguish the sweet-smelling from the foul: the sweetness of the saints, who can say, “For we are the good fragrance of Christ to God,” and the stench of sinners.
Song 7:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 133:2 (132:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 2:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bride’s nostrils, filled with Christ’s fragrance, distinguish the sweetness of the saints from the stench of sin.
- Song 7:4 (Greek form; English 7:4, Hebrew 7:5); Ps 133:2 (LXX 132:2); 2 Cor 2:15.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.34.3 (CSEL 62:101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-34-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-34-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 35
5.35.1CSEL 62:101
Hae sunt nares sicut turris Libani praecelsa supra mundum, et ideo prospicit faciem Damasci, gentilem scilicet populum, odorans fidem eius, cuius gratia delictorum suorum detergeret faetorem. facies igitur Damasci fides est gentium nullo obumbrata amictu, nullo adoperta uestitu, nuda ac libera, caelo magis intenta quam terris.
These are the nostrils, like the tower of Lebanon, lofty above the world, and so it looks toward the face of Damascus, that is, the Gentile people, scenting its faith, by whose grace it would wipe away the stench of its sins. The face of Damascus, then, is the faith of the Gentiles, overshadowed by no covering, covered by no clothing, naked and free, intent on heaven more than on earth.
Song 7:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:18 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The face of Damascus is the unveiled faith of the Gentiles.
- Song 7:4; 2 Cor 3:18.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.35.1 (CSEL 62:101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-35-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-35-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.35.2CSEL 62:101
hanc speculantur et prospiciunt nares ecclesiae, quod suaue in ea et odorum est aspirationis et gratiae colligentes. et bene nares eius sicut turris Libani, quia in sacrificiis odor suauis ecclesiae est, in quibus est boni odoris. hostia remissio peccatorum.
This the church’s nostrils watch and look upon, gathering whatever in it is sweet and fragrant of inspiration and grace. And well are her nostrils like the tower of Lebanon, because in the sacrifices there is the sweet fragrance of the church, in which there is a good fragrance: the victim, the forgiveness of sins.
Eph 5:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The church’s sacrifice, the forgiveness of sins, is a sweet fragrance.
- Eph 5:2. Lebanon (λίβανος) suggests frankincense.
Topics: Eucharist, Forgiveness of sins
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.35.2 (CSEL 62:101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-35-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-35-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 36
5.36.1CSEL 62:101–102
Sume igitur has nares, o homo, ut a graue olentibus florulenta secernas, et tunc uiuificabit te dominus. cum enim aduerterit quod de ipso petis, ut auertat oculos mentis tuae a uanitate, cooperatur animae tuae, ut, si specie aliqua capitur aut duritia et infirmitate non flectitur, flectat eam iugo uerbi et habenis suis regat, ut uoluntate dei abducatur a uitiis et uitae odorem capiat aeternae.
Take, then, these nostrils, O man, so as to distinguish the flowery from the evil-smelling, and then the Lord will give you life. For when he notices what you ask of him, that he turn the eyes of your mind away from vanity, he works together with your soul, so that, if it is captured by some beauty or does not bend through hardness and weakness, he may bend it with the yoke of the word and rule it with his reins, so that by God’s will it may be led away from vices and catch the fragrance of eternal life.
Ps 119:37 (118:37 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God works with the soul that asks him, bending it from vice toward eternal life.
- Ps 119:37.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.36.1 (CSEL 62:101–102; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-36-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-36-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.36.2CSEL 62:102
non enim hic uita perfecta est, sed haec uita in umbra. ideo, ut homo Christus Iesus ex uirgine nasceretur, obumbrauit uirtus altissimi matrem futuram, quia in umbra descendit, ab umbra incipiens operari salutem hominis et consummaturus claritate solis aeterni. umbra est ergo uita haec; festina ad solem, ut te defendat ab umbrae huius frigore et calorem tibi profundat aestiuum. et ideo suadet orandum, ne fiat fuga nostra hieme aut sabbato, non tempus diemque significans, sed frigere nos meritis prohibens et bonorum operum esse ieiunos.
For life here is not perfect, but this life is in shadow. Therefore, so that the man Christ Jesus might be born of the Virgin, the power of the Most High overshadowed the mother-to-be, because he came down in shadow, beginning from the shadow to work man’s salvation and about to complete it in the brightness of the eternal sun. This life, then, is a shadow; hasten to the sun, so that it may defend you from the cold of this shadow and pour summer warmth on you. And so he advises us to pray that our flight be not in winter or on the sabbath, not indicating a season and a day, but forbidding us to be cold in merits and fasting from good works.
1 Tim 2:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 1:35 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:20 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: This life is a shadow; hasten to Christ, the sun, lest we be found cold and idle at the end.
- 1 Tim 2:5; Luke 1:35; Matt 24:20.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.36.2 (CSEL 62:102; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-36-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-36-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 37
5.37.1CSEL 62:102
Disce nunc, quemadmodum auertat oculos eius, quem miseratur dominus, a uanitate. ex his enim quae secuntur hoc intellegere possumus; subiecit enim: statue seruo tuo eloquium tuum in timore tuo. initium esse sapientiae timorem domini dicit propheta. quod est autem initium sapientiae nisi saeculo renuntiare, quia sapere saecularia stultitia est?
Learn now how the Lord turns away from vanity the eyes of him on whom he has mercy. For we can understand this from what follows; for he added: “Establish your word for your servant in your fear.” The prophet says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And what is the beginning of wisdom but to renounce the world, since to be wise in worldly things is folly?
Ps 119:38 (118:38 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 111:10 (110:10 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 9:10 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 38: God establishes his word in fear, which is the beginning of wisdom.
- Ps 118:38 (Ps 119:38); Ps 111:10 (LXX 110:10); Prov 9:10. The digital text’s “subiec-it” is read as “subiecit”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): subiec-it → subiecit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.37.1 (CSEL 62:102; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-37-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-37-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.37.2CSEL 62:102
denique sapientiam huius mundi stultitiam esse apud deum apostolus dicit. sed et ipse timor domini, nisi secundum scientiam sit, nihil prodest, immo obest plurimum; siquidem Iudaei habent zelum dei, sed quia non habent secundum scientiam, in ipso zelo et timore maiorem contrahunt diuinitatis offensam. quod circumcidunt infantulos suos, quod sabbatum custodiunt, timorem dei habent; sed quia nesciunt legem spiritalem esse, circumcidunt corpus, non cor suum, ignem sabbato adolere formidant, cum lex sanctificationis die libidinum ignem prohibeat accendi.
Indeed the apostle says that the wisdom of this world is folly with God. But the fear of the Lord itself, unless it is according to knowledge, does no good; indeed it does great harm, since the Jews have a zeal for God, but because they do not have it according to knowledge, in that very zeal and fear they incur greater offense against the divinity. In circumcising their little infants, in keeping the sabbath, they have the fear of God; but because they do not know that the law is spiritual, they circumcise the body, not their heart; they dread to kindle a fire on the sabbath, whereas the law forbids the fire of lusts to be kindled on the day of sanctification.
1 Cor 3:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 7:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 2:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 35:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Fear of God must be according to knowledge; Ambrose says the Jews keep circumcision and sabbath literally without grasping their spiritual sense.
- 1 Cor 3:19; Rom 10:2; Rom 7:14; Rom 2:29; Exod 35:3. Ambrose’s remarks on the Jews are translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): prohibeat accendi.- → prohibeat accendi..
Topics: Jews and Judaism, Circumcision
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.37.2 (CSEL 62:102; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-37-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-37-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 38
5.38.1CSEL 62:102–103
Et quid de his dicam? sunt etiam in nobis qui habent timorem dei. sed non secundum scientiam, statuentes duriora praecepta. quae non possit humana condicio sustinere. timor in eo est, quia uidentur sibi consulere disciplinae, opus uirtutis exigere, sed inscientia in eo, quia non conpatiuntur naturae, non aestimant possibilitatem. non sit ergo inrationabilis timor.
And what shall I say of these? There are also among us those who have the fear of God, but not according to knowledge, laying down harsher precepts which the human condition cannot bear. There is fear in this, because they seem to themselves to care for discipline and to demand the work of virtue; but there is ignorance in this, because they do not have compassion for nature and do not weigh what is possible. Let fear, then, not be unreasonable.
Matt 23:4 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Some Christians too fear God without knowledge, imposing precepts too harsh for human nature.
- Compare Matt 23:4; Acts 15:10.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.38.1 (CSEL 62:102–103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-38-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-38-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.38.2CSEL 62:103
etenim uera sapientia a timore dei incipit nec est sapientia spiritalis sine timore dei; ita timor sine sapientia esse non debet. basis quaedam uerbi est timor sanctus. sicut enim simulacrum aliquod in basi statuitur et tunc maiorem habet gratiam cum in basi statua fuerit conlocata standique acceperit firmitatem, ita uerbum dei uel rationabile dei in timore sancto melius statuitur, fortius radicatur, hoc est in pectore timentis deum, ne labatur uerbum de corde uiri, ne ueniant uolucres et auferant illud ae incuriosi et dissimulantis affectu.
For true wisdom begins from the fear of God, and there is no spiritual wisdom without the fear of God; so fear ought not to be without wisdom. Holy fear is a kind of base of the word. For just as a statue is set on a base and has greater grace when it has been placed on the base and has received firmness for standing, so the word of God, or the reason of God, is better established in holy fear, more firmly rooted, that is, in the breast of one who fears God, lest the word slip from a man’s heart, lest the birds come and take it away through the disposition of a careless and indifferent man.
Ps 119:38 (118:38 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 13:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 13:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Holy fear is the base on which God’s word stands firm, lest the birds snatch it away.
- Ps 119:38; Matt 13:4, 19. The digital text’s “basistatuitur” is read as “basi statuitur”, and “ae” as “ab”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined in the digital text): basistatuitur → basi statuitur.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.38.2 (CSEL 62:103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-38-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-38-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.38.3CSEL 62:103
sed etiam uerbo dei timor ipse aptari ad utilitatem et constabiliri uidetur, ut non sit alienus scientiae, sicut basis accepta statua non est aliena gratiae. timor ergo uerbi est locus, sicut in pace locus eius; timor quoddam studium uerbi, uerbum timoris est disciplina; plenus enim disciplinae timor non nutat ad lapsum.
But fear itself also seems to be fitted for usefulness and made stable by the word of God, so that it is not foreign to knowledge, just as the base, once it has received the statue, is not foreign to its grace. Fear, then, is the place of the word, as “his place is in peace”; fear is a kind of zeal for the word, the word is the discipline of fear; for fear full of discipline does not totter toward a fall.
Ps 76:2 (75:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Fear and the word strengthen each other: fear is the word’s place, the word fear’s discipline.
- Ps 76:2 (LXX 75:3). The digital text’s “tunor” is read as “timor”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): tunor → timor.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.38.3 (CSEL 62:103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-38-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-38-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 39
5.39.1CSEL 62:103–104
Et quia basim uerbi timorem diximus, ne quid alienum scripturis posuisse nos quisquam putet, accipiat lectum de dei uerbo in Canticis canticorum: crura eius columnae marmoreae fundatae super bases aureas, significans columnas esse ecclesiae apostolos, qui fundati sunt in timore sanctorum. nam sicut Petrus, Iacobus et Iohannes et Barnabas columnae esse uidebantur ecclesiae et quicumque uicerit hoc saeculum fit columna dei, quam confirmat qui dicit: ego confirmaui columnas eius, ita et basis aurea timor plenus disciplinae, quia initium
And because we have called fear the base of the word, lest anyone think we have set down something foreign to the Scriptures, let him take what is read of the Word of God in the Song of Songs: “His legs are marble columns founded on bases of gold,” signifying that the apostles are the columns of the church, who are founded in the fear of the saints. For just as Peter, James, John, and Barnabas seemed to be columns of the church, and whoever overcomes this world becomes a column of God, which he strengthens who says, “I have strengthened its columns,” so the golden base is fear full of discipline, because it is the beginning
Song 5:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 2:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 3:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 75:3 (74:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The golden bases of the Song are holy fear, on which the apostles stand as columns.
- Song 5:15; Gal 2:9 (Ambrose adds Barnabas); Rev 3:12; Ps 75:3 (LXX 74:4).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.39.1 (CSEL 62:103–104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-39-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-39-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.39.2CSEL 62:104
sapientiae est. in timore ergo sapientium apostolica praedicatio tamquam super basim auream columna firmatur. Christi igitur eloquio et apostolico sermoni tribunal est timor iusti et basis aurea plena prudentiae, simulacrum autem bonum tamquam effigies ueritatis sermo sanctorum. et uide tamquam basim auream esse sanctorum timorem; lege Esaiam, uide quantis subiecerit timorem, ut faceret inreprehensibilem et bonum timorem: spiritus, inquit, sapientiae et intellectus, spiritus consilii at-
of wisdom. In the fear of the wise, then, the apostolic preaching is made firm like a column upon a golden base. For the speech of Christ and the apostolic word, then, the fear of the righteous is a tribunal and a golden base full of prudence, while the good statue, the image of truth, as it were, is the speech of the saints. And see that the fear of the saints is like a golden base: read Isaiah, see how many things he set above fear, so as to make fear blameless and good: “The spirit,” he says, “of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel
Isa 11:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah lists the gifts of the Spirit, placing fear beneath them all as their base.
- Isa 11:2–3.
Topics: The Holy Spirit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.39.2 (CSEL 62:104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-39-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-39-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.39.3CSEL 62:104
que uirtutis, spiritus cognitionis atque p i etatis, spiritus sancti timoris. quantis timorem subiecit, ut haberet quod sequi posset! informatur per sapientiam, instruitur per intellectum, consilio dirigitur, uirtute firmatur, cognitione regitur, pietate decoratur. tolle timorem domini; ita est inrationabilis et insipiens timor, unus ex illis: foris pugnae, intus timores, quibus adflictus esset et Paulus, nisi habuisset dominum consolantem.
and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, the spirit of holy fear.” How many things he set above fear, so that it might have something to follow! It is formed by wisdom, instructed by understanding, directed by counsel, strengthened by strength, ruled by knowledge, adorned by godliness. Take away the fear of the Lord, and there is an unreasonable and foolish fear, one of those of which it is said, “Fighting without, fears within,” by which Paul too would have been afflicted, had he not had the Lord consoling him.
Isa 11:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 11:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 7:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 7:6 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Fear of the Lord is shaped by the other gifts; without it there is only irrational fear.
- Isa 11:2–3 (Greek form); 2 Cor 7:5–6.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.39.3 (CSEL 62:104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-39-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-39-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 5, chapter 40
5.40.1CSEL 62:104
Nec otiosum est in Prouerbiis: tunc intelleges timorem domini. quid est tunc? id est: cum sapientiam inuocaueris et prudentiae dederis uocem tuam e t si quaesieris illam ut pecuniam et
Nor is it idle in Proverbs: “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord.” What is “then”? That is: when you have called on wisdom and given your voice to prudence, and if you have sought her like money and
Prov 2:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 2:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Proverbs teaches that the fear of the Lord is understood when wisdom is sought.
- Prov 2:3–5. The digital text’s “sapien-. tiam” is read as “sapientiam”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break debris in the digital text): sapien-. tiam → sapientiam.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.40.1 (CSEL 62:104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-40-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-40-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
5.40.2CSEL 62:104–105
ut thesauros scrutatus fueris eam, tunc intelleges timorem domini. et ideo, tamquam super basim bonam, dicit: statue seruo tuo eloquium tuum in timore tuo. plena disciplinae oratio, per quam docemur quemadmodum debeamus orare; unusquisque sermo doctrina est deprecandi. et quia docuit nos orare, qui sit istius orationis effectus ostendit.
searched for her like treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord. And so, as on a good base, he says: “Establish your word for your servant in your fear.” A prayer full of discipline, by which we are taught how we ought to pray; each word is a teaching of supplication. And since he has taught us to pray, he shows what the effect of this prayer is.
Prov 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 2:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:38 (118:38 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The psalmist’s prayer teaches us how to pray.
- Prov 2:4–5; Ps 119:38.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 5.40.2 (CSEL 62:104–105; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-40-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/5-40-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.