Formulae of Spiritual Understanding 8–10

VIII. Of the various meanings of verbs or names. To build: to do good works, or to teach well; in the apostle: “If anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones.” To destroy: to practise evil works, or to teach badly; in Solomon: “One building and one destroying.” To cleanse: to purge of vices; in the Gospel: “Jesus touched him, saying, I will; be clean; and at once his leprosy was cleansed.” To stand: to be firm in faith; in the apostle: “Stand firm in the faith.” To walk: to make towards the Lord; in the psalm: “and I walked at large.” To sit: humbly to recover oneself in God; in the Gospel: “but you, sit in the city.” To lie: to give way either to vices or to temptations; in the Gospel: “and she found her lying on the bed.” To run: to hasten in good works; in the apostle: “So run, that you may obtain.” To keep watch: to apply the guard of the heart, or to rise again to God; in the psalm: “from the morning watch until night.” To sleep: to rest with Christ at one's passing; in the psalm: “Will he who sleeps not rise again?” And otherwise to sleep is to grow torpid in the slumber of sins; in the apostle: “Arise, you who sleep.” Ascent: progress towards God; in the psalm: “ascents in his heart.” Descent: falling away from God; in the Gospel: “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” The way: Christ; in the Gospel: “I am the way and the truth and the life”; and otherwise the way is the life of man; in the psalm: “I have declared my ways, and you heard me.” Broad: widened by the allurements of vices; in the Gospel: “wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to destruction.” Narrow: strict, or pressed by tribulations; in the Gospel: “How narrow the gate and strait the way that leads to life!” Straight: ordered by the precepts of God; in Isaiah: “Make his paths straight.” Crooked: straying from the precepts of God; in Isaiah: “and the crooked will become straight, and the rough ways plain.” Plain: made level by obedience to the precepts; in Isaiah, the same as above. Rough: bristling with the roughness of disobedience; in Isaiah, the same as above. On the right: on the side of righteousness; in the Gospel: “He placed the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” On the left: on the side of unrighteousness; in the Gospel, the same as above. The pit: deceit, or a fall into death; in the psalm: “They dug a pit before my face.” The well: the devil, or hell; in the psalm: “nor let the well shut its mouth over me.” And in a good sense, in Genesis: “at the well of the oath,” that is, the water of faith. Health: the integrity of the mind; in the psalm: “I cried to you, and you healed me.” Sickness: the disease of vices; in the psalm: “who heals all your sicknesses.” Leprosy: the contamination of sins; in the Gospel: “and at once his leprosy was cleansed.”

VIIII. Of Jerusalem, or what is opposed to it. Jerusalem: the church, or the soul; in the psalm: “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.” And it should be noted that whatever applies to the church in general can also be referred to the soul. Zion: the same as above; in the psalm: “Praise your God, O Zion.” The children of Zion: the children of the church; in the psalm: “and let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.” The daughters of Jerusalem: the same as above. The tabernacle: the body of the Lord, or the church; in the psalm: “In the sun he has set his tabernacle.” The ark: the Lord's flesh, or the hearts of the saints full of God; in the psalm: “you and the ark of your holiness.” Again the ark is the church, within which those who are to be saved are shut in; in Genesis: “Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.” The two tables of stone: I think, for the two Testaments, or for the two precepts of love of God and of neighbour; in Exodus: “And the Lord said to Moses: Cut for yourself two tables.” The law: the divine precepts; in the psalm: “The law of the Lord is spotless.” The handwritten bond: the contract of sinful man with the devil, written by the hand of iniquity; in the apostle: “the bond of sin, which was against us.” The pact: the alliance of divine grace with man; in the psalm: “I saw those who did not keep the pact.” The testament: the confirmation of the divine will; in the prophet: “and I will confirm a testament over the house of Judah.” Uncircumcision: the life of the Gentiles; in the apostle: “Was anyone called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised,” that is, he too who has come to faith in Christ from the Gentiles is not to be circumcised in body. Circumcision: the stripping off of vices; in the apostle: “You were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the stripping off of the body of the flesh.” The horn: strength, or kingdom; in Kingdoms: “and he exalted the horn of his anointed.” Purple: a figure of martyrdom through blood; in Exodus: “Everyone who is willing in heart shall bring firstfruits to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet, spun linen and fine linen.” Scarlet: the same as above, or the ardour of love, or a reminder of the cross; in Exodus, as above. Fine linen: the whiteness of chastity or continence; in Exodus, the same as above. Blue (hyacinth): the bruises of the confessors; in Exodus, the same as above. The ephod: the signification of works, from the shoulders; in Exodus: “and they made the ephod of gold and blue and purple and scarlet, spun, and twisted fine linen.” The breastpiece: the declaration of teaching or of reason, from the breast; in Exodus: “and they made the breastpiece of woven work, like the work of the ephod.” The long robe: more secret and more perfect teaching; in Exodus: “and they made the long robe under the ephod, all of woven work, of blue.” The golden plate on the forehead: a prefiguring of the cross; in Exodus: “and they made the golden plate and wrote on it,” it says, “in engraved letters the seal of the holiness of the Lord,” that is, the tetragrammaton name of the Lord. The temple: the body of the Lord, or the saints; in the apostle: “For you are the temple of the living God.” The altar: the height of faith; in the psalm: “then they will lay calves upon your altar.” Sacrifice: the offering of righteousness; in the psalm: “Offer the sacrifice of righteousness.” Whole burnt offering: the whole kindling of faith; in the psalm: “I will offer you burnt offerings full of marrow.” The victim: Christ, or the soul dedicated to God; in the apostle: “an offering and a victim to God for a sweet fragrance.” Myrrh: a token of mortality; in the psalm: “myrrh and aloes and cassia from your garments.” Ointment: the poured-out grace of the name of Christ; in Solomon: “Your name is ointment poured out.” The holy of holies: all the inner mysteries of God, or the kingdom of heaven; in the epistle to the Hebrews: “For Jesus did not enter a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us.” The sabbath: spiritual rest; in Genesis: “and the Lord rested from all his works.” Lent (the fortieth): a figure of the present life and its labour; in the Gospel: “and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights.” The Pasch: a foretelling of the Lord's passing over; in the Gospel: “Before the feast of the Pasch, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.” Pentecost (the fiftieth): the manifestation of future blessedness or of remission; in Leviticus: “You shall count seven full weeks up to the following day,” that is, fifty days. The jubilee: a signification of the rest to come; in Leviticus: “It is a year of remission; it shall be a holy sign to you.” The city of God: the church, or the soul; in the psalm: “in the city of our God.” Citizens: the faithful; in the apostle: “but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Walls: the defences of divine Scripture, or the prophets, or the saints; in the psalm: “Let the walls of Jerusalem be built.” Also in the other sense: “In my God I will leap over a wall.” Towers: the apostles, or all who are perfect; in the psalm: “and abundance in your towers.” Gates: the holy Scriptures, or righteousness, or the apostles, or the angels; in the psalm: “and be lifted up, you everlasting gates.” Also in the other sense: “for wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to night.” Streets: the widened blessedness of the saints; in the Apocalypse: “and the streets of the city were pure gold, like transparent glass.” The foundation: Christ, or faith; in the apostle: “For no one can lay another foundation than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” The hedge: the law, or the guard of angels; in the song of Isaiah: “and I put a hedge around it and fixed reeds and planted a vineyard.” The house: the soul in which Christ dwells, or the church; in the psalm: “We will go into the house of the Lord.” The upper room: the height of merits or of knowledge; in the Gospel: “and he will show you a large upper room.” Doors: the opening of faith; in the apostle: “For a great and evident door has been opened to me.” The pillar: a support, or spiritual stability; in the apostle: “James and John and Cephas, who seemed to be pillars.” The wall (paries): sometimes the structure of good works; in the Song of Songs: “Behold, he stands behind our wall, looking through the windows.” Windows: sight, or the other senses; as above: “looking through the windows”; also in a bad sense: “Death will enter through your windows.” Steps: spiritual ascent; in the title of the psalms: “A song of steps.” The pavement: the humiliation or affliction of the soul, or its sinking towards earthly things; in the psalm: “My soul has cleaved to the pavement.” The psaltery: good works; in the psalm: “the pleasant psaltery with the harp.” The harp: a devout breast, in which the virtues are like strings, that is, spiritual goods; in the psalm: “Awake, psaltery and harp,” that is, works with faith; or, of the Lord himself, the resurrection of the flesh with divine power. The ten-stringed instrument: the ten commandments, or the five senses of the outer man doubled with those of the inner; in the psalm: “on the ten-stringed instrument, on the psaltery with song and harp.” The organ: man, or that man who was assumed by the Lord; in the psalm: “Praise him with strings and organ.” The drum: the body made thin by fasting; in the psalm: “Praise him with drum and dance.” The dance (chorus): concord; in the psalm, as above. The trumpet: the lifting up of the voice in divine preaching; in the prophet: “Lift up your voice like a trumpet.” Cymbals: lips confessing God, or the love of God and love of neighbour; in the psalm: “Praise him with well-sounding cymbals.” Jubilation: a cry expressed more strongly with spiritual fervour; in the psalm: “Praise him with cymbals of jubilation.” Egypt: the world, or the people of the Gentiles; in the psalm: “Envoys will come from Egypt.” Ethiopia: the church from the Gentiles; in the psalm: “Ethiopia will stretch out her hands first”; also in the other sense, in the psalm: “You gave him as food to the people of the Ethiopians.” Babylon: either the world or Rome; in the Apocalypse: “And great Babylon came into remembrance before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.” Enemies: the devil, or the vices; in the psalm: “He will not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” Thieves: heretics, or false prophets; in the Gospel: “All who came before me were thieves and robbers.” The nations: the vices; in the Pentateuch: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to possess, and destroys many nations before you.” Also in the other sense: “All you nations, clap your hands.” Battle: the struggle against spiritual wickedness, or the conflict against vices; in the apostle: “So I fight, not as one beating the air.” Peace: the concord of the flesh in good with the spirit; in the psalm: “Ask for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem.” Also, peace is Christ; in the apostle: “For he himself is our peace.” Victory: triumph over the devil or over adversities; in the apostle: “But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The prize: the reward of merits brought to completion; in the apostle: “I press on towards the goal, to the prize of God's upward call.” The crown: the reward of eternal glory for righteousness; in the apostle: “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” Since the completion of spiritual progress carries one forward to the crown, it is right that the crown should also complete the spiritual interpretation of these names. We have judged it hard, however, to embrace all these names, as also to bring out all those that spread in a double meaning into both senses.

X. Of numbers. Now that these names are finished, let us also briefly set out the numbers which the mystical reasoning of examples makes the more celebrated among the sacred ones. I: this number refers to the unity of the Godhead; in the Pentateuch: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God.” II: to the two Testaments; in Kingdoms: “and in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim ten cubits high.” III: to the Trinity; in the epistle of John: “There are three that bear witness: the water, the blood, the Spirit.” IIII: to the four Gospels; in Ezekiel: “and out of the midst of them the likeness of four living creatures.” V: to the five books of Moses; the apostle: “In the church I would rather speak five words with my mind.” VI: to the sixth day, on which the Lord made man with all the living creatures of the earth; in Genesis: “Let us make man in our image and likeness”; also a little later: “and there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” VII: to the seventh day, on which, all things being completed, God rested; in Genesis: “and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done.” VIII: to the Lord's day of the resurrection, that is, the eighth; in the title of the psalm: “To the end, for the eighth.” VIIII: to the mystery that at the ninth hour the Lord gave up his spirit; in the Gospel: “and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice.” X: to the Decalogue; in the psalm: “On the ten-stringed psaltery I will sing to you.” XII: to the apostles; in the Gospel: “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these.” XIIII: to the mystery of the Lord's generation; in the Gospel: “from Abraham to David fourteen generations.” XV: to the fifteen steps of the temple. XVI: to the number of the prophets. XXII: to the mystery of the divine books according to the letters of the Hebrews. XXIIII: to the mystery of the number of the elders; in the Apocalypse: “and on the thrones twenty-four elders seated.” XXX: to the fruit of faithful marriages; in the Gospel: “and they will bear fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” XXXIII: to the mystery of the age at which the Lord lived in the flesh; in the apostle, as it seems to some, from this: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.” XL: to the mystery of Lent; in the Gospel: “and he was led by the Spirit in the desert for forty days.” XLII: to the number of the stations in the desert, or to the number of generations from Abraham to the Lord Christ. L: to Pentecost; in the Acts of the Apostles: “And when the days of Pentecost were fulfilled.” LX: to the fruit owed to widows or to the continent; in the Gospel: “and they will bear fruit, some sixtyfold.” LXXII: to the number of the elders of Moses, or of the disciples whom the Lord chose; in the Gospel: “After these things the Lord appointed seventy-two others also and sent them two by two before his face into every city.” C: to the fruit of martyrs or of virgins; in the Gospel: “and they will bear fruit, some a hundredfold.” These fixed and sacred numbers, then, we have set out only by way of example. But besides them there are very many, or almost all, that are sacred; how they come to be so, you yourself, as a searcher of divine reading, will find.