Translated using Gemini and restructured (put into essay format) using Claude. I have yet to edit this post.
Detailed Commentary on Verse 1: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse"
For "rod," Symmachus and Theodotion translate it as "sprout," which brought forth a flower. It alludes to the glory of the leap and Carmel, that is, to Sennacherib and the Assyrians, whom he plainly said in the preceding chapter would be burned up and cut off, so that their flourishing and green empire would perish and be transferred to the Chaldeans.
As if to say: This tree, or rather, the political forest of the Assyrians, which is now so flourishing and green, will be cut down to the roots and will never revive. But the tree of the Jews and the royal stock of David, although it will be devastated and shortened by Sennacherib even to a remnant, as he said in the same place, and then almost cut off by the Chaldeans, nevertheless, the trunk and the root will remain, from which it will revive and reflourish, giving a new rod and a new flower whose glory and kingdom will never fail.
Moreover, the rod is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the flower is Christ, and the root is the family of David, with the scepter already removed, as if dead and cut down (for the Hebrew geza′ signifies this). So that only its root seems to be hidden and living among the people. But this very root will reflourish to bring forth Christ the Flower, as the King of the Kingdom. Thus, Saint Jerome, Tertullian, Augustine, and Ambrose (in his book De Benedict. Patriarchar.) say. Ambrose states: The Root is the family of the Jews; the Rod, Mary; the Flower of Mary is Christ, who wiped away the stench of worldly corruption and instilled the fragrance of eternal life. So also Saint Leo, Bernard, and commonly other Fathers whom Leo Castrius quotes here extensively. Hence the Chaldean clearly translates: And a King will come forth from the sons of Jesse, and Christ from the sons of his sons will be anointed.
Note that Christ is called Flower because of the beauty and sweetness of the fragrance of his holy life, fame, doctrine, and passion. For "flower" in Hebrew is nêṣer. Hence, Maldonatus, Jansen, and others, following Saint Jerome, think that Christ was called Nazaraean or Nazarene, as if to mean: Flourishing with every virtue and grace, and growing into a great and glorious tree that brought forth many great fruits of Martyrs, Confessors, and Virgins. Hence, even in the inscription of the Holy Cross that exists in Rome, nozseri (that is, Nazarene) is written with a tsade, as if it descends from nêṣer, as Santes Pagninus testifies.
Beautifully, Saint Ambrose says: The Rod, Mary; the Flower of Mary is Christ, as he himself said: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys. The Flower, even when cut, preserves its fragrance, and when crushed, it increases it, nor does it lose it when plucked. So also the Lord Jesus on that gibbet of the Cross, neither plucked did he fade away, nor crushed did he wither; but cut by the puncture of that lance, he blossomed more beautifully with the color of his shed blood, himself ignorant of death, and breathing out the gift of eternal life to the dead. Hence, the title "Nazaraeus Rex" (Nazarene King) was inscribed on the Cross of Christ.
Secondly, Saint Basil, Cyril, Hilary (on Psalm 2, regarding "Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron"), and Origen explain these passages a little differently. They understand the Root as the Blessed Virgin, and the Rod and Flower as Christ, who is a rod of malus boni. First, he is a rod because he is a King, Shepherd, and Judge; secondly, because he was bent like a rod by poverty, humility, and meekness.
Out of the root of Jesse. It does not say "David," to whom this Flower was promised, but Jesse, because, just as the kingdom of David arose from the humble stock of Jesse, so also the restoration of Christ the Savior arose from a humble lineage. It belongs to the Divine power to make the greatest things out of the smallest. Secondly, so that Christ might not seem to have received glory from David, but rather to have given glory to his family.
Note that for "out of the root," Symmachus and Theodotion translate it as "out of the trunk"; but Our Version and the Septuagint translate it better as "out of the root," because the Hebrew geza′ is not just a trunk, but a trunk of which the part outside the earth is as if dead, but the greater and living part, namely the entire root, is within the earth. It therefore signifies that this rod and flower will arise not from the trunk itself, which stood outside the earth, dead and inglorious without its branches (that is, without its kings), but from the root itself, which lay hidden in the common family, as if in the earth. For when Christ was born, the royal family of David was reduced to private and poor men: such was Joseph, the father of Christ, and his grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
Detailed Commentary on Verse 2: "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him"
The word "shall rest" signifies firmness, plenitude, and a proper and connatural place. As if to say: The Spirit of the Lord will firmly and fully fill Christ, and will necessarily and constantly rest in him, as in his proper and connatural place and subject, namely, by the power of the hypostatic union with the Word. For this spirit is naturally and exists in the incarnate God. As if to say: The Holy Spirit could not constantly remain and rest in Adam, nor in any of the other men, except in Christ alone; for all others have declined, says the Psalmist. Thus Cyril.
Isaiah said in Chapter 9 that Emmanuel would be Wonderful, Counselor, Father of the age to come, Prince of Peace. Now he assigns the gifts and graces necessary for these states. As if to say: Emmanuel will be so great and mighty, as I said in chapter 9, because the Lord will fill him with his sevenfold spirit: for from the spirit of Counsel, he will be Counselor; from the spirit of Fortitude, he will be Strong; from the spirit of Wisdom, he will be the Prince of Peace; from the spirit of Piety, he will be the Father of the age to come.
He contrasts Christ the King with the King of Assyria, the King of Samaria, King Ahaz, and others, who had foolish counsels and counselors, lived lazy and effeminate lives, oppressed the poor, and established wicked laws to increase their wealth and glory. As if to say: On the contrary, Christ will rule and establish his kingdom (that is, the Church) with the spirit of Wisdom, Fortitude, Piety, and so forth.
The Spirit of the Lord. Some understand by the Spirit of the Lord the very substance of the Holy Spirit, which was always to be with Christ; because Christ, as the Son of God, breathes the Holy Spirit together with the Father. Thus Origen and Justin against Trypho. Hence, Galatinus translates "Spiritus Dominus" (The Spirit is Lord) for "Spiritus Domini," that is, the Holy Spirit, who is God; therefore, it can be translated from the Hebrew. However, the topic here is not about the breathing (of the Spirit), but about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Spirit in general is the excited motion of the soul, impetus, and fervor, infused either by nature and desire, or even by a demon, and then it is called fury and insane desire. Thus it is called the spirit of pride, anger, sloth, and so on. Or it is infused by God, and then it is called the Spirit of the Lord. It is sometimes permanent, sometimes quickly passing. Again, it is either in the intellect, and then it is the spirit of Wisdom, Counsel, Understanding, Knowledge; or it is in the will, and then it is the spirit of Piety, Fear, or Fortitude. Thus, in Exodus 31, God is said to have filled Bezalel with the spirit of knowledge in every work, that is, to have inspired in him the art of building the tabernacle. Thus, elsewhere, "spirit" is called metonymically the virtue or the thing inspired, such as the spirit of mildness, humility, and charity is called the mildness, humility, and charity itself inspired by God.
The Spirit of Wisdom. Note First: From this, the Fathers and Theologians rightly gather the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely the primary ones, whatever Oecolampadius may mutter. Secondly, under these seven, as under the number of plenitude, the Prophet understands all his other gifts. As if to say: The Holy Spirit with the fullness of his gifts will rest upon Christ. Thus Saint Jerome and Cyril.
Thirdly, Saint Thomas and some others distinguish gifts from virtues in this way: Virtues that are acquired are given to man so that he may rightly direct his actions according to the law and norm of reason; infused and Christian virtues are given to him so that he may direct himself according to the supernatural norm and law of faith, hope, charity, and the like. But gifts are given to him so that he may direct himself according to the stronger impulse and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by which he is divinely carried beyond common laws to acts of faith, hope, and charity, or, as Saint Thomas says, They are called gifts because according to them, man is disposed to become readily movable by divine inspiration, as Isaiah 50 says: "The Lord hath opened my ear, and I do not contradict: I have not gone back."
However, others more probably hold that these gifts are ordinarily distinguished only by reason from the virtues of the same name, such as the gift of piety, fortitude, wisdom, from the virtue of piety, fortitude, wisdom. For they are called virtues because they perfect the soul; they are called gifts of the Holy Spirit because they are given and inspired by him to the soul, either as habits or as acts, especially when the acts are heroic, to which the Holy Spirit moves and incites with a vehement impulse, because they are the effects of the Holy Spirit. Thus, Samson is read to have performed those heroic deeds of fortitude when the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him (Judges 14 and seq.). Hence, for heroic deeds, a new and powerful inspiration and excitation of the Holy Spirit is almost necessary. Therefore, those who aspire to such things should frequently invoke him.
From this, it follows that these gifts are infused into every believer in justification, at least those that are identified with the moral virtues; for these are infused simultaneously with grace and charity. However, they were infused into Christ alone most excellently and perfectly, and therefore Isaiah says of him alone that the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him. I say: "Those which are identified with the moral virtues"; for the gift of understanding, and partly the gift of wisdom and knowledge, since they are not moral virtues, are not infused into everyone in justification.
Morally, learn here that an immense gift of God is wisdom (which is placed here in the first rank and is the parent of the others) and prudence, both the supernatural kind, which is discussed here, and also the natural kind. For the latter directs all human actions toward their natural or supernatural end. Therefore, Seneca, in his Epistle 85, concludes by this sorites (chain syllogism) that the prudent person is happy: "He who is prudent is also temperate. He who is temperate is also constant. He who is constant is also undisturbed. He who is undisturbed is without sadness. He who is without sadness is happy. Therefore, the prudent person is happy, and prudence is sufficient for a happy life."
He gives the reason: because the wise person is not crushed by evils, but uses them: for he knows how to display his virtue in adversity as much as in prosperity. He explains this with two analogies. The first is: "Phidias knew how to make statues not only from ivory, but he made them from bronze; if someone had offered him marble, or even a cheaper material, he would have made the best that could be made from it. So the wise person will display virtue, if possible, in riches; if not, in poverty. If possible, in his homeland; if not, in exile. If possible, as a commander; if not, as a soldier. If possible, whole; if not, disabled. Whatever fortune he has received, he will make something memorable out of it."
The second is: "Trainers of wild beasts teach the fiercest animals to bear the yoke; indeed, they tame them even to companionship. The master puts his hand into the lions; his keeper kisses the tiger; the smallest Ethiopian commands the elephant to sink to its knees and walk a tightrope. So the wise person is the artificer of taming evils: pain, poverty, disgrace, prison, exile, whatever horrors, when they come to him, are made tame."
Socrates, in Plato's Phaedrus, asserts that the wisdom of the soul is divine gold. Iamblichus, quoted by Stobaeus in the discourse on prudence, says: "Prudence is the chief of the virtues, and uses all the rest, and shows their order, measure, and occasion, like a most brilliant eye of the mind. It makes its possessors similar to God." Socrates, being asked what prudence was, said: "It is the harmony of the soul." Philo says: "Prudence is the health of the mind." An author says: "Prudence teaches you to always be the same in all things, both in prosperity and in adversity, just as the hand is the same both when it is extended into a palm and when it is clenched into a fist for battle."
Bion, in Laertius, asserts that prudence surpasses the other virtues as much as sight excels the other senses; that prudence is to the soul's virtues what the eye is to the senses. For, he asks, "How would the just person render to each his own, unless prudence showed what is owed to each?" Do you want the precepts of prudence from the Gentiles? Accept three from many. Bias used to say: "Consider, and afterward undertake the matter. Also: Undertake slowly; once undertaken, act constantly. Do not quickly desist, nor rashly begin." Thus Laertius. Periander said: "Do those things which you will not regret." Again: "Undertake nothing, unless you see that you can complete it." Democritus said the most precious of all things was prudence, which admired nothing.
The Spirit of Wisdom, and Understanding, and the rest. The Spirit of Wisdom, or wisdom, is a gift or Christian virtue by which we contemplate things divine and eternal, and judge all things according to them. Secondly, knowledge is a gift or virtue by which we recognize temporal things conducive to salvation and the method of using them well: this is most evident in Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, and Ecclesiastes. Thirdly, understanding is a virtue or gift of penetrating hidden things, especially in the Scriptures, and their allegorical figures and ceremonies: this gift is held by teachers.
Fourthly, the gift of counsel is almost the same as the virtue of prudence (meaning its Christian part), which is infused into all Christians in baptism together with faith, by which we direct all our actions honestly and in a Christian way: for counsel is the principal act of prudence. Hence the Gentiles put the god Consus in charge of counsel. Plutarch, in Romulus, says that an altar founded by him was discovered underground in the Circus, and he gave it the name Consus (a consilio—from counsel). He left the altar itself hidden at certain times, but it was opened up during the equestrian games. Hence Tertullian says of it: "The altar of that Consus in the Circus is buried at the first boundary-marks beneath the earth, with an inscription of this sort: Consus by counsel, Mars by leadership, the Lares being powerful by company."
Fifthly, by the gift of fortitude we endure adversities and martyrdoms. Sixthly, the gift of piety is Christian justice, the principal part of which is piety or religion, by which we venerate and worship God as our supreme parent with the greatest reverence, and preserve equity and benevolence with our neighbors as brothers, for the sake of one God, our common parent.
Seventhly, fear is as it were the fountain and complement of all; fear, I say, the filial kind born of love, or rather, a kind of consummation of affection. Thus Hilary and Ambrose: "Establish thy word to thy servant in thy fear" (more on this in Proverbs 1:7). This fear was born in the soul of Christ from an intimate reverence and clear knowledge of the Divine Majesty, and the vulnerability of His humanity, which came from nothing and could be reduced to nothing by God. And again, from the fact that Christ considered what would have become of it (his humanity), had not God so helped it by his gratuitous mercy and raised it to that degree of union (hypostatic union): for it could have sinned and been damned just as Judas and others who are damned.
All these things produced a certain sacred awe mixed with sweet joy, happiness, love, and reverence, that is, a certain fear mingled with security in Christ. By this, He did not so much fear what would happen, as He considered what could happen. Therefore, Saint Thomas, Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure, Gabriel, Cajetan, and others teach, based on this passage of Isaiah, that reverential and filial fear was in Christ.
Regarding the order of the gifts, Hilary and Ambrose, cited above, seem to want Isaiah to ascend here from the lowest to the highest; others, on the contrary, descend from the highest to the lowest: all excellently. For just as in a circle, from wherever you begin and wherever you stop, you can start again where you stopped and stop where you started, so it is with these different gifts. For how does one arrive at wisdom? From understanding. How to understanding? From counsel. How to counsel? From fortitude. How to fortitude? From knowledge. How to knowledge? From piety. How to piety? From the fear of the Lord. One can also go back through the same steps: for wisdom informs the fear of God, understanding instructs wisdom, counsel directs understanding, fortitude strengthens counsel, knowledge governs fortitude, piety adorns knowledge, and chaste fear, which endures forever, establishes piety.
Symbolically, Saint Bernard adapts these seven gifts to the seven beatitudes.
And the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. For "shall fill," the Hebrew is y'rīḥēhū, which, First, Vatable translates as: "The spirit of the fear of the Lord shall make him smell," that is, the Spirit of the Lord will give Christ sagacity and keen judgment so that he can immediately perceive whether or not men fear God, just as if he perceived it not by sight or hearing, but by smell alone. Hence follows: "He shall not judge according to the sight of his eyes." Thus Saint Hilarion, Saint Maria of Oignies, and other Saints knew by smell alone whether a person was in the grace of God or not: for when sinners approached, they perceived a marvelous stench.
Secondly, others translate: "The spirit of the fear of the Lord shall make him fragrant," according to the passage in the Canticles: "We will run after the smell of your ointments"; and that of Isaac concerning Jacob (Genesis 27): "Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord hath blessed."
Thirdly, Sanchez translates: "The Spirit shall make Christ smell the fear of the Lord," that is, the Spirit shall cause Christ to emit the fragrance of the fear of the Lord in every work and place. Fourthly, Forerius translates: "His breathing shall be in the fear of the Lord," as if to say: The Spirit of the Lord shall cause the breathing, that is, the whole life and action, of Christ to be in the fear of the Lord: the fear of the Lord shall be the breath, the spirit, the life, and the soul of Christ.
Fifthly, you translate best: "The Spirit of the Lord shall cause him (Christ) to breathe the fear of the Lord"; because He shall cause Christ to exhale and breathe out nothing but the fear of God, religion, and piety with his heart, mouth, eyes, hands, and whole body: just as roses and lilies emit and breathe out the fragrance of perfumes everywhere: as the Apostle says: "We are the good odor of Christ."
In Hebrew, for "piety" and "fear," the same word yirʼâ is used, hence Pagninus, Vatable, and Forerius translate it as fear in both places. For this reason, Oecolampadius claims that only six gifts are enumerated here, not seven. Leo Castrius replies that the latter yirʼâ is derived from yārēʼ, that is, "he feared," and signifies fear; but the former yirʼâ is derived from rāʼāh, that is, "he saw," and signifies vision or illumination, which produces heseb, that is, piety. But this is far-fetched.
I say, therefore, that yirʼâ signifies two things: First, fear and reverence; Secondly, piety: for the latter naturally follows reverence. For the fear here is the love of God, and it consummates and embraces all the other gifts. Thus the Arabic version distinguishes these two, and sets down seven spirits. For it says: "The spirit of wisdom, etc., and of the fear of the Lord shall descend upon him, and the confidence of the Lord, or hope in God, shall arise in him." Here it takes piety for fear, and invocation, worship, and reverence for confidence in God. The Syriac says similarly.
Abbot Chaeremon notes that it does not say "it shall rest," as it is said of the others, but "The spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him": "For so great is the magnitude of its abundance," he says, "that when it has once possessed someone by its power, it occupies not a part, but the whole of his mind, and not undeservedly. For clinging to him from whom it never falls away, it not only fills him, but also possesses the one it has taken with a perpetual and inseparable bond, undiminished by the allurements of temporal pleasure or delight, which sometimes happens to that servile fear which is cast out (and which therefore was not in Christ, as Chaeremon says in the same place)."
Therefore, Saint Ambrose notes concerning that verse, "Establish thy word to thy servant in thy fear," that fear is placed in the last place among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the form and complement of the others. "To how many things," he says, "has he subjected fear, so that it may have something to follow! It is informed by wisdom, instructed by understanding, directed by counsel, strengthened by virtue, ruled by knowledge, adorned by piety."
He shall not judge according to the sight of his eyes. Firstly, some explain this as if to say: Christ will not care for, nor highly regard, those things which the eyes of men curiously look upon and highly regard, namely, vain riches and worldly pomp. Secondly, and genuinely, as if to say: Men judge according to outward appearance, which often deceives; for hypocrites use it to trick judges when they simulate being good. But Christ, full of the spirit of wisdom, counsel, piety, and fear, will judge not according to outward appearance, nor even from the report of others or rumors, because sight and hearing are often deceived in these matters. Rather, He will judge according to the equity of the case itself, which He will inwardly examine. For He will see the internal and intimate nature of the thing, He will search hearts and reins, and, as He Himself says, the Son of Man knows what is in man. Therefore, He will remove and strip away the disguise, and will discover and expose in feigned sanctity and veiled malice the iniquity and fraud, and in deceitful speech and a double tongue the guile and imposture. Thus Saint Jerome, Sanchez, and others.
To this belongs what the Platonists taught: that all men are to be judged by their soul being stripped of all ornamentation of exterior good works, with only the lights of virtues or the stains of vices appearing in it. Claudianus sang of this opinion.
He shall judge the poor with justice. That is, He will render an unimpeachable and sincere judgment to the poor, which the powerful often suppress, or wicked judges despise and unjustly condemn. Hence Irenaeus translates: "He shall judge the humble with judgment."
And shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. As if to say: Christ will defend his poor disciples, who meekly submit themselves to his preaching, against the harsh and proud Scribes, Pharisees, and similar adversaries, whose arrogance, frauds, and crimes He will reprove and chastise, as He did in Matthew 12 and 15. The Septuagint translates: "He shall reprove the humble of the earth." Christ indeed did this when He said to Peter: "Get behind me, Satan"; and elsewhere: "You know not of what spirit you are"; and elsewhere: "You know not what you ask." Hence Clement of Alexandria explains it thus: "He will chastise the meek, instructing them for their benefit and saving them from death," according to the passage: "Chastening, the Lord hath chastised me, and hath not delivered me over to death."
Note that in Scripture, the just and holy are called meek, mild, humble: for humility and meekness are the proper virtue of the Saints and the mark of sanctity.
And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. The rod of the mouth is sharp rebuke and chastisement. As if to say: Christ will not flatter sinners; but armed with the spirit of fortitude, He will most freely and with the gravest words rebuke men given over to earthly desires. From this spirit and this rod proceed those words, or rather thunderbolts, against the Pharisees (Matthew 23) and against the rich and pleasure-seekers (Luke 6), against whom He pronounces the woe of damnation. Preachers—not theatrical, not political, not cold, but Apostolic, zealous, and effective—who convert cities and the world, partake in this rod of the mouth from Christ, as were Saint Dominic, Saint Vincent Ferrer, Saint Bernardine, and others.
And with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Firstly, by His command, He shall drive out not only sins, but also demons, both from the souls of men (so that He may make the pious out of the wicked) and from their bodies: for this expulsion is bitter to the demon, like death and utter destruction. Secondly, and properly, He shall kill the wicked one, that is, the head of the wicked, namely Antichrist, as Paul explains in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. And simultaneously with Antichrist, He shall strike all the wicked with the sentence of the second death, that is, eternal damnation.
And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the cingulum of his reins. That is to say: Justice and Faith (that is, truthfulness or fidelity, for the Hebrew ʼĕmûnâ signifies this) shall perpetually cleave to Christ, restraining, adorning, and strengthening Him in the manner of a girdle. For just as Christ's humanity was entirely encircled by His divinity, so too was it by justice and fidelity, so that whatever He said or did, He always said and did it promptly, strenuously, and constantly, according to justice and fidelity.
Note that the Hebrews signify by the girdle: First, adherence and conjunction. Secondly, strength and vigor. Hence, to unloose the girdle of the loins is to lose strength (Daniel 5:6), and to gird the loins with fortitude is to undertake and do something with a strenuous and virile spirit (Proverbs 31:17). Thirdly, alacrity and expedition (readiness). As if to say: Christ will be girt and ready to uphold justice and truth upon the earth. Fourthly, value and love: for just as the pectoral band is a delight to a virgin, so the belt is a delight to a man. As if to say: To Christ the King, justice and faith will be dear, and shall never be laid aside, as if they were His belt. Thus Sanchez. Fifthly, that justice and faith are proper, perpetual, and unchangeable to Christ: for such is one's own girdle.
Secondly, some interpret the girdle here as the sword with which we are girt by the girdle: for this befits Christ the Judge and King (Psalm 44:4): "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy comeliness and thy beauty. Proceed prosperously, and reign because of truth, and meekness, and justice." Thirdly, the Chaldean paraphrase understands by justice the faithful and pious with whom the Messiah will be surrounded, according to Isaiah 49:18: "Thou shalt be clothed with all these (faithful) as with an ornament."
Morally, learn here that the principles of the heart and concern of a ruler ought to be, first, Justice. Truly, Saint Augustine says: "Justice being removed, what are kingdoms but great robberies?" And Cicero, in the Paradoxes: "Right and equity are the bonds of states." Augustus: "By piety and justice, princes become gods." Hesiod, in the Theogony: "For this one thing were kings of old created by the Greeks, to give right to the peoples and to put an end to unjust deeds." Aristotle: "A King," he says, "ought to and wishes to be a guardian, so that neither the wealthy suffer any injustice, nor the poor snatch at contempt."
Therefore, that barbarian saying quoted in Tacitus is barbaric: "In the highest fortune, that is the most just which is the strongest." And that in Lucan: "The whole strength of scepters perishes if they begin to weigh what is just." And that saying of a Spartan to Caracalla: "It is permitted if you wish it."
Secondly, Faith. For "Faith is the foundation of justice," says Cicero, and "the most holy good of the human breast," says Seneca. Listen to Silius Italicus on Faith: "Born before Jove, the glory of gods and men, without whom the land knows no peace, nor do the seas: the companion of Justice, and a silent divinity in the breast." Therefore, the Romans desired Faith to be close to Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the Capitol, as Cato used to say; for as the latter is the protector of the human race, so is the former. "Nor does any thing more vehemently maintain the republic than faith," says Cicero. Therefore, Faith is, so to speak, the shining lamp of Justice: just as the light of clemency shines forth, so too does the light of modesty.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. Firstly, the Jews take this literally, as it sounds. As if to say: In the time of the Messiah, the wolf, the leopard, the lion, and other beasts will be tamed, and will no longer harm the just and good. Hence, they conclude that Christ has not yet come, because the lion still tears, the wolf devours, and the serpent bites. Some Catholics apply and explain this to the Apostles and Martyrs, whom vipers, lions, and beasts unleashed against them were often unable to harm. But this is not accurately applied. First, because the Prophet says: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb": now if the wolf is taken literally, so must the lamb be; but nowhere do we see wolves dwelling with lambs in the time of Christ. Secondly, because He says this will happen universally, yet it is established that many Martyrs were torn apart by beasts. Thirdly, because it follows: "And the lion shall eat straw like the ox." What does this have to do with the Martyrs? Therefore, Galatinus rightly refutes the Jews based on the ancient Rabbis.
Secondly, Lactantius believes that these things, literally as they sound, will truly happen after the judgment for a thousand years, during which the Saints will reign with Christ on earth. For then there will be a Golden Age: and thus he understands the Sibyls, who prophesied the same as Isaiah here. For the Cumaean Sibyl sings thus in Virgil's Fourth Eclogue: "Nor shall the herds fear the great lions: the serpent shall perish, and the deceitful herb of poison." But this was the error of the Chiliasts, or Millenarians, whose author was Papias, the disciple of Saint John, as discussed in the Apocalypse 20:4.
I say, therefore, with the Fathers and Christian Interpreters, that all these things are spoken metaphorically of men, whose customs are similar to these beasts. Some understand the fierce ones to be the Gentiles; the meek ones to be the Jews. As if to say: In the Church of Christ, Jews and Gentiles shall dwell together in peace. Thus Clement of Alexandria. Others more rightly take the lion, wolf, and asp to mean any men who are strong, powerful, greedy, and harmful; just as they take the leopard to mean the restless with various errors and vices (for these are the spots of the leopard). By the lamb, kid, calf, and ox, however, they understand the infirm, poor, meek, and laborious. As if to say: In the Church of Christ, the just and sinners, the mild and the fierce, the patient and the choleric, the poor and the rich, the weak and the powerful, shall peacefully coexist.
By these metaphors, therefore, it is signified that the fierce and barbaric Gentiles, having laid aside their ferocity, will become meek, and will most holily conspire with the kids and lambs (that is, with humble and simple Christians) in the unity of faith and the Church. For example, the wolf, that is, Saint Paul, who was breathing threats and slaughter against the Christians (rightly compared to the wolf in Genesis 49:27), dwells with the lamb, that is, with Saint John and Peter, says Saint Jerome.
Isaiah therefore signifies that through the grace of Christ there will be a union and concord of all Gentiles, which is the mother of all prosperity and happiness. Emperor Vespasian signified this on a coin on which beautiful and full ears of grain were sculpted, emerging from two hands given and joined together: for this hints that abundance of happy things flows from concord and faith. Julius Caesar signified the same thing by sculpting the caduceus with the horn of plenty on his coin: for the caduceus signifies concord, and the horn of plenty signifies the abundance of things.
Saint Ambrose beautifully adapts the words "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb" to the Christian soldier who, in order to save a virgin condemned to a brothel for the faith of Christ, exchanged clothes with her and substituted himself for her. When he was condemned to death, the virgin rushed forward and contended with him for martyrdom, and he attained the laurel of martyrdom with her.
And a little child shall lead them. The Gentiles fable that Hercules, while still in the cradle, strangled serpents: but our little Emmanuel truly did this, who from His birth began to subject the Magi, the shepherds, and others to Himself and His Gospel. Thus Saint Justin against Tryphon. Again, the little child is any humble Apostle and Preacher who leads, that is, guides, teaches, and rules the people. Thus Saint Cyril, Jerome, and others commonly.
These things happened most clearly in the Primitive Church (Acts 4:32) and still happen in the conversion of the Brazilians, Japanese, and Indians: likewise in well-constituted Religious Orders, where the spirit of Christ is most diligently preserved and flourishes. For there one sees the proud and fierce become humble and mild, like lambs, so that they allow themselves to be ruled even by the little and simple ones. This is what Saint Francis used to say: "The more contemptible the one who presides is, the more the humility of the obedient one pleases." Hence, Saint Bonaventure says in his Life: "He was accustomed and used to promise and observe obedience to the Brother with whom he was accustomed to travel, saying that no time passes without gain for the obedient person, and he used to say: 'Among the other things which Divine Piety has deigned to grant me, it has conferred this grace, that I would obey a novice of one hour as diligently, if he were given as a Guardian, as I would the most ancient and discreet brother; for the subject ought not to consider his Prelate as a man, but in him, the One for whose love he is subject.'"
Isaiah therefore signifies here that there will be the highest humility, peace, subordination, and obedience of all in the Church of Christ, even under any Prelate who is ignoble, unlearned, and imperfect.
And the young lions of them shall rest. That is to say: The Peace of Christ shall reach the children of their children, and those who shall be born of them. This is what Tertullian elegantly says: under Christ, the cattle have agreed with the beasts, that is, they have associated themselves together as if by agreement and pact.
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. It says the same thing here and presses it, as in the following metaphor. As if to say: Fierce men, proud and wise, having laid aside their ferocity, pride, and the swelling of secular doctrine, shall put on the manners of the meek, and shall live together with them, and shall use the same table and food, both bodily and spiritual. For they will eat not flesh, as before, but straw, that is, the food of the meek and simple, namely the first rudiments of faith. Hence, Saint Ambrose reads: "The lion shall eat straw with the ox."
Thus Aeschylus said that a lion (that is, men who are savage, proud, and tyrannical) should not be nurtured in a republic. And Plato asserted that in his republic we nurture diverse kinds of brute beasts at home. Indeed, Aristotle, in Politics, says that a man alienated from law and justice is the worst of all animals. Finally, Saint Chrysostom says: "Every beast has one and its own proper evil; but man has all of them."
Others understand the lion to mean men who are unlearned but full of faith; by straw, the simple words of Scripture, or the letter itself; but by wheat, its inner marrow and hidden meaning. And it prophesies that uneducated men, such as I have described, not grasping the mysteries of Scripture, shall be fed by its naked and simple reading. Thus Saint Jerome and others.
And the infant shall play upon the hole of the aspid. That is to say: Infants scarcely weaned from the breast shall not dread asps, but shall play with them, and shall confidently put their hands into their dens. This means that those recently converted, even youths and boys, shall act freely and confidently with idolaters and tyrants, they shall meet rulers fearlessly, and shall announce the faith to them. They shall not dread, but shall embrace death and martyrdom: for they shall rejoice to preach to tyrants, who at first wish to harm them, but being taught and tamed by them, and having cast off the venom of infidelity, they shall believe the Gospel.
Listen to examples of boys contending with and triumphing over tyrants: The adolescent Josaphat contended with his father and king, Abennar, and conquered; he converted his father and the entire kingdom to Christ: Damascene is a witness in his history. Among the Homerites, Procopius (and Baronius based on him) relates that a certain martyr boy exhibited a remarkable specimen of a manly soul. Seeing his mother thrown into the fire, he bit the tyrant's thigh, ran to her, and thus was transmitted to God, together with his mother, as a sweet-smelling sacrifice through libation.
Victor Uticensis relates that twelve symphoniac boys, separated by force from the orthodox Confessors, were tempted by the Arians, first with blandishments, then with repeated flogging; but those boys stood firm, so that the Arians were ashamed to be overcome by boys, and the orthodox rejoiced and were strengthened. He says: "Carthage now cultivates these boys with wondrous affection, and beholds, as it were, a choir of twelve Apostles of boys." They live together, eat together, sing psalms together, and glory together in the Lord.
Prudentius narrates that a boy, not yet seven years old, at the request of a most noble Roman Martyr, constantly asserted the essence of the one God and the deity of Christ before the prefect Asclepiades, rejecting the multitude of ethnic gods. The tyrant summoned the mother and ordered the executioners to lift the boy high and beat him with rods. While all wept at such a monstrous spectacle, the mother stood firm, with an undaunted face and serene brow, obstinate in her sufferings out of love for Christ. The little one cried out that he was thirsty; but his mother, rebuking him, said that a Christian ought not to yield to death, that the water of life in Christ was sufficient: that the perennial fountain was nearby, and the cup of the Bethlehemite infants was to be drained. She recalled the obedience of the infant Isaac and the constancy of the seven boys from the history of the Machabees. The little boy, with a manly spirit, laughed at the whizzing rods and the pain of the wounds, and the victor insulted the torturers and the tyrant. Asclepiades, driven to madness, ordered the boy to be beheaded. The mother held her son in her embrace and bosom. The executioner asked for the boy; the mother did not weep, only impressed a kiss upon him and said farewell. And while the executioner severed his little neck, the mother, who knew how to sing psalms, sang from David's Psalm 116: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
When the Prefect of Edessa under Emperor Valens, attended by a multitude of soldiers, hurried to the temple where the Christians had gathered, to execute the Emperor's wrath against them, a certain poor woman, dragging her little son by the hand, ran toward martyrdom, and broke the Prefect's line of attendants. The Prefect, indignant, ordered the little woman to be brought to him, and addressed her, saying: "Where are you running so disorderly, unhappy woman?" To which she replied: "Where others are running." He, in turn: "Have you not heard," he said, "that the Prefect will kill all whom he finds there?" The woman: "I have heard it," she said, "and for that reason, I hasten, so that I also may be found there." "But why," he said, "do you bring the boy as well?" She replied: "So that he also may be a partaker of the same crown." Hearing this, the Prefect marveled at the madness of the assembly, and approached the Emperor and informed him that all were ready to die for their faith, and that it was not consonant with reason that such a number of men should be killed in a short time, and thus persuaded the Emperor to cease his wrath. Thus Socrates. Baronius relates wondrous things (from Ruffinus and Eusebius) about the Iberians being led to the faith of Christ by a Christian captive maidservant in the year of Christ 327.
Again, the infant shall play upon the hole of the aspid, that is, simple believers shall rejoice to cast out demons from the bodies of the possessed, which are rightly called the hole of the aspid. This was accomplished in the Apostles, to whom Christ gave the gift of treading upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy. Thus Saint Jerome.
And the weaned child. That is, one now somewhat advanced in age, shall put his hand into the den of the basilisk, that is, he shall break into the fierce Gentiles; nay, in their dens, caves (as happens among the Indians), temples, and shrines, he shall preach the Faith of Christ. Thus Saint Jerome and others, except Saint Cyril, who understands heretics by the asp and the demon by the basilisk.
Thus Saint Francis Xavier in India sent boys who taught the Christian faith to their parents and neighbors, tore down their idols, and through the cross and pious prayers healed the sick and cast out demons from the possessed, as Tursellinus relates in his Life. And Gaspar Barzeus, a disciple of Xavier, leading a company of boys in a procession, broke into a mosque or church of Muhammad at Hormuz and affixed the cross of Christ to the summit: the struck Saracens fled, and the Christians occupied the building, which, having been consecrated, they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, named after the victorious mount, as Father Nicolaus relates.
In this way, our Fathers and others converted the Brazilians and other Indians, mainly through their boys. For these pure souls, like clean slates, more tenaciously absorbed Christianity and instilled it in their parents and others. This is what Saint Francis used to say: "The more contemptible the one who presides is, the more the humility of the obedient one pleases."
Isaiah, therefore, signifies here that there will be the highest humility, peace, subordination, and obedience of all in the Church of Christ, even under any Prelate who is ignoble, unlearned, and imperfect.
They shall not hurt. That is, those who were previously the most venomous idolaters, now converted to Christ, shall no longer hurt the faithful in the Church, which is the Holy Mountain of God. Thus Saint Jerome. Therefore, Luther wrongly infers from this passage: "Therefore, it is not permitted to kill heretics in the Church." For he ought to have inferred: "Therefore, heretics (for these are the serpents and asps) shall not kill, nor shall they hurt Christians in the Church." For although they seem to hurt them, yet in reality they do not hurt; but they exercise them and cause them to grow in doctrine and virtue.
Because the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord. That is, with the Knowledge of God: this is what the Psalmist says in Psalm 18: "Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth." Thus Saint Jerome, Cyril, and others. Moreover, the "because" signifies that the cause of this change is the Knowledge of the Lord: for it changes minds and makes them gentle. For who, knowing and seriously considering Christ the humble, meek, poor, sober God, and so forth, would not immediately lay aside his pride, anger, avarice, gluttony, and the like?
Thus, those who are seriously converted to Christ, though they were formerly lions in cruelty, wolves in voracity, and basilisks in venom, become lambs in meekness, kids in sobriety, and calves in purity: this is the admirable power of the Gospel, that it subdues wild minds. Luther and Oecolampadius unskillfully infer from this passage that it is permitted for laity and unlearned persons to profess the knowledge and explanation of the Sacred Scriptures: for this knowledge is not the doctrine of teachers, but the discipline of the faithful, which they as disciples ought to draw and increase through the instruction and preaching of the Apostles and Doctors. This knowledge is therefore faith in Christ, which all Christians possess, in which, however, they ought to grow and be perfected by hearing those who are more learned, and so on.
As the water of the sea covering. Namely, some land. As if to say: Just as waters do not stop in their channel, but occupy and cover the neighboring land: so also the Church, spread throughout the whole world and in every land, shall be inundated and covered by the wave of Evangelical preaching. Thus Saint Augustine, Eusebius, and Guevara on Habakkuk 2:4. As if to say: Just as the sea encircles and embraces the land, so also Faith and the Knowledge of God shall embrace the whole globe.
Forerius here criticizes our translator: for he denies that it can be translated from the Hebrew as "as the water of the sea covering," because, he says, in Hebrew it ought to have been kammayim yam in the construct state; but now it stands in the absolute state, kammayim layam, that is, "as water covering the sea." But I reply: The enallage of cases is common in Hebrew, just as it is in moods and tenses: for they often use the absolute state for the construct state, or the nominative for the genitive, and vice versa. Hence Leo the Hebrew translates it here: "As the water of the sea covering."
I confess, however, that it can be properly translated with the Septuagint, Pagninus, Forerius, and Vatable: "As waters covering the sea," so that sea is taken for the channel or basin of the sea. As if to say: Just as waters cover the basin of the sea, or even the surface of the sea when they swell up, as water or wine covers a bowl when it is overflowing and runs over: so also the Knowledge of God overflows in the new law and is poured out over all. In a similar manner, Habakkuk says: "Because the earth shall be filled, that they may know the glory of the Lord, as the waters covering the sea, that is, just as copious waters and waves swell up and bubble over the sea, so that they run over, and inundate and overwhelm the neighboring lands." Thus Theophylact there and Guevara.
Thirdly, the same Guevara there translates it: "As waters from the sea covering," that is, as if the sea should overflow so as to cover the earth, as happened in the deluge, and often otherwise. For the sea carried off Pyrrha and Antissa around Lake Maeotis; and also Helice and Bura in the Corinthian Gulf, whose traces Pliny testifies existed in the deep in his time. The sea swallowed the island of Atlantis; and, if we believe Plato, whatever the Atlantic Ocean covers was once an island.
In that day the root of Jesse, which standeth for a sign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech. This is a Hebraism which you may express clearly in Latin thus: The root of Jesse shall be standing for a sign of the peoples; or, as Vatable: Then it shall come to pass that the Gentiles also shall seek the root of Jesse, which stands for a sign of the peoples.
Note First that the Root of Jesse is called the sprout born from the Jessaean root, namely Christ: hence it says "which," not "which," because it passes from the type to the antitype, namely from the root to Christ. Secondly, the Hebrews repeat the same thing, placing the demonstrative or relative pronoun together with its antecedent, as "the root of Jesse and him." Therefore the word "root" is placed in the absolute nominative, because the accusative "him" follows, which the verb "shall beseech" requires: for it would have been enough to say: "The Gentiles shall beseech the root of Jesse." Thus in Psalm 10:5, it is said: "The Lord in heaven is his seat," that is, "The seat of the Lord is in heaven."
Thirdly, the sign in Hebrew is nēs, that is, a banner, by which it is signified that Emmanuel will be an emperor who will raise a banner, to which all the Gentiles shall flock. The sense, therefore, is as if to say: When the Gospel shall be preached thus, as I have said, then that sprout germinating from the root of Jesse, namely Christ, exalted on the cross, and there set up as a banner, shall draw all, both Jews and Gentiles, to Himself and His camps, so that they may seek Him, hope in Him, and invoke His aid to conquer their enemies: the devil, sin, the flesh, and the world. This is what Christ says in John 12:32: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself." Thus Saint Jerome, and indeed Saint Paul in Romans 15:12.
And his sepulchre shall be glorious. Since the Prophet has spoken of the sign of the cross, which was infamous, he now clears away this infamy by saying that the sepulchre of Christ, our Crucified Leader, shall be glorious. The Hebrew is: "And his rest shall be glory." Now, by rest, whatever followed Christ's death can be understood, says Sanchez.
First, the death of Christ was glorious, because the earthquake, the cracking of the rocks, the darkness of the sky, and the eclipse of the sun honored it. Secondly, the resurrection of Christ was glorious. Thirdly, the formerly despised name of Christ received a wonderful exaltation. Hence the Septuagint translates: "And his rest shall be honor." Fourthly, His sepulchre was glorious. That is to say: Christ's rest from labor and death, and that which succeeded the reproach of the cross and death, such as the sepulchre, the exaltation of His name, the resurrection, and the triumph, were glorious.
Therefore, Saint Chrysostom, in his homily Quod Christus sit Deus, clearly teaches that the Passion, Cross, Sepulchre, and all the ignominies of Christ were, after His rest (that is, death), turned into glory and triumph; which Saint Augustine shows to have been an indissoluble sign of His divinity. Mystically, "His rest shall be glory," that is, Christ shall rest after death and shall be glorious in the souls of believers, says Saint Jerome and Cyril. Hence follows: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to possess the remnant of his people..."
Again, this rest is the Church and its Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, in which Christ rests, which is truly glorious. Hence the Chaldean paraphrase translates: "And the place of his dwelling shall be in glory." Anagogically, the rest, that is, the beatitude of Christ and His faithful, shall be celestial glory. Thus Saint Basil. Furthermore, our translator has excellently taken sepulchre for rest: for there, after the labors and struggles of life, Christ, when dead, rested.
That the Sepulchre of Christ was glorious is evident: First, from the earthquake and the resurrection of the Saints which followed immediately upon the death of Christ about to be buried (Matthew 27:51). Secondly, because Saint Helena adorned the Lord's Sepulchre with a most magnificent temple, in which Godfrey of Bouillon, the restorer of the Holy Land and first King of Jerusalem, and thereafter all the other Kings of Jerusalem, were buried, as William of Tyre attests in the history of the Holy War: hence nobles are even now honored there with the title of Knights, and are made Knights of the Golden Spur, as Adricomius testifies.
Thirdly, because for many centuries, even now, there is a most celebrated pilgrimage of the faithful from the entire world to the Lord's Sepulchre, even though it is situated amidst the Turks. To receive them, the Franciscan Fathers always have their Patriarch there and a perpetual residence of their Order. And although the Turk is hostile to Christians, he has never dared to overthrow it, even though he threatened the Pope that he would do so unless the Pope forced the King of Portugal to abandon the Indian expedition. But partly because of the gain and tribute which he collects from the pilgrims, and partly out of reverence and fear that God might punish this sacrilege of his, he has not yet endured to carry out these threats, as Osorius and others relate.
Fourthly, because many miracles were and are performed there: for sinners are converted, demons are put to flight, and diseases are cured: Saint Augustine is a witness. Hence, the sinner Mary of Egypt was converted there, and from there went into the desert, where she led a most holy life for 47 years without food, in prayer and tears: Zosimas, an eyewitness who wrote her life, is a witness.
Sophronius narrates that Cosmiana, the wife of the patrician Germanus, infected with the Severian heresy, approached the Lord's Sepulchre; but she was repulsed by the appearance of the Blessed Virgin from entering it unless she embraced the true faith. Therefore, being confused and penitent, and embracing the faith and receiving communion, she was admitted to the Holy Sepulchre and venerated it. And in chapter 69, he narrates that the Duke of Palestine, wishing to enter the Holy Sepulchre, was rejected by the appearance of a ram charging him with its horns, and this happened repeatedly, because he was a Severian: therefore, he rejected the heresy, and receiving communion of the Lord's chalice, he was freely permitted to enter and venerate it.
Listen to what Gregory of Tours writes from Saint Augustine: "The earth itself, moreover, which lies next to the Lord's Sepulchre, imbibed a certain divine power from the Lord's body placed close by, so that the faithful who journey there might eagerly strive to receive from it, as they are accustomed to use it both to heal diseases and also to put demons to flight." He then confirms this with the testimony of Saint Augustine. He relates the story of Hesperius the tribune, who hung holy earth from Jerusalem in his chamber to ward off evil, and later buried it to consecrate the spot for Christian prayer.
Fifthly, the Sepulchre of Christ is glorious by the annual representation and pomp with which the faithful in many places, every year on Holy Saturday, are accustomed to erect a magnificent sepulchre to Christ suffering and dead, and to represent His glorious burial. Finally, the Sepulchre of Christ was glorious by Christ's magnificent resurrection from it, by which He penetrated it through the gift of subtlety.
Rupert of Deutz narrates that in the year of the Lord 1111, it happened in the monastery of St. Lawrence in Liège, when the anthem Mulieres sedentes ad monumentum was sung on Holy Saturday, that the cincture of a certain Religious man, with which he was girt, sprang forth as if projected before his feet. When he seized it to gird himself with it, he saw that it was tied in a knot and closed, and he heard it hiss. This showed that Christ, after the resurrection, was able to come forth through the closed sepulchre. Saint Augustine demonstrates that Christ came forth from the closed womb of the Virgin Mother by a similar miracle of a ring slipping out of a closed box onto the ground without any fracture of the ring or the box.
In the same way as Christ's, God also wished the sepulchres of illustrious Christians to be glorious, so that Christ might be glorious in them, not only in His own. Thus, Saint Catherine, when about to suffer martyrdom, prayed: "My God, Lord Jesus Christ, grant that my body, which has been torn for Thee, may not be seen by those who seek it." And God, honoring and hearing His Martyr, sent Angels, who composed her body and were seen by those present to carry it down to Mount Sinai. Thus says her Life.
Saint Sebastian, pierced by arrows and thrown into a sewer, appeared to Saint Lucy by night, commanding her to take his body from the sewer, carry it to the Catacombs, and bury it near the footprints of the Apostles: which she did. Saint Armogastes the Bishop, a notable champion of the faith against the Arians, being about to die in the year of the Lord 454, ordered himself to be buried under a certain tree. His subordinates found a sarcophagus of most splendid marble prepared, such as perhaps no king whatsoever had, says Victor.
Saint Theodoric the Abbot, the disciple of St. Remigius, who had raised the daughter of Theodoric, son of Clovis, King of the Franks, from the dead—when he had performed many virtues and passed away in glory with Angels receiving him—King Theodoric, coming to the monastery, carried the holy body to the sepulchre upon his own shoulders. Thus Usuardus in the Martyrology on July 1.
Saint Ermelendis the virgin, who afflicted her body with fasts and penances, was honored when about to die by choirs of Angels singing glory to Christ, and because she was beloved by Christ, she was most dutifully buried by them, says the author of her Life on October 29. Saint Peter the Abbot, drowned in the sea, was buried in an obscure place by the inhabitants of the area. But God, to show how great his merit was, sent a radiant light above his sepulchre every night: noticing this, the inhabitants translated him to Bologna and honorably buried him in the church, as Bede relates.
Saint Sigismund, King of Burgundy, when he was unjustly stripped of his kingdom and life by Clodomir and his two brothers, the sons of Clovis, Kings of France, and cast headlong with his wife and children into a deep well, a bright light immediately shone in the well, and Saint Maurilius, appearing to Saint Avitus with the Thebans (whose bodies rested in the same town of Agaunum), showed their glory in heaven, as Gregory of Tours narrates, Baronius and others. Saint Cerbonius the Bishop of Populonia, when dying, ordered himself to be buried in his church, although it was occupied by the Lombards. This was done without their knowledge and against their will; for a great storm arose, which dispersed them all, and the ship carrying the Saint's body alone was free from the rain pouring down everywhere, as Saint Gregory relates.
In the year of the Lord 1007, Saint Romuald the Abbot of St. Emmeram died at Regensburg, whose bier King Henry II of Germany, and afterwards Emperor, placed upon his own shoulder to carry it to the sepulchre, as Baronius relates from Count Arnulf. In the year of the Lord 1079, the body of Saint Gerard the Martyr was exhumed, and transferred on the shoulders of Ladislaus, King of Hungary, and his princes, and honorably deposited, shining with miracles, as his Life of September 24 relates.
Saint Constantius the Bishop and Martyr of Perugia, under Antoninus Pius, when he was honorably buried by the upright man Levinus by heavenly admonition, both Levinus and the Saint himself were mocked by two men: who were immediately struck blind, and repenting, recovered the sight of their eyes by touching the body of the Martyr. Thus says his Life of January 29.
Secondly, hence God and the Church wished the burial of the faithful to be adorned with singing, torches, candles, flowers, the ringing of bells, precious vestments, and so forth. The Venerable Bede relates and Baronius from him, that when a plague was consuming many in a certain monastery in Britain, and the Abbess Aedilburga was in doubt as to where she should bury the deceased sisters, the place was divinely shown to her. For after the morning psalmody, a light sent from heaven came down like a great linen cloth over all, in comparison with which the midday sun seemed obscure: then it withdrew to the southern part of the monastery, and remaining there for some time, and covering those places, it withdrew to the heights of heaven in sight of all, so that no one doubted that this same light, which was to lead or receive the souls of Christ's handmaidens into heaven, was showing their bodies the place where they should rest and await the day of resurrection.
Listen to the burial of Saint Paula from Saint Jerome: "Saint Paula, a most noble Roman widow, when she heard the Spouse calling to death: 'Arise, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove, for behold the winter is past and gone, the rain is over and gone,' thus joyfully replied: 'The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of cutting is come.' And, 'I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.' From then on, there was no wailing, no lamentation, as is customary among worldly people; but choirs in diverse languages of psalms resounded: and being carried by the hands of Bishops, who put their necks beneath the bier, while other Pontiffs carried torches and candles before, and others led the choirs of singers, she was placed in the middle of the church near the Savior's cave. But listen to the pomp of the funeral: The entire multitude of the towns of Palestine gathered for her funeral. What monk hiding in the desert was kept by his cell? What virgins were kept hidden by the secrets of their chambers? They considered him sacrilegious who had not performed the last office for such a woman. Widows and poor people, in the example of Dorcas, showed the clothes given to them by her. The whole multitude of the needy cried out that they had lost a mother and a nurse. And what is wonderful, pallor had changed nothing in her face: but a certain dignity and gravity filled her countenance, so that you would think her not dead, but sleeping. Psalms resounded in order in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Syrian languages; not only for three days, until she was buried beneath the church and next to the Lord's cave; but for the entire week, all who came believed her funeral to be their own, and their own tears. Her venerable virgin daughter, Eustochium, like a weaned child upon her mother, could not be torn away from her parent, kissing her eyes, shedding tears, embracing her entire body, and wishing to be buried with her mother."
When that great Daniel the Stylite was breathing his last, the chief Bishop, Euphemius, was present, with others, for the emigration of his soul: and also Rais, a most faithful woman, and a certain man possessed by a demon, who proceeded to the column: who, crying out, openly signified the coming of the Saints to the Saint, called them by their names, and remembered the Angels who had gathered. Then he added that Daniel would depart to the Lord at the third hour of that day, and the unclean spirit would be cast out from the long-time habitation. Both of these things happened at their appointed time. And Rais, who was mentioned before, magnificently prepared the things pertaining to the burial: and when she had brought many artificers and ordered a tomb to be made in the lower part of the column, and up to the summit; she stationed men on both sides of the tomb, who carried torches, and held lamps in their hands, and sang those things which are accustomed to be sung at a departure. These things were therefore accomplished, and the unclean demon was cast out, after he had greatly torn the man, says the author of the Life of Saint Daniel.
Saint Gallus, Deacon, and afterwards Bishop of Auvergne, seeing many miracles performed at the tomb of Saint Amabilis, built an excellently crafted vault for him in the front of the temple, and an altar beneath it. He solemnly translated his holy body there, with the clergy singing psalms, and the people carrying candles and lamps, as his Life relates. Jacobus Meyerus relates that when a certain man, who had died of hunger, was found near Aldenburg, and was being buried, the priest forbade the bells to be rung, because the man was unknown; but behold, to the astonishment of all, the bells miraculously resounded by themselves.
Thirdly, wild beasts buried or protected the bodies of the Saints. Thus, when Saint Anthony wished to bury Saint Paul the Hermit, two lions, weeping, prepared a grave for him by digging the earth with their feet. Similarly, a lion dug the earth with its feet and made a grave in which Zosimas buried the body of Saint Mary of Egypt. Zosimas found her dead body with this inscription in the earth: "Bury, Abba Zosimas, the poor little body of Mary, render to the earth what is its own, and add dust to dust, and pray the Lord for me." Thus says her Life on April 2.
The body of Saint Anastasius the Martyr in Persia, in the year of the Lord 627, was preserved unharmed by dogs, which the faithful then honorably buried in the monastery of Saint Sergius the Martyr. Thus says his Life and Baronius from it. The body of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr of Cracow, killed by King Boleslaus, which was thrown to the beasts, eagles of unusual size defended it from dogs and birds.
Again, the sepulchre of the Martyrs was the altar: for since the Martyrs were immolated to God upon the altar like a burnt offering, they were therefore buried beneath it, according to the passage in Apocalypse 6: "I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held." This was done: First, so that the Martyrs might be honored in such a sacred place. Secondly, so that the bodies of the Martyrs might be an incentive to devotion and virtue for those praying. Thirdly, so that the Martyrs might offer and assist their prayers before God.
Hence, the altar was called the Sepulchre of the Martyr, Martyrdom, or Confession. Hence, again, the church built over these sepulchres and altars was called a Martyrium. Thus, in the Council of Chalcedon, the church of Saint Euphemia is called a Martyrium. From this, any church was called a Martyrium, just as the Church of the Resurrection erected on Golgotha in Jerusalem was called a Martyrium, says Cyril of Jerusalem. And this is the origin and reason why here in Rome, in the Vatican, in the temples of Saint Paul, Saint Lawrence, Saint Sebastian, Saint Cecilia, Saint Susanna, and elsewhere everywhere in the churches, we see steps and descents into crypts, or subterranean chapels. For in these crypts the Martyrs were properly buried: hence the crypt itself or the sepulchre of the Martyr was called a Confession or Martyrium: above which they then built the altar and the temple, which was also called a Martyrium from then on.
And from this, we understand what we so often read in the Lives of the Saints: "This saint was buried in the Confession of Saint Lawrence, Saint Susanna, Saint Prisca, etc." For "in the Confession" is the same as "in the crypt or sepulchre." Nor was the entire temple called a Confession, but a Martyrium, as Baronius cleverly noted.
Listen to the wondrous burial of Saint Lucian from his Life and from Baronius. When Lucian the Martyr was cast into the sea by order of the Emperor Maximian, with a large stone tied to him so that he would be drowned and nowhere appear, and his body should obtain no burial; the Martyr appeared in a dream to a certain disciple of his, Glycerius, who was then in the opposite region of Nicomedia, and said to him: "O you, when you first rise in the morning, go to this place," showing him a spot on the shore; "for I will meet you there." He, taking companions, came to the place that had been signified to him. And a huge dolphin ascended from the sea in that place and swam toward the land. It carried the deceased, extended as if lying on a bed. And when it approached the shore, it was lifted high by a wave and placed the dead man on the land. And it immediately expired. When Saint Helena heard all this, as she was a most zealous patroness of the Holy Martyrs, she decreed to adorn the triumph of the Martyr with a worthy trophy, and there took care to have a sumptuous basilica erected over it.
Baronius narrates that a certain person, instigated by Photius, who was the rival of Saint Ignatius the Patriarch, was struck dead while violating his sepulchre. How the irreverence shown to the sepulchre of Saint Equitius was punished is narrated by Saint Gregory. Here in Rome exists the burial place of Thomas de Vio, Cardinal Cajetan, who published subtle commentaries on Saint Thomas and the Sacred Scripture, illustrious for his humility: for he wished to be buried not in the church of the Friars Preachers, but in front of it: because he considered himself unworthy of such a church. I myself have often seen the gravestone, simply inscribed with only his name: I have seen and celebrated the humility of so great a man.
Finally, the sepulchres of the Saints are glorious because they preserve their bodies, dead for many years, nay, centuries, still whole and incorrupt with flesh and all members. I saw in Trent the whole body of Saint Simon the boy, killed by the Jews: and I saw in Bologna the whole body of Saint Catherine of Bologna sitting in a chair. Similarly, here recently, under Pope Clement XI, the whole body of Saint Cecilia was found, which struck all with a sacred horror and reverence: so that her temple deservedly shines with marble and many lamps always burning, and presents the appearance of heaven to those who enter.
In like manner, the sepulchre of Saint Agnes is glorious here, as well as those of Saint Pudentiana, Saint Praxedes, Saint Felicitas, Saint Susanna, Saint Alexis, whose steps (under which he lay hidden in his father's house) and the image of the Blessed Virgin, who revealed his hiding place and sanctity in Edessa, are shown in his marble temple, and are celebrated with a wondrous concourse and veneration of people. Furthermore, the crypts and catacombs themselves, in which Christians lay hidden and were buried during the time of the persecuting Emperors, are now wonderfully venerated by the faithful. One can see many prostrate themselves, humbly kiss the very earth, the very pavements, which they once trod, and send up sighs and groans to heaven.
Moreover, who can explain how glorious the sepulchres of Saints Peter and Paul are? One can see the three fountains gushing forth when the head of Saint Paul was cut off, celebrating his glory for all ages. One can see the basilicas erected by Constantine in their honor, and the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, completed and perfected by His Holiness Pope Paul V, a wonder of the world. One can see Prelates and Princes prostrating themselves at their sepulchres, kissing the dust of the pavement, making vows, and so forth. This is their posthumous fame, this is the glory for all His Saints, these are the crowns, these the triumphs.
No sepulchres of Pompey, Scipio, Augustus, Nero, or Trajan now remain; their memory perished with the sound: but the sepulchres of the Apostles, Martyrs, and Virgins gleam with marble, gold, and jewels, are celebrated, and adored: because they await the blessed resurrection in glory, which their souls already enjoy. This is the laurel of virtue. Constantius, the son of the Emperor Constantine, did not dare to bury his father, who had ended his life, inside the basilica of the Holy Apostles, but in its atrium.
Saint Chrysostom, commenting on this, says: "Here also (in Constantinople), Constantius thought that he would confer great honor on Constantine the Great if he buried him in the vestibule of the Fisherman: and what do doorkeepers in courts for Emperors, that do Emperors in the tomb for Fishermen. And the former, as masters, occupy the interior parts of the place, while the latter, as visitors and neighbors, thought they were treated splendidly if the door of the vestibule was assigned to them. Therefore, Kings are the doorkeepers of the Holy Apostles."
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