Bonaventure

Capitulum XIX.

De punitione Aegyptiorum per mortem propriam.

Impiis autem usque in novissimum. Postquam determinavit de punitione Aegyptiorum per mortem primogenitorum, hic determinat de punitione ipsorum per mortem propriam, scilicet quando submersi sunt in mari rubro. Et primo tangitur submersio Aegyptiorum; secundo, liberatio Hebraeorum: Omnis enim creatura; tertio, gratiarum actio pro utroque: Videntes tua; quarto, obedientia creaturarum in utroque: In se enim elementa.

Primo, submersio Aegyptiorum.

In prima primo tangitur gravitas punitionis; secundo, ratio ex parte punientis: Praesciebat; tertio, meritum ex parte punitorum: Adhuc enim; quarto, congruentia poenae: Ducebat enim.

(Vers. 1.). Impiis autem etc., quasi dicat: sic Israelitae liberati sunt ab incendio; autem, pro sed; impiis, scilicet Aegyptiis carentibus pietate religionis quoad Deum et compassionis in proximum, quia et Deum contemnebant et eius populum opprimebant; usque in novissimum, id est finaliter; Proverbiorum quinto²: « Novissima illius amara quasi absinthium »; sine misericordia ira supervenit. Sine misericordia, scilicet non relaxante, sed sine misericordia liberante, et hoc, quia impii et sine misericordia erant; Iacobi secundo: « Iudicium sine misericordia illi qui non fecerit misericordiam ». Ira, id est peccati vindicta, quae est signum irae; supervenit, id est, superno iudicio Dei venit ad eorum oppressionem; Iob vigesimo primo³: « Lucerna impiorum exstinguetur, et superveniet super illos inundatio »; Proverbiorum primo: « Quando venerit super vos tribulatio et angustia ». Et merito supervenit etc.; praesciebat enim, Deus scilicet, et, id est etiam, futura illorum, scilicet peccata, antequam fierent; ad Hebraeos quarto⁴: « Omnia nuda et aperta oculis eius »; item in Psalmo: « Intellexisti cogitationes meas de longe »; item Ecclesiastici vigesimo tertio: « Domino Deo nostro, antequam crearentur universa, sunt agnita » etc.

(Vers. 2.). Quoniam cum ipsi, scilicet Aegyptii, reversi essent⁵, scilicet ad cor suum, secundum quod monet Isaias dicens: « Redite ad cor, praevaricatores », Isaiae quadragesimo sexto. Reversi, inquam, ad cor suum, extra quod fuerant prae timore; in Psalmo: « Cor meum dereliquit me ». Et permisissent, scilicet prius, ut se ducerent, id est, seorsum de terra eorum ducerent filii Israel; unde Exodi undecimo: « Egredere tu et omnis populus, qui subiectus est tibi ». Et cum magna sollicitudine, id est instantia, praemisissent illos, scilicet compellendo eos exire; unde Exodi duodecimo⁶: « Urgebant Aegyptii populum exire de terra velociter ». Consequebantur illos, scilicet Aegyptios, cum hoc fecissent, poenitentiae actus, id est dolor de recessu eorum, dolor, inquam, in corde et confessio in ore et ostensio utriusque in persecutionis opere; Exodi decimo quarto: « Immutatum est cor Pharaonis et servorum eius super populo, et dixerunt: Quid voluimus facere, ut dimitteremus Israel »?

(Vers. 3.). Et bene dixi, quod consequebantur etc. Adhuc enim inter manus habentes luctum, id est luctus materiam, scilicet primogenitos mortuos, vel: luctum, id est signa luctus; et deplorantes, id est valde plorantes, vel de corde plorantes, vel: deplorantes, id est de morte primogenitorum plorantes. Bene sequitur: Ad monumenta mortuorum, scilicet primogenitorum, assumserunt sibi aliam cogitationem etc. Bene dicit: Assumserunt etc., quia mala cogitatio ab homine est, sed bona a Deo; secundae ad Corinthios tertio⁷: « Non quod simus sufficientes cogitare aliquid ex nobis » etc. Cogitationem, inquam, inscientiae, id est stultitiae. Omnis enim malus errans; Proverbiorum decimo quarto: « Errant qui operantur malum ». Prior cogitatio stulta fuerat, qua cogitaverant eos per vim detinere; alia etiam stulta fuit, qua cogitaverant eos per vim revocare vel reducere. Et quos rogantes proiecerant, scilicet compellendo filios Israel exire, ut patet Exodi duodecimo⁸; hos tanquam fugitivos, id est quasi sine licentia eorum recedentes, quod falsum erat; persequebantur, ut patet Exodi decimo quarto. p. 229

(Vers. 4.). Ducebat etc., quasi: et congrue; ducebat enim illos ad hunc finem, scilicet obstinationis et submersionis, digna necessitas, non fortunae vel fati, sed divinae iustitiae.

Sed contra: Quia voluntarie ad hoc tendebant, non ergo necessitate.

Dicendum, quod non fuit necessitas coactionis, sed immutabilitatis¹.

Sed contra: Quia poterant poenitere et sic poenam illam vitare.

Dicendum, quod poterant, sed nolebant. Unde necessitas illa erat consequens voluntatem, non antecedens². Vel: non poterant complete per se, nec petere volebant Dei auxilium.

Et horum quae acciderant, scilicet multarum plagarum pro retentione filiorum Israel illatarum, Exodi septimo, octavo, nono, decimo et duodecimo, commemorationem amittebant, id est perdebant, etsi non habitu, tamen actu; vel opere, etsi non corde; Osee decimo tertio³: « Elevaverunt cor suum et obliti sunt mei ». Ut quae deerant tormentis, scilicet praecedentibus, nondum enim erant sufficienter puniti; repleret punitio, scilicet sequens, et ponitur ly ut consecutive, non causaliter.

(Vers. 5.). Et populus quidem tuus, scilicet Israeliticus, mirabiliter transiret, scilicet per mare rubrum sicco vestigio; unde Exodi decimo quinto⁴: « Filii Israel ambulaverunt per siccum in medio eius ». Illi autem, scilicet Aegyptii, novam mortem invenirent, scilicet novum moriendi modum, scilicet per miraculosam submersionem; ibidem: « Ingressus est eques », id est equitatus, « Pharao », genitivi casus, « cum curribus et equitibus in mare, et reduxit super eos Dominus aquas maris ».

Secundo, liberatio Hebraeorum.

Omnis enim etc. Hic tangitur Hebraeorum liberatio, et primo in generali; secundo, in speciali: Nam nubes.

(Vers. 6.). Omnis enim etc., quasi dicat sic: Aegyptii sunt submersi, et Israelitae liberati; omnis enim creatura, id est omnia elementa, ad suum genus ab initio, scilicet habitum, refigurabatur, id est, iterum assimilabatur, in hoc scilicet, quod non nocebat bonis, sicut nec in statu innocentiae; unde Isidorus⁵: « Si homo non peccasset, aqua non submergeret, ignis non combureret, nec spinarum aculei vulnerarent ». Ipsa, dico, creatura, deserviens praeceptis tuis, id est tuae ordinationi et voluntati; in Psalmo⁶: « Statuit ea in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi, praeceptum posuit, et non praeteribit »; item Ieremiae quinto: « Qui posui arenam terminum maris, praeceptum sempiternum, quod non praeteribit ». Ut pueri tui, scilicet Hebraei tibi subiecti; Isaiae octavo: « Ecce, ego et pueri mei »; custodirentur illaesi; Proverbiorum secundo: « Custodiet rectorum salutem et proteget gradientes simpliciter ».

(Vers. 7.). Nam nubes, scilicet a Deo per Angeli ministerium data, illorum castra, scilicet Hebraeorum, obumbrabat, « stans inter castra eorum et castra Aegyptiorum, ita ut tota nocte ad eos accedere non valerent », ut patet Exodi decimo quarto⁷. Et ex aqua, id est post aquam, sicut cum dicitur: ex mane fit meridies, id est post. Ex aqua, inquam, quae ante erat, in loco, per quem transierunt; terra apparuit arida, scilicet per flatum venti exsiccata, ut patet Exodi decimo quarto⁸. Et in mari rubro, scilicet diviso, ut patet ibidem, item in Psalmo: « Qui divisit mare rubrum in divisiones »; via, scilicet apparuit, sine impedimento, scilicet aquae vel luti, secundum illud Psalmi: « In mari via tua » etc.; Habacuc tertio: « Viam fecisti in mari equis tuis »; item Isaiae quinquagesimo primo: « Posuisti profundum maris viam, ut transeant liberati ». Et campus germinans, id est via plana et delectabilis, sicut per campum germinantem, de profundo nimio, id est post nimiam profunditatem aquae prius existentis ibidem.

(Vers. 8.). Per quem, scilicet campum, omnis natio, scilicet Hebraeorum, transivit, vel transiret, persequentibus Aegyptiis. Quae tegebatur, id est, protegebatur, tua manu, id est potentia; Isaiae quadragesimo nono⁹: « In umbra manus suae protexit me », vel Filio, ut in Psalmo: « Emitte manum tuam de alto » etc.

Tertio, gratiarum actio.

Videntes etc. Hic subiungitur gratiarum actio, primo pro Hebraeorum liberatione; secundo, pro Aegyptiorum punitione vel submersione: Et vexationes. p. 230

In prima primo tangitur Hebraeorum de Aegypto eductio; secundo, mirabilia facta pro eis in Aegypto: Memores enim; tertio, eorum refectio in deserto: Novissime autem.

Videntes tua, quasi dicat: non tantum audientes, sed etiam videntes; primae Ioannis primo¹: « Quod vidimus, quod audivimus » etc. Mirabilia tua et monstra; mirabilia, scilicet minora, et monstra, scilicet maiora; vel: mirabilia, in sua liberatione, monstra, in Aegyptiorum subversione. Monstrum enim dicitur non solum quid mirabile, sed etiam horribile.

(Vers. 9.). Videntes, inquam etc.; enim, hoc est certe, depaverunt escam, scilicet in suorum adversariorum deiectione vel consumtione. Vel hoc dicit pro tanto, quia delectati sunt in destructione eorum, sicut equi, quando escam comedunt vel depascunt. Tanquam equi, quibus scilicet Dominus insidebat, secundum illud Habacuc tertio²: « Viam fecisti in mari equis tuis ». Tanquam equi, scilicet de suorum hostium superatione hinniendo, secundum illud Isaiae vigesimo quarto: « Hi levabunt vocem suam atque laudabunt. Cum glorificatus fuerit Dominus, hinnient de mari ». Et tanquam agni, scilicet simplices et mansueti; in Psalmo: « Montes exsultaverunt ut arietes, et colles sicut agni ovium », id est tam maiores quam minores eorum; exsultaverunt, non solum intus in corde, sed etiam extra gaudendo. Magnificantes te, Domine, id est magnum te praedicando vel magnifice laudando; Exodi decimo quinto³: « Cantemus Domino, gloriose enim magnificatus est ». Qui liberasti illos, scilicet per mare transducendo; Isaiae sexagesimo tertio: « Qui eduxit eos per abyssos, quasi equum in deserto non impingentem et quasi animal in campo »; et merito te magnificabant.

(Vers. 10.). Memores enim erant adhuc illorum, scilicet signorum, quae in incolatu eorum facta fuerant, id est, quando adhuc erant incolae Aegypti. Quemadmodum pro natione animalium, id est loco productionis naturalium animalium, produxit terra muscas⁴, et hoc miraculose, ut patet Exodi octavo, item in Psalmo: « Dixit, et venit coenomyia et cinifes » etc. Et pro piscibus, id est loco piscium, eructavit fluvius, scilicet Nilus, multitudinem ranarum; ranae enim ascenderunt de praedicto fluvio, ut habetur Exodi octavo⁵. Nec est illud contrarium ei quod dicitur in Psalmo: « Edidit terra eorum ranas » etc., quia in Psalmo ponitur continens pro contento, scilicet alveus terrae pro aqua fluminis.

(Vers. 11.). Novissime autem, id est post praedicta; nova quidem vel prior fuerat Aegypti percussio, magis nova Hebraeorum eductio de Aegypto, sed novissima eorum refectio in deserto. Viderunt, scilicet propriis oculis, novam creaturam avium, scilicet coturnicum, Exodi decimo sexto⁶ et Numerorum undecimo.

Sed contra: Quia Genesis secundo⁷ dicitur: « Complevit Deus die septimo opus suum, quod fecerat, et requievit ab omni opere, quod patrarat », id est a novis creaturarum generibus vel speciebus creandis, secundum Augustinum; item Ecclesiastae primo⁸: « Nihil novum sub sole »: ergo male dicit hic: Viderunt novam creaturam.

Dicendum, quod non erat simpliciter nova, sed nova illis, quia prius ab illis invisa; item, nova in illo loco, scilicet in deserto, et nova in tanta multitudine, ad quam non solent aves accedere, sed magis fugere.

Cum adducti, id est longe a Deo ducti, concupiscentia; Iacobi primo⁹: « Unusquisque tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus et illectus ». De concupiscentia istorum dicitur in Psalmo: « Concupierunt concupiscentiam in deserto »; unde « et locus ille vocatus est sepultura concupiscentiae », Numerorum undecimo. Postulaverunt, scilicet a Moyse, escas epulationis, id est delicatas et superfluas, non necessitatis vel educationis.

(Vers. 12.). In allocutione enim desideriorum¹⁰, id est consolatione et mitigatione, ascendit illis, scilicet Hebraeis, de mari. Vel sic: In allocutione enim desiderii, vel desideriorum, dum prae desiderio carnium loquerentur, scilicet verba murmurationis; ascendit illis de mari, hoc non dicit propter hoc, quod de mari traherent originem, sed quia de ultra mare vel de aliqua insula maris adducebantur, secundum illud Numerorum undecimo¹¹: « Ventus egrediens a Domino arreptas trans mare coturnices detulit et demisit in castra », vel dimisit, ortygometra, id est coturnix. Dicitur autem ortygometra, ab orthos, quod est rectum, et gogos, quod est ductio, et metros, quod est mensura, quasi esca recte adducta eis in mensura; vel, sicut dictum est supra decimo sexto¹², dicitur ortygometra ab Ortygia insula, in qua primum fuisse putantur tales aves, secundum Isidorum. « Notandum, quod, sicut dicit p. 231 Glossa¹, inimicis Dei terra producit muscas, et fluvius ranas; cultoribus autem Dei terra dat fructum, et mare carnis alimentum ».

Et vexationes. Hic tangitur gratiarum actio pro vexatione Aegyptiorum seu punitione; et primo tangitur eorum punitio; secundo, iustitia punitionis: Iuste enim; tertio, caecitas punitorum: Percussi sunt.

Iustitia punitionis ex hoc patet, quod male se habuerunt ad peregrinos cum eis habitantes, vel habitare volentes, scilicet ad filios Israel, et hoc vel eos nullatenus recipiendo, vel receptos in servitutem redigendo: Alii autem etc.; aut invite suscipiendo: Et non solum; aut eos recipientes laetanter graviter affligendo: Qui autem etc.

Et vexationes etc., quasi dicat: non tantum praedicta bona facta sunt Hebraeis, sed et vexationes, id est afflictiones corporis et animae, peccatoribus supervenerunt etc., secundum illud Psalmi²: « Multa flagella peccatoris ». Peccatoribus, inquam, id est Aegyptiis, qui peccatores hic dicuntur antonomastice, et hoc propter peccatum idololatriae, quae ibi plus vigebat, ita ut dixerit Cicero, quod Aegyptus erat templum totius mundi. Supervenerunt, inquam, id est, super illas venerunt, quas passi fuerant in Aegypto; unde sequitur: Non sine illis, immo cum illis et praeter illa; quae ante facta erant argumentis, id est signis divinae potentiae et eorum duritiae manifestativis, secundum illud ad Ephesios quinto³: « Omne, quod arguitur, a lumine manifestatur ». Quae, inquam, facta erant, id est in Aegypto, per vim fluminum, scilicet quando conversa sunt in sanguinem, et quando ranae ascenderunt de flumine. Vel sic: supervenerunt, inquam, per vim fluminum, id est per impetum fluminum collectorum in mari rubro, super eos redeuntium et eos suffocantium; Exodi decimo quinto⁴: « Submersi sunt quasi plumbum in aquis vehementibus ». Et merito: iuste enim patiebantur hoc, scilicet quia pro meritis peccatorum suorum; unde subdit: Secundum nequitias suas, id est merita nequitiarum suarum; Deuteronomii vigesimo quinto: « Pro mensura peccati erit et plagarum modus ».

(Vers. 13.). Etenim, pro quia, detestabiliorem, scilicet ceteris, instituerunt, id est, quasi institutam servaverunt, inhospitalitatem, contra illud ad Hebraeos decimo tertio⁵: « Hospitalitatem nolite oblivisci »; item primae Petri quarto: « Hospitales invicem sine murmuratione ». Sic habet Rabanus et Augustinus. Sed aliqui⁶ dicunt indetestabilem vel indetestabiliorem, id est valde detestabilem, ita quod praepositio notet augmentum vel intensionem; et dicit: Inhospitalitatem, vel quia non recipiebant hospites, vel quia male recipiebant. Alii quidem, scilicet ipsorum, ignotos non recipiebant advenas, contra quod faciebat Iob, trigesimo primo⁷: « Foris non mansit peregrinus ». Similes istis erant illi de Gabaa Beniamin, qui Levitam cum uxore sua noluerunt recipere hospitio suo, Iudicum decimo nono. Alii autem bonos hospites, receptos, in servitutem redigebant, vel recipiebant⁸, ut filios Israel, opprimentes eos servitute « luti et lateris », Exodi primo.

(Vers. 14.). Et non solum haec, supple: faciebant, sed et alius⁹ erat respectus illorum, id est, perversa erat intentio eorum, quoniam inviti recipiebant extraneos, cum tamen essent rogandi, exemplo Abrahae dicentis: « Domine, si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, ne transeas servum tuum », Genesis decimo octavo¹⁰. Nec tantum rogandi, sed etiam cogendi, exemplo duorum discipulorum, de quibus Lucae ultimo: « Et coegerunt illum »; super quod dicit Gregorius: « Quod peregrini non solum sunt invitandi ad hospitium, sed etiam trahendi ».

(Vers. 15.). Qui autem cum laetitia receperunt hos qui eisdem usi erant institutis¹¹, saevissimis afflixerunt doloribus; littera sic construenda: Ita dixi, quod aliqui recipiebant peregrinos, sed inviti; autem, pro sed; qui eisdem usi erant institutis, detestabilis inhospitalitatis, quibus et praecedentes; saevissimis afflixerunt doloribus, saevissimis dicit, quia saevus est dolor de malo illato in possessione extrinseca; saevior in persona coniuncta, scilicet in uxore; saevissimus in propria persona. Afflixerunt hos quos cum laetitia receperunt, scilicet hospites, sicut voluerunt affligere Lot ipsi Sodomitae, sicut patet Genesis decimo nono¹², et Beniamitae senem illum, de quo Iudicum decimo nono.

(Vers. 16.). Percussi sunt autem, scilicet Aegyptii, caecitate, scilicet corporali per plagam tenebrarum, de quibus Exodi decimo¹³; et spirituali per p. 232 mentis excaecationem, ita ut inter flagella peiores fierent; Exodi septimo: « Induratum est cor Pharaonis » etc. Sicut illi, scilicet Sodomitae innominabiles, propter peccatum eorum innominabile, quod ipsi faciebant; ad Romanos primo: « Tradidit illos Deus in passiones ignominiae ». In foribus iusti, scilicet Lot, de quo secundae Petri secundo: « Aspectu et auditu iustus erat ». Illi, inquam, cum subitaneis cooperti essent tenebris, scilicet aorasia¹, vel avidentia, percussi ab Angelo, unusquisque, scilicet eorum, transitum ostii sui, scilicet Lot, quaerebat, et invenire non poterat; unde Genesis decimo nono: « Eos qui foris erant, percusserunt caecitate, a minimo usque ad maximum, ita ut ostium invenire non possent ».

Obedientia creaturarum.

In se enim elementa. Hic post Aegyptiorum punitionem et Hebraeorum consolationem et pro utroque gratiarum actionem, ostendit creaturarum in praedictis obedientiam, et primo ponit huius obedientiae commendationem; secundo, eius per exempla manifestationem: Sicut in organo; tertio, populi Dei per hoc exaltationem: In omnibus. — Exempla ponit primo in elementis inferioribus; secundo, in elemento superiore, scilicet in igne, ibi: Ignis in aqua etc.; tertio, in elementatis: Flammae e contrario.

(Vers. 17.). In se enim. Ita dixi, quod per creaturas inferiores sunt afflicti Aegyptii, et Hebraei consolati; elementa dum convertuntur, id est transeunt, unum in vim et potestatem seu officium et modum alterius, et hoc miraculose; qualitatis sonus, id est qualitas soni, immutatur, scilicet actu, id est, consonantia naturalis in suis effectibus ad horam mutatur secundum voluntatem² et imperium Dei moventis. Sicut in organo, id est sicut in quolibet instrumento musico, quod per organum hic intelligitur, mutatur qualitas soni actu secundum voluntatem moventis; aliquando tamen sumitur organum pro determinato instrumento, ut in Psalmo³: « Laudate eum in chordis et organo ». Et omnia, id est singula elementa et elementata, suum sonum, id est harmoniam suam naturalem et ordinem, custodiunt, habitu; similiter singulae chordae in organo suum sonum custodiunt, et tamen sonus organi mutatur secundum voluntatem moventis; unde Glossa⁴: « Sicut in organo diversi soni ad concordiam melodiae temperamento consentiunt; ita discrepantia elementa, salvato iure naturae, ad Creatoris voluntatem flectuntur. Non enim creaturam condidit sibi contrariam, sed per omnia voluntati suae consentaneam ». Unde, id est de qua re, aestimari, id est cognosci, ex ipso certo visu potest, scilicet aspiciendo metaphoram organi et veritatem rei factae in populo Dei.

(Vers. 18.). Agrestia enim, scilicet animalia, in aquatica convertebantur, id est in modum aquaticorum, scilicet quando « homines et iumenta, ut dicit Glossa⁵, profundum maris rubri sicco vestigio transierunt ». Et quaecumque erant natantia, ut ranae, in terram transibant, scilicet per terram deambulando, Exodi octavo: « Ascenderunt ranae », scilicet de flumine, « operueruntque terram Aegypti ».

(Vers. 19.). Ignis in aqua valebat, id est valde agebat, supra suam, scilicet naturalem, virtutem, quae est, ut in aqua exstinguatur, secundum illud Ecclesiastici tertio⁶: « Ignem ardentem exstinguit aqua ». Et aqua obliviscebatur naturae exstinguentis, scilicet ignem, quia « grando et ignis mixta pariter ferebantur », ut habetur Exodi nono; item supra decimo sexto: « In aqua, quae omnia exstinguit, plus ignis valebat ».

(Vers. 20.). Flammae, scilicet quae erant in columna ignis, e contrario, supple: quam natura earum requireret, non vexaverunt carnes, scilicet urendo; carnes, inquam, corruptibilium animalium, scilicet hominum et iumentorum, coambulantium, ipsis flammis. Hoc dicit, quia columna ignis Hebraeos concomitante de nocte non affligebantur sive non urebantur, ut patet Exodi decimo tertio⁷. Nec dissolvebant, scilicet ipsae flammae, illam bonam escam, quae facile dissolvebatur, scilicet calore solis; sicut glacies, scilicet dissolvitur a calore solis, supra decimo sexto⁸: « Quod enim ab igne non poterat exterminari » etc. Bonam escam appellat manna, quia bonitatem quorumlibet ciborum repraesentabat; ibidem: « Deserviens uniuscuiusque voluntati ». In omnibus enim, scilicet praedictis miraculis, magnificasti populum tuum, Domine, scilicet Israeliticum, eorum adversarios deprimendo. Et honorasti, multis beneficiis exaltando; Ioannis duodecimo⁹: « Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus » etc.; item primi Regum secundo: « Si quis honorificaverit me, honorificabo eum ». Et non despexisti eos, scilicet in suis tribulationibus deserendo; in Psalmo¹⁰: « Multae tribulationes iustorum, et de omnibus his liberavit eos Dominus »; Ecclesiastici secundo: « Quis invocavit eum, et despexit p. 233 eum »? quasi dicat: nullus. In omni tempore, scilicet prosperitatis et adversitatis; Matthaei ultimo¹: « Ecce, ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus »; et ideo omni tempore benedicendus, secundum illud Psalmi: « Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore »; et in omni loco, scilicet tam securo quam periculoso; assistens eis, tanquam paratus iuvare; Isaiae quadragesimo tertio²: « Cum transieris per aquas, tecum ero ».

Notandum autem, quod Dominus Sanctos suos magnificat multipliciter: primo modo, gratiam suam conferendo, secundum illud ad Romanos octavo³: « Quos iustificavit, illos et magnificavit ». Secundo, miraculis illustrando, secundum illud Ecclesiastici quadragesimo octavo: « Sic amplificatus est Elias in mirabilibus suis »; item Exodi undecimo: « Fuit Moyses vir magnus valde in terra Aegypti coram servis Pharaonis et omni populo ». Tertio, dignitatibus ecclesiasticis sublimando; unde cantat Ecclesia⁴: « Ecce, Sacerdos magnus »; tertii Regum decimo: « Magnificatus est rex Salomon super omnes reges terrae divitiis et sapientia ». Quarto, ad caelestis regni gloriam perducendo, secundum quod cantat Ecclesia⁵: « Magnificavit eum in conspectu regum », scilicet Angelorum, « et dedit illi coronam gloriae »; in Psalmo: « Magna est gloria eius in salutari tuo » etc. Huius gloriae tanta est magnitudo, ut illius regni minimus maior sit maximo huius mundi; unde Matthaei undecimo⁶: « Non surrexit inter natos mulierum maior Ioanne Baptista. Qui autem minor est in regno caelorum maior est illo ». Ad hanc magnitudinem nos perducat Iesus Christus Dominus noster, qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Explicit postilla in librum Sapientiae.

---

Chapter XIX.

On the punishing of the Egyptians by their own death.

But to the impious even to the end. After he has determined of the punishing of the Egyptians by the death of the firstborn, here he determines of their punishing by their own death, namely when they were drowned in the Red Sea. And first is touched the drowning of the Egyptians; secondly, the deliverance of the Hebrews: For every creature; thirdly, the giving of thanks for both: Seeing thy; fourthly, the obedience of the creatures in both: For the elements in themselves.

First, the drowning of the Egyptians.

In the first is touched first the gravity of the punishing; secondly, the reason on the part of the one punishing: For he knew before; thirdly, the desert on the part of the punished: For whilst yet; fourthly, the fittingness of the punishment: For there led.

(Vers. 1.). But to the impious etc., as if to say: thus were the Israelites delivered from the burning; but (autem), for sed; to the impious, namely to the Egyptians, lacking the piety of religion as regards God and of compassion towards their neighbour, because they both despised God and oppressed his people; even to the end, that is, finally; Proverbs, the fifth²: « Her end is bitter as wormwood »; wrath without mercy came upon them. Without mercy, namely not relaxing, but without mercy delivering, and this because they were impious and without mercy; James, the second: « Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy ». Wrath, that is, the vengeance of sin, which is the sign of wrath; came upon them, that is, by the supernal judgment of God came to their oppression; Job, the twenty-first³: « The lamp of the impious shall be put out, and a deluge shall come upon them »; Proverbs, the first: « When tribulation and distress shall come upon you ». And deservedly came upon them etc.; for he knew before, God namely, also, that is, even, their future things, namely their sins, before they came to pass; to the Hebrews, the fourth⁴: « All things are naked and open to his eyes »; likewise in the Psalm: « Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third: « To the Lord our God all things were known, before they were created » etc.

(Vers. 2.). For when they themselves, namely the Egyptians, had returned⁵, namely to their heart, according as Isaias admonishes, saying: « Return, ye transgressors, to the heart », Isaias, the forty-sixth. Had returned, I say, to their heart, outside which they had been for fear; in the Psalm: « My heart hath forsaken me ». And had given leave, namely before, that they should lead themselves, that is, that the children of Israel should lead themselves apart out of their land; whence Exodus, the eleventh: « Go forth, thou and all the people that is under thee ». And with great care, that is, urgency, had sent them before, namely by compelling them to go out; whence Exodus, the twelfth⁶: « The Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily ». There followed upon them, namely upon the Egyptians, when they had done this, the act of repentance, that is, sorrow over their departure, sorrow, I say, in the heart, and confession in the mouth, and the showing of both in the work of persecution; Exodus, the fourteenth: « The heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let Israel go »?

(Vers. 3.). And I said well that there followed upon them etc. For whilst they yet had mourning between their hands, that is, the matter of mourning, namely their dead firstborn, or: mourning, that is, the signs of mourning; and lamenting, that is, greatly weeping, or weeping from the heart, or: lamenting, that is, weeping over the death of the firstborn. Well it follows: At the graves of the dead, namely of the firstborn, they took up to themselves another thought etc. He says well: They took up etc., because an evil thought is from man, but a good one from God; the second to the Corinthians, the third⁷: « Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves » etc. Thought, I say, of unknowing, that is, of folly. For every evil man errs; Proverbs, the fourteenth: « They err that work evil ». The former thought had been foolish, by which they had thought to hold them back by force; the other also was foolish, by which they had thought to call them back or bring them back by force. And whom asking they had cast out, namely by compelling the children of Israel to go out, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth⁸; these as fugitives, that is, as it were departing without their leave, which was false; they pursued, as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth. p. 229

(Vers. 4.). There led etc., as if: and fittingly; for there led them to this end, namely of obstinacy and of drowning, a worthy necessity, not of fortune or of fate, but of divine justice.

But on the contrary: Because they were tending to this voluntarily; therefore not by necessity.

It must be said that it was not a necessity of coercion, but of immutability¹.

But on the contrary: Because they could repent and so avoid that punishment.

It must be said that they could, but they would not. Hence that necessity was consequent upon the will, not antecedent². Or: they could not completely by themselves, nor were they willing to ask the help of God.

And of those things which had happened, namely of the many plagues brought on for the keeping back of the children of Israel, Exodus, the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth, they lost the remembrance, that is, they were losing it, if not in habit, yet in act; or in deed, if not in heart; Osee, the thirteenth³: « They lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me ». That what was wanting to the torments, namely the preceding ones, for they had not yet been sufficiently punished; the punishing might fill up, namely the following one; and the word ut ("that") is set consecutively, not causally.

(Vers. 5.). And that thy people indeed, namely the Israelite people, might wonderfully pass through, namely through the Red Sea dry-shod; whence Exodus, the fifteenth⁴: « The children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst thereof ». But they, namely the Egyptians, might find a new death, namely a new manner of dying, namely through a miraculous drowning; in the same place: « The horseman went in », that is, the horse, « of Pharao », in the genitive case, « with his chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the sea ».

Secondly, the deliverance of the Hebrews.

For every etc. Here is touched the deliverance of the Hebrews, and first in general; secondly, in special: For a cloud.

(Vers. 6.). For every etc., as if he said thus: the Egyptians were drowned, and the Israelites delivered; for every creature, that is, all the elements, according to its kind as from the beginning, namely as it had held it, was fashioned again, that is, was again made like, namely in this, that it did not harm the good, just as neither in the state of innocence; whence Isidore⁵: « If man had not sinned, water would not drown, fire would not burn, nor would the prickles of thorns wound ». The creature itself, I say, serving thy commandments, that is, thy ordinance and will; in the Psalm⁶: « He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « I have set the sand a bound for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it shall not pass over ». That thy children, namely the Hebrews subject to thee; Isaias, the eighth: « Behold I and my children »; might be kept without hurt; Proverbs, the second: « He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity ».

(Vers. 7.). For a cloud, namely given by God through the ministry of an Angel, overshadowed their camp, namely of the Hebrews, « standing between their camp and the camp of the Egyptians, so that the whole night they could not come at them », as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth⁷. And out of water, that is, after water, as when it is said: out of morning comes midday, that is, after. Out of water, I say, which was before, in the place through which they passed; dry land appeared, namely dried by the blowing of the wind, as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth⁸. And in the Red Sea, namely divided, as is clear in the same place, likewise in the Psalm: « Who divided the Red Sea into parts »; a way, namely appeared, without hindrance, namely of water or of mud, according to that of the Psalm: « Thy way is in the sea » etc.; Habacuc, the third: « Thou madest a way in the sea for thy horses »; likewise Isaias, the fifty-first: « Who madest the depth of the sea a way, that the delivered might pass over ». And a springing field, that is, a way level and delightful, as through a springing field, out of the excessive deep, that is, after the excessive depth of the water that had been there before.

(Vers. 8.). Through which, namely the field, all the nation, namely of the Hebrews, passed, or might pass, the Egyptians pursuing. Which was covered, that is, was protected, with thy hand, that is, power; Isaias, the forty-ninth⁹: « In the shadow of his hand he hath protected me », or with the Son, as in the Psalm: « Put forth thy hand from on high » etc.

Thirdly, the giving of thanks.

Seeing etc. Here is subjoined the giving of thanks, first for the deliverance of the Hebrews; secondly, for the punishing or drowning of the Egyptians: And vexations. p. 230

In the first is touched first the leading of the Hebrews out of Egypt; secondly, the wonders done for them in Egypt: For they were mindful; thirdly, their refreshment in the desert: But at length.

Seeing thy, as if to say: not only hearing, but also seeing; the first of John, the first¹: « That which we have seen, which we have heard » etc. Thy wonders and portents; wonders, namely the lesser, and portents, namely the greater; or: wonders, in their own deliverance, portents, in the overthrow of the Egyptians. For a portent is said to be not only something wonderful, but also something horrible.

(Vers. 9.). Seeing, I say, etc.; for (enim), that is, certainly, they fed on their food, namely in the casting down or consuming of their adversaries. Or he says this to this extent, that they delighted in their destruction, as horses when they eat or graze their food. Like horses, namely on which the Lord was sitting, according to that of Habacuc, the third²: « Thou madest a way in the sea for thy horses ». Like horses, namely by neighing over the overcoming of their foes, according to that of Isaias, the twenty-fourth: « These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise. When the Lord shall be glorified, they shall make a joyful noise from the sea ». And like lambs, namely simple and meek; in the Psalm: « The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock », that is, the greater as well as the lesser of them; they exulted, not only within in the heart, but also outwardly by rejoicing. Magnifying thee, O Lord, that is, by proclaiming thee great or by praising thee magnificently; Exodus, the fifteenth³: « Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified ». Who didst deliver them, namely by leading them across through the sea; Isaias, the sixty-third: « He that led them out through the deeps, as a horse in the wilderness that stumbleth not, and as a beast in the field »; and deservedly they magnified thee.

(Vers. 10.). For they were yet mindful of those things, namely of the signs, which had been done in the time of their sojourning, that is, when they were still sojourners in Egypt. How in place of the birth of animals, that is, in the place of the production of natural animals, the earth brought forth flies⁴, and this miraculously, as is clear from Exodus, the eighth, likewise in the Psalm: « He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies and sciniphs » etc. And in place of fishes, that is, in the place of fishes, the river cast up, namely the Nile, a multitude of frogs; for the frogs came up out of the aforesaid river, as is had in Exodus, the eighth⁵. Nor is that contrary to what is said in the Psalm: « Their land brought forth frogs » etc., because in the Psalm the container is set for the contained, namely the bed of the land for the water of the river.

(Vers. 11.). But at length, that is, after the aforesaid things; new indeed, or the former, had been the striking of Egypt, newer the leading of the Hebrews out of Egypt, but newest their refreshment in the desert. They saw, namely with their own eyes, a new creature of birds, namely of quails, Exodus, the sixteenth⁶, and Numbers, the eleventh.

But on the contrary: Because in Genesis, the second⁷, it is said: « God ended on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he rested from all the work which he had done », that is, from creating new kinds or species of creatures, according to Augustine; likewise Ecclesiastes, the first⁸: « There is nothing new under the sun »: therefore he says ill here: They saw a new creature.

It must be said that it was not new simply, but new to them, because before unseen by them; likewise, new in that place, namely in the desert, and new in so great a multitude, to which birds are not wont to come, but rather to flee.

When being led away, that is, led far from God, by concupiscence; James, the first⁹: « Every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured ». Of the concupiscence of these it is said in the Psalm: « They coveted their desire in the desert »; whence « and that place was called the graves of concupiscence », Numbers, the eleventh. They asked, namely of Moses, foods of feasting, that is, delicate and superfluous, not of necessity or of nurture.

(Vers. 12.). For in the addressing of their desires¹⁰, that is, in consolation and mitigation, there came up to them, namely to the Hebrews, from the sea. Or thus: For in the addressing of their desire, or of their desires, while for desire of flesh they spoke, namely words of murmuring; there came up to them from the sea, this he does not say on this account, that they drew their origin from the sea, but because they were brought from beyond the sea or from some island of the sea, according to that of Numbers, the eleventh¹¹: « A wind going out from the Lord, taking quails up beyond the sea, brought them and cast them into the camp », or let them down, the ortygometra, that is, the quail. Now it is called ortygometra from orthos, which is "right", and gogos, which is "leading", and metros, which is "measure", as it were food rightly brought to them in measure; or, as was said above in the sixteenth¹², it is called ortygometra from the island Ortygia, in which such birds are thought first to have been, according to Isidore. « It is to be noted that, as the p. 231 Gloss says¹, for the enemies of God the earth brings forth flies, and the river frogs; but for the worshippers of God the earth gives fruit, and the sea the nourishment of flesh ».

And vexations. Here is touched the giving of thanks for the vexation of the Egyptians, or their punishing; and first is touched their punishing; secondly, the justice of the punishing: For justly; thirdly, the blindness of the punished: But they were struck.

The justice of the punishing is clear from this, that they behaved ill towards the strangers dwelling with them, or wishing to dwell, namely towards the children of Israel, and this either by in no wise receiving them, or by bringing them, once received, into bondage: But others etc.; or by receiving them unwillingly: And not only; or by grievously afflicting those who received them joyfully: But those who etc.

And vexations etc., as if to say: not only were the aforesaid good things done for the Hebrews, but also vexations, that is, afflictions of body and soul, came upon the sinners etc., according to that of the Psalm²: « Many are the scourges of the sinner ». Upon the sinners, I say, that is, upon the Egyptians, who are here called sinners by antonomasia, and this on account of the sin of idolatry, which flourished more there, so that Cicero said that Egypt was the temple of the whole world. Came upon, I say, that is, came over and above those which they had suffered in Egypt; whence there follows: Not without those, nay, with those and beyond them; which had been done before as proofs, that is, as signs manifestative of the divine power and of their hardness, according to that to the Ephesians, the fifth³: « All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light^tr. ». Which, I say, had been done, that is, in Egypt, by the force of the rivers, namely when they were turned into blood, and when the frogs came up out of the river. Or thus: came upon, I say, by the force of the rivers, that is, by the onrush of the rivers gathered in the Red Sea, returning upon them and suffocating them; Exodus, the fifteenth⁴: « They sunk as lead in the mighty waters ». And deservedly: for justly they suffered this, namely because for the deserts of their sins; whence he subjoins: According to their own wickednesses, that is, the deserts of their wickednesses; Deuteronomy, the twenty-fifth: « According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be ».

(Vers. 13.). For indeed (Etenim), for quia ("because"), a more detestable, namely than the others, did they institute, that is, as it were kept as instituted, inhospitality, against that to the Hebrews, the thirteenth⁵: « Hospitality do not forget »; likewise the first of Peter, the fourth: « Using hospitality one towards another without murmuring ». So have Rabanus and Augustine. But some⁶ say undetestable or more undetestable, that is, very detestable, so that the preposition denotes augmentation or intensity; and he says: Inhospitality, either because they did not receive guests, or because they received them ill. Some indeed, namely of them, did not receive the unknown strangers, against which Job did, the thirty-first⁷: « The stranger did not stay without ». Like these were those of Gabaa of Benjamin, who would not receive the Levite with his wife into their lodging, Judges, the nineteenth. But others brought their good guests, once received, into bondage, or received⁸, as the children of Israel, oppressing them with the bondage « of clay and brick », Exodus, the first.

(Vers. 14.). And not only these things, supply: they did, but also another⁹ was their regard, that is, perverse was their intention, because they received the strangers unwillingly, although they were to be asked, after the example of Abraham saying: « Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant », Genesis, the eighteenth¹⁰. Nor only to be asked, but even to be compelled, after the example of the two disciples, of whom Luke, the last: « And they constrained him »; upon which Gregory says: « That strangers are not only to be invited to hospitality, but even to be drawn ».

(Vers. 15.). But those who received with joy them that had used the same institutions¹¹, afflicted them with most cruel pains; the letter is to be construed thus: So I said that some received the strangers, but unwillingly; but (autem), for sed; who had used the same institutions, of detestable inhospitality, as the preceding ones also; afflicted them with most cruel pains, most cruel he says, because cruel is the pain over an evil inflicted on an outward possession; more cruel on a conjoined person, namely on a wife; most cruel on one's own person. They afflicted those whom they had received with joy, namely the guests, as the Sodomites themselves wished to afflict Lot, as is clear from Genesis, the nineteenth¹², and the Benjamites that old man, of whom Judges, the nineteenth.

(Vers. 16.). But they were struck, namely the Egyptians, with blindness, namely bodily through the plague of darkness, of which Exodus, the tenth¹³; and spiritual through p. 232 the blinding of the mind, so that among the scourges they became worse; Exodus, the seventh: « Pharao's heart was hardened » etc. As those, namely the Sodomites not to be named, on account of their sin not to be named, which they committed; to the Romans, the first: « God delivered them up to shameful affections ». At the doors of the just man, namely Lot, of whom the second of Peter, the second: « In sight and hearing he was just ». Those, I say, when they were covered with sudden darkness, namely with aorasia¹, or not-seeing, struck by the Angel, every one, namely of them, sought the passage of his door, namely of Lot, and could not find it; whence Genesis, the nineteenth: « Them that were without they struck with blindness from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the door ».

The obedience of the creatures.

For the elements in themselves. Here, after the punishing of the Egyptians and the consolation of the Hebrews and the giving of thanks for both, he shows the obedience of the creatures in the aforesaid things, and first he sets down the commendation of this obedience; secondly, its manifestation through examples: As in an instrument; thirdly, the exaltation of the people of God through this: In all things. — He sets examples first in the lower elements; secondly, in the higher element, namely in fire, there: The fire in water etc.; thirdly, in elemented things: The flames on the contrary.

(Vers. 17.). For in themselves. So I said that through the lower creatures the Egyptians were afflicted and the Hebrews consoled; while the elements are converted, that is, pass over, one into the force and power, or office and mode, of another, and this miraculously; the sound of the quality, that is, the quality of the sound, is changed, namely in act, that is, the natural consonance in its effects is for the hour changed according to the will² and command of God who moves. As in an instrument, that is, as in any musical instrument whatever, which is here understood by organum ("instrument"), the quality of the sound is changed in act according to the will of the one who moves it; sometimes, however, organum is taken for a determinate instrument, as in the Psalm³: « Praise him with strings and organs ». And all things, that is, the several elements and elemented things, keep their sound, that is, their natural harmony and order, in habit; likewise the several strings in an instrument keep their sound, and yet the sound of the instrument is changed according to the will of the one who moves it; whence the Gloss⁴: « As in an instrument divers sounds agree by tempering unto the concord of melody; so the discordant elements, the right of nature being saved, are bent to the will of the Creator. For he did not make a creature contrary to himself, but in all things consonant with his will ». Whereof, that is, about which thing, it may be judged, that is, known, by the very certain sight, namely by looking at the metaphor of the instrument and at the truth of the thing done in the people of God.

(Vers. 18.). For the field things, namely animals, were turned into water things, that is, into the manner of water things, namely when « men and beasts, as the Gloss says⁵, passed over the deep of the Red Sea dry-shod ». And whatever things were swimming, as the frogs, passed upon the land, namely by walking about over the land, Exodus, the eighth: « The frogs came up », namely out of the river, « and covered the land of Egypt ».

(Vers. 19.). The fire had power in water, that is, acted greatly, above its own, namely natural, virtue, which is that it be quenched in water, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the third⁶: « Water quencheth a flaming fire ». And the water forgot its quenching nature, namely of fire, because « hail and fire mixed were driven on together », as is had in Exodus, the ninth; likewise above, the sixteenth: « In the water, which quencheth all things, the fire had more force ».

(Vers. 20.). The flames, namely which were in the pillar of fire, on the contrary, supply: to what their nature would require, did not vex the flesh, namely by burning; the flesh, I say, of corruptible living things, namely of men and beasts, walking with them, with the flames themselves. He says this because, with the pillar of fire accompanying the Hebrews by night, they were not afflicted, or were not burned, as is clear from Exodus, the thirteenth⁷. Nor did they melt, namely the flames themselves, that good food, which was easily melted, namely by the heat of the sun; as ice, namely is melted by the heat of the sun, above, the sixteenth⁸: « For that which could not be exterminated by fire » etc. Good food he calls the manna, because it represented the goodness of any foods whatever; in the same place: « Serving every man's will ». For in all things, namely in the aforesaid miracles, thou didst magnify thy people, O Lord, namely the Israelite people, by casting down their adversaries. And didst honour them, by exalting them with many benefits; John, the twelfth⁹: « If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour » etc.; likewise the first of Kings, the second: « If any man honour me, I will honour him ». And didst not despise them, namely by forsaking them in their tribulations; in the Psalm¹⁰: « Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them »; Ecclesiasticus, the second: « Who hath called upon him, and he despised p. 233 him »? as if to say: no one. At every time, namely of prosperity and of adversity; Matthew, the last¹: « Behold I am with you all days »; and therefore at every time he is to be blessed, according to that of the Psalm: « I will bless the Lord at all times »; and in every place, namely as well safe as perilous; assisting them, as ready to help; Isaias, the forty-third²: « When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee ».

But it is to be noted that the Lord magnifies his Saints in many ways: in the first way, by conferring his grace, according to that to the Romans, the eighth³: « Whom he justified, them he also magnified ». Secondly, by making them illustrious with miracles, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the forty-eighth: « Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works »; likewise Exodus, the eleventh: « Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharao's servants and of all the people ». Thirdly, by raising them to ecclesiastical dignities; whence the Church sings⁴: « Behold a great Priest »; the third of Kings, the tenth: « King Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom ». Fourthly, by leading them to the glory of the heavenly kingdom, according as the Church sings⁵: « He magnified him in the sight of kings », namely of the Angels, « and gave him a crown of glory »; in the Psalm: « His glory is great in thy salvation » etc. So great is the greatness of this glory, that the least of that kingdom is greater than the greatest of this world; whence Matthew, the eleventh⁶: « There hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist. Yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he ». To this greatness may Jesus Christ our Lord lead us, who is blessed for ages of ages. Amen.

Here ends the postil on the book of Wisdom.

---