Collation 1
English
Latin
100. FIRST COLLATION On the Qualities Required of Hearers of the Divine Word, and on Christ as the Center of All Knowledge
COLLATIO IDE QUALITATIBUS IN AUDITORIBUS DIVINI VERBI REQUISITIS ET DE CHRISTO OMNIUM SCIENTIARUM MEDIO
1. On the Qualities Required of Hearers of the Divine Word, and on Christ as the Center of All Knowledge
1. IN THE midst of the Church the Lord shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and shall clothe him with a robe of glory. In these words the Holy Spirit teaches the prudent man to whom he should address his speech, from where he should begin it, and finally where he should end it. First, to whom he should address it, that is, to the Church: for what is holy should not be given to dogs nor should pearls be thrown to the swine. Second, from where to begin, that is, from the center (medium), which is Christ: for if this Medium is overlooked, no result is obtained. Third, where he should end, that is, in fullness, in the complete fulfilling of the spirit of wisdom and understanding.
1. In medio Ecclesiae aperiet os eius et adimplebit eum Dominus spiritu sapientiae et intellectus et stola gloriae vestiet illum, Ecclesiastici decimo quinto 1 . In verbis istis docet Spiritus sanctus prudentem, quibus debet sermonem depromere, unde incipere, ubi terminare. Primo, quibus debet loqui: quia Ecclesiae; non enim dandum est sanctum canibus, nec margaritae spargendae sunt ante porcos 2 . Secundo docet ubi debet incipere: quia a medio, quod est Christus; quod medium si negligatur, nihil habetur. Tertio ubi terminare: quia in plenitudine sive adimpletione spiritus sapientiae et intellectus.
2. But first, we must speak of ourselves and consider what qualities we must possess. For a ray of light offered to a weak eye blinds it instead of enlightening it. Hence we should speak of the Church which is the assembly of rational men, while the synagogue is the gathering of herds and of men living animal lives. 1 We should speak of the Church which is a union of rational men living in harmony and uniformity through harmonious and uniform observance of divine Law, harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace, harmonious and uniform concelebration of divine praise. Now these three are in logical order, for there can be no praise without peace, nor divine peace without observance of divine Law.
2. Sed primo loquendum est de nobis ipsis et videndum, quales esse debemus. Si enim oculo infirmo apponatur radius, potius excaecatur quam illuminetur. Loquendum est igitur Ecclesiae, quae quidem est convocatio rationalium; synagoga autem est congregatio gregum et hominum brutaliter viventium. Ecclesiae loquendum est, quae quidem est unio rationalium concorditer et uniformiter viventium per concordem et uniformem observantiam divinae legis, per concordem et uniformem cohaerentiam divinae pacis, per concordem et uniformem consonantiam divinae laudis. Haec autem ordinata sunt: quia laus esse non potest, ubi non est pax, nec divina pax, ubi non est observantia divinae legis.
3. Concerning the first item, let us quote St. Paul: "I write these things to thee, my son Timothy,... in order that thou mayest know ... how to conduct thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth. The Church is called pillar and mainstay because it both enlightens the mind and strengthens virtue. Those who come to it are enlightened by faith and strengthened by the constancy of virtue. And divine Law brings about these two effects. Hence it is the column of the sons of Israel, whose motion indicated clearly how they were to act and how to rest. For on this point all Churches are in agreement, on how to observe God's Law, as in olden days the whole people kept their eyes on the moving column. He who does not look upon it does not belong to the unity of the Church, for instance if he does not understand this Law, or understanding it, refuses to obey it.
3. De primo in prima ad Timotheum: Haec tibi scribo fili Timothee, ut scias, quomodo oporteat te conversari in domo Dei, quae est Ecclesia Dei vivi, columna et firmamentum veritatis 3 . Ecclesia dicitur columna et firmamentum, quia mentis illustrativa, et quia virtutis stabilitum. Venientes autem ad eam illustrantur per fidem et stabiliuntur per virtutis constantiam. Et haec duo facit lex divina. Unde est columna filiorum Israel 4 , ad cuius motum apparet omnino, quomodo agendum et quomodo quiescendum. In hoc enim omnes Ecclesiae concordant, ut custodiant legem Dei, sicut olim totus populus motum columnae aspiciebat. Qui ad hanc non aspicit semper non est de unitate Ecclesiae, ut si eam non intelligas, vel si intelligis, eam non sequaris.
4. Now we should speak of the Church of rational men united in harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace. Of this it is said in Ecclesiasticus: The sons of wisdom are the Church of the just: and their generation, obedience and love. For the Church in return loves itself. And love is born of obedience to the Law. And the Law itself commands love: Now the purpose of this charge is charity, or love, from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned. And again, he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. And this can be proved in the Saviour's own words: "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." And so it is fitting that those who obey the Law be loving also. "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And the Apostle writes: For God is a God of peace, not of disorder.
4. Item loquendum est Ecclesiae rationalium unitorum per concordem et uniformem cohaerentiam divinae pacis. Unde dicitur in Ecclesiastico: Filii sapientiae ecclesia iustorum, et natio illorum obedientia et dilectioEcclesia enim mutuo se diligens est. Dilectio autem nascitur ex legis impletione. Lex enim praecipit dilectionem, in prima ad Timotheum: Finis praecepti est dilectio seu caritas de corde puro et conscientia bona et fide non ficta 6 . Et idem Apostolus: Qui diligit proximum legem implevit 1 . Et probat per verbum Salvatoris: In his, inquit, duobus universa lex pendet et Prophetae 8 . Oportet ergo, ut legis Observatores sint amatores, Ioannis decimo tertio: In hoc cognoscent omnes, quia discipuli mei estis, si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem 9 et Apostolus: Non est Deus dissensionis, sed pacis 10 .
5. Finally, we should speak of the Church of rational men united in harmonious and uniform concelebration of divine praise, according to the Psalm, with Thee is my praise in a great Church. As a sweet chant results from a great number of voices united in a certain proportion and harmony, so also a spiritual harmony pleasing to the Most High comes forth from the harmony of the love of many. Hence the Psalm: Bless the Lord, you of Israel's wellspring! To such observers of divine Law, to such lovers of divine peace, to such singers of divine praise, and to no others, is this speech to be addressed: and such are men of the Church. As for the man who has been snatched away from this Church, this speech does not have to be addressed to him.
5. Item loquendum est Ecclesiae rationalium unitorum per concordem et uniformem consonantiam divinae laudis; in Psalmo: Apud te laus mea in ecclesia magna 11 . Sicut enim ex multitudine vocum unitarum secundum quandam proportionem et harmoniam dulcedo cantus fit; sic ex multorum affectione harmonia spiritualis, placens Altissimo; unde in Psalmo: In ecclesiis benedicite Deo domino de fontibus Israel 12 . -- Talibus igitur observatoribus divinae legis, amatoribus divinae pacis, persolutoribus divinae laudis, et non aliis, debet fieri sermo; et tales sunt viri ecclesiastici. Qui autem rapitur extra hanc Ecclesiam 13 , illi non debet fieri.
a. Evils That Dispose Badly
6. For a man is snatched away by the spirit of carnality and cupidity which oppose the first perfection. For these are the two vices that turn man away from God's Law. Indeed, this Law of God prescribes the common good and the spiritual good and recoils from impure love which is carnality and from exclusive love which is cupidity. For the Law is hateful to carnal and covetous men: never do they want to listen to it. They are like the dog and the swine. The dog is always covetous and never wants to share, and the swine always wants to live in the mire.
6. Rapitur autem homo per spiritum carnalitatis et cupiditatis, contra primum. Hi duo sunt, qui avertunt hominem a lege Dei et excaecant duos oculos mentis. Lex enim Dei praecipit bonum commune et bonum spirituale et retrahit ab amore foedo, qui est carnalitatis, et ab amore privato, qui est cupiditatis. Lex enim odiosa est carnali et cupido; nec unquam eam audire volunt. Sunt enim sicut canis et porcus. Canis enim semper est cupidus et nunquam communicare volens, porcus autem semper in luto esse vult.
7. Opposing adherence to peace, we have the spirit of malice and cruelty, of hatred and anger, and these two lead to complete perversion: the malicious man turns every good into evil, while the angry man turns every evil into good and considers good the actual rendering of evil. Hence they change darkness into light, and light into darkness. Such as these are unqualified to listen to God's Law.
7. Item, contra cohaerentiam pacis est spiritus malignitatis et crudelitatis, invidus et iracundus; et hi duo totum pervertunt: invidus omne bonum convertit in malum, iracundus omne malum in bonum et ipsam redditionem mali reputat bonum. Et ideo ponunt tenebras lucem et lucem tenebras, Isaiae quinto 14 . Unde tales non sunt idonei ad audiendum legem Dei.
8. Again, opposing the concelebration of divine praise, we have the spirit of presumption and curiosity, in the sense that the presumptuous does not glorify God but praises himself, while the curious is lacking in devotion. There are many men of this kind, empty of praise and devotion although filled with the splendors of knowledge. They build wasps' nests without honeycombs, while the bees make honey.
8. Item, contra consonantiam divinae laudis spiritus praesumptionis et curiositatis, ita quod praesumptuosus Deum non magnificat, sed sese laudat; curiosus autem devotionem non habet, Unde multi sunt tales, qui vacui sunt laude et devotione, etsi habeant splendorem scientiarum. Faciunt enim casas vesparum, quae non habent favum mellis, sicut apes, quae mellificant.
9. To such as these this speech is not to be addressed, for they are a rebellious house; and sometimes, because of the inadequate disposition of the listeners, the Lord makes the tongue stick to the palate. But the brothers should be spoken to, hence, the Psalm: I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you; and spiritual men also, in order that they may be drawn from worldly knowledge to Christian knowledge. For theologians have attacked the life of Christ as related to morals, and the teachers of the School of Art have attacked the doctrine of Christ by their false statements. That is no sufficient reason to return to Egypt by seeking vile food, garlic, scallions and pumpkins, while rejecting heavenly food. And so the first point is made clear.
9. Talibus itaque iam dictis non est faciendus sermo, quia sunt domus exasperans 15 ; et aliquando propter indispositionem auditorum facit Dominus linguam adhaerere palato 1, sed loquendum est fratribus, unde in Psalmo: Narrabo nomen tuum fratribus meis, in medio, ecclesiae laudabo te 17 , et viris spiritualibus, ut a sapientia mundana trahantur ad sapientiam christianam. Praecessit enim impugnatio vitae Christi in moribus per theologos, et impugnatio doctrinae Christi per falsas positiones per artistas. Non itaque redeundum est in Aegyptum per desiderium vilium ciborum, alliorom, porrorum et peponum 18 , nec dimittendus cibus caelestis. -- Et sic patet primum.
b. Begin with Christ the Medium and Mediator
10. As regards the second point, note that a beginning should be made from the center (medium), that is, from Christ. For He Himself is the Mediator between God and men, holding the central position in all things, as shall be seen. Hence it is necessary to start from Him if a man wants to reach Christian wisdom, as it is proved in Matthew: for no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. It is also manifest that a beginning should be made from the One from whom the two greatest Wise Men began: Moses, the originator of wisdom, and John, its consummator. The former said: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and, in Augustine's opinion, 2 this means the Son. And John said: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him. If, therefore, it is impossible to understand a creature except through that by which it was made, it is necessary that the true Word go before thee.
10. Circa secundum nota, quod incipiendum est a medio, quod est Christus. Ipse enim mediator Dei et hominum 19 est, tenens medium in omnibus, ut patebit. Unde ab illo incipiendum necessario, si quis vult venire ad sapientiam christianam, ut probatur in Matthaeo, quia nemo novit Filium nisi Pater, neque Patrem quis novit nisi Vilius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare 20 . -- Manifestum est etiam, quod ab illo incipiendum, a quo duo maxime sapientes inceperunt, scilicet Moyses, inchoator sapientiae Dei, et Ioannes, terminator. Alter dixit: In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram 21 , id est in Filio, secundum Augustinum; et Ioannes: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt 12 . Si ergo ad notitiam creaturae perveniri non potest nisi per id, per quod facta est; necesse est, ut verbum verax praecedat te, in Ecclesiastico 23 .
c. 7 Dim of Px: Essence, Nature, Distance, Doctrine, Moderation, Justice, Concord
11. Our intent, then, is to show that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and that He Himself is the central point of all understanding. He is the central point in a sevenfold sense, in terms of essence, nature, distance, doctrine, moderation, justice and concord. The first is in the metaphysical order, the second in the physical, the third in the mathematical, the fourth in the logical, the fifth in the ethical, the sixth in the political or juridical, and the seventh in the theological. The first Center is first by eternal origin, the second is most strong through the diffusion of power, the third is most deep because of the centrality of position, the fourth is most clear by rational proof, the fifth is most important because of the choice of moral good, the sixth is outstanding because of the retribution of justice, the seventh is at peace through universal conciliation. Christ was the first center by His eternal generation, the second by His incarnation, the third by His passion, the fourth by His resurrection, the fifth by His ascension, the sixth by the judgment to come, the seventh by the eternal retribution or beatification.
11. Propositum igitur nostrum est ostendere, quod in Christo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae Dei absconditi 24 , et ipse est medium omnium scientiarum. Est autem septiforme medium, scilicet essentiae, naturae, distantiae, doctrinae, modestiae, iustitiae, concordiae. Primum est de consideratione metaphysici, secundum physici, tertium mathematici, quartum logici, quintum ethici, sextum politici seu iuristarum, septimum theologi. -- Primum medium est aeternali origine primarium; secundum virtuali diffusione pervalidum; tertium centrali positione profundum; quartum rationali manifestatione praeclarum; quintum morali electione praecipuum; sextum iudiciali compensatione praecelsum; septimum universali conciliatione pacatum. -- Primum medium Christus fuit in aeterna generatione; secundum in incarnatione; tertium in passione; quartum in resurrectione; quintum in ascensione; sextum in futuro examine; septimum in sempiterna retributione sive beatificatione.
1) Essence
12. And so, the first center is in the order of essence. It is first by reason of eternal generation. Being can exist in only two ways: either as subsistent, self- modeled and self-intended, or as contingent, modeled on another and tending to another. Also, a subsistent being must necessarily be self-modeled and self-intended. Subsistent being is in the order of originating, self-modeled being in the order of exemplating, and self-intended being in the order of ending or terminating; that is, they are related to the origin, the center, and the end or terminal point. The Father is in the order of the originating principle, the Son in the order of the exemplating center, the Holy Spirit in the order of the fulfilling end. These three Persons are equal and of equal nobility: for it is of equal nobility for the Holy Spirit to complete the divine Persons as it is for the Father to originate them and for the Son to represent them all. 3
12. Primum ergo medium est essentiae aeternali generatione primarium. Esse enim non est nisi dupliciter: vel esse, quod est ex se et secundum se et propter se, vel esse, quod est ex alio et secundum aliud et propter aliud. Necesse etiam est, ut esse, quod est ex se, sit secundum se et propter se. Esse ex se est in ratione originantis; esse secundum se in ratione exemplantis, et esse propter se in ratione timentis vel terminantis; id est in ratione principii, medii et finis seu termini. Pater in ratione originantis principii; Filius in ratione exemplaris medii; Spiritus sanctus in ratione terminantis complementi. Hae tres personae sunt aequales et aeque nobiles, quia aequae nobilitatis est Spiritui sancto divinas personas terminare, sicut Patri originare, vel Filio omnia repraesentare.
13. Although the metaphysician is able to rise from the consideration of created and particular substance to that of the universal and uncreated and to the very notion of being, so that he reaches the ideas of beginning, center and final end, yet he does not attain the notions of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For the metaphysician rises to the notion of this being by seeing it in the light of the original principle of all things, and in this he meets physical science that studies the origin of things. He also rises to the notion of this being in the light of the final end, and in this he meets moral philosophy, or ethics, which leads all things back to the one Supreme Good as to the final end by considering either practical or speculative happiness. But when he considers this being in the light of that principle which is the exemplary of all things, he meets no other science, but is a true metaphysician. For from all eternity the Father begets a Son similar to Himself and expresses Himself and a likeness similar to Himself, and in so doing He expresses the sum total of His [active] potency; He expresses what He can do, and most of all, what He wills to do, and He expresses everything in Him, that is, in the Son or in that very Center, which so to speak is His Art. Hence this Center is Truth; and it is proved by Augustine 4 and other saints that "Christ having His chair in heaven teaches inwardly"; nor can any truth be known in any way whatsoever except through this Truth. For the same is the principle both of being and of knowing. If, then, as the Philosopher says, 5 the knowable is eternal as such, it necessarily follows that nothing can be known except through a truth that is immutable, undisturbed, and unconfined.
13. Metaphysicus autem, licet assurgat ex consideratione principiorum substantiae creatae et particularis ad universalem et increatam et ad illud esse, ut habet rationem principii, medii et finis ultimi, non tamen in ratione Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti. Metaphysicus enim assurgit ad illud esse considerandum in ratione principii omnia originantis; et in hoc convenit cum physico, qui origines rerum considerat. Assurgit etiam ad considerandum illud esse in ratione ultimi finis; et in hoc convenit cum morali sive ethico, qui reducit omnia ad unum summum bonum ut ad finem ultimum, considerando felicitatem, sive practicam, sive speculativam. Sed ut considerat illud esse in ratione omnia exemplantis, cum nullo communicat et est verus metaphysicus. Pater enim ab aeterno genuit Filium similem sibi et dixit se et similitudinem suam similem sibi et cum hoc totum posse suum; dixit quae posset facere, et maxime quae voluit facere, et omnia in eo expressit, scilicet in Filio seu in isto medio tanquam in sua arte. Unde illud medium veritas est; et constat secundum Augustinum et alios sanctos, quod «Christus habens cathedram in caelo docet interius»; nec aliquo modo aliqua veritas sciri potest nisi per illam veritatem. Nam idem est principium essendi et cognoscendi. Si enim scibile in quantum scibile secundum Philosophum aeternum est; necesse est, ut nihil sciatur nisi per veritatem immutabilem, inconcussam, incoangustatam.
14. This, by necessity, must be the central one of the Persons: for if there is one who produces and is not produced and another who is produced and does not produce, there must necessarily be a central one who is produced and produces. Such is a truth accessible to the mind alone, 6 and in which angels, prophets and philosophers learn the truths they express.
14. Istud est medium personarum necessario: quia, si persona est, quae producit et non producitur, et persona, quae producitur et non producit, necessario est media quae producitur et producit. Haec est ergo veritas sola mente perceptibilis, in qua addiscunt Angeli, Prophetae, philosophi vera, quae dicunt.
15. Of this central Person, it is said in Genesis: The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden. In reference to which Augustine writes that of all the things that were made, it was said: Let there be, He made it, and so it was—excepting light, of which God said "Let there be light," and there was light — for they were produced first in all eternity from Eternal Art, second in the intelligent creature, and third in the material world.
15. De isto medio dicitur in Genesi: Produxit Dominus Deus de humo omne lignum pulcrum visu et ad vescendum suave, lignum etiam vitae in medio paradisi 23 . Secundum quod dicit Augustinus, de omnibus productis dictum est: Fiat; fecit, et factum est, praeterquam de luce, de qua dixit: Fiat lux, et facta est lux; quia primo producta sunt ab aeterno in arte aeterna, secundo in creatura intellectuali, tertio in mundo visibili.
16. And this is opposed to the errors of those who believe the world to have been created in eternity. 7 For arguing that our minds were born together with eternal lights, they believe that as things were brought forth or described by Eternal Art in all eternity, so also they were created in this world from all eternity; and as the world is written out from all eternity in the Eternal Art, so do they believe it to have been written out in matter. But this passage from Genesis concerning the earthly paradise is understood to refer to angelical, human, and eternal intelligence. For, as it has been said, the Father begot His own Likeness, that is, the Word coeternal with Himself, and expressed a similitude of Himself, and in so doing He expressed all that He could.
16. Et hoc est contra errores eorum qui credunt mundum ab aeterno creatum. Quia autem mentes nostrae cognatae sunt aeternis luminibus, putant, quod sicut res productae sunt seu descriptae in arte aeterna ab aeterno, sic ab aeterno in isto mundo creatae sunt; et sicut mundus ab aeterno descriptus est in arte aeterna, sic descriptum putant in materia. Hoc autem verbum Genesis de paradiso terrestri intelligitur de intellectu Angelico, humano et aeterno. Pater enim, ut dictum est, similem sibi genuit, scilicet Verbum sibi coaeternum, et dixit similitudinem suam, et per consequens expressit omnia, quae potuit.
17. Hence the Word expresses the Father and the things He made, and principally leads us to union with the Father who brings all things together; and in this regard He is the Tree of Life, for by this means we return to the very fountain of life and are revived in it. But if we stoop to a knowledge of things acquired by experimenting them, investigating beyond what is conceded to us, we fall from true contemplation and taste of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as did Lucifer. For if Lucifer, in contemplating this Truth, had been led back from the knowledge of creatures to the unity of the Father, he would have turned dusk into dawn and would have enjoyed daylight. But because he fell for the love and desire of his own excellence, he lost the day. And Adam did the same. Now, this Center is one that produces knowledge, it is the Truth, that is, the Tree of Life, while the other truth is an occasion of death, when a man falls for the love of created beauty. Through the first Truth, all come back, as the Son expresses it: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again 1 leave the world and go to the Father." Likewise let anyone say: "Lord, I came out of You, the Supreme Being: I will return to You and through You, the Supreme Being." Such is the metaphysical Center that leads us back, and this is the sum total of our metaphysics: concerned with emanation, exemplarity, and consummation, that is, illumination through spiritual radiations and return to the Supreme Being. And in this you will be a true metaphysician.
17. Verbum ergo exprimit Patrem et res, quae per ipsum factae sunt, et principaliter ducit nos ad Patris congregantis unitatem; et secundum hoc est lignum vitae, quia per hoc medium redimus et vivificamur in ipso fonte vitae. Si vero decipiamur ad notitiam rerum in experientia, investigantes amplius quam nobis conceditur; cadimus a vera contemplatione et gustamus de ligno vetito scientiae boni et mali, sicut fecit lucifer. Si enim lucifer, contemplando illam veritatem, de notitia creaturae reductus fuisset ad Patris unitatem, fecisset de vespere mane diemque habuisset; sed quia cecidit in delectationem et appetitum excellentiae, diem amisit. Sic Adam similiter. -- Illud est medium faciens scire, scilicet veritas, et haec est lignum vitae; alia veritas est occasio mortis, cum quis ceciderit in amorem pulcritudinis creaturae. Per primariam veritatem omnes redire debent, ut, sicut Filius dixit: Exivi a Patre et veni in mundum; iterum relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem 26 ; sic dicat quilibet: Domine, exivi a te summo, venio ad te summum et per te summum. -- Hoc est medium metaphysicum reducens, et haec est tota nostra metaphysica: de emanatione, de exemplaritate, de consummatione, scilicet illuminari per radios spirituales et reduci ad summum. Et sic eris verus metaphysicus.
2) Nature
18. the second center is in the order of nature: it is most strong because of the diffusion of power, which is the concern of the physical scientist who studies motion and generation in relation to the influence of heavenly bodies on the elements, and the ordering of elements in combined forms, and of combined forms in complex forms, and of complex forms in the principles of plant-life, and of these in the principles of sensitive beings, and of these finally in the principles of rational beings, and this is the end.
18. Secundum medium est naturae virtuali diffusione pervalidum, quod est dé consideratione physici, qui considerat mobile et generationem secundum influentiam corporum caelestium in elementa, et ordinationem elementorum ad formam mixtionis, et formae mixtionis ad formam complexionis, et formae complexionis ad animam vegetabilem, et illius ad sensibilem, et illius ad rationalem, et ibi est finis.
19. The physical world offers also a twofold center, that of the large world and that of the small world. The center of the large world is the sun, that of the small world, the heart. For the sun stands in the center of the planets, and generations come about in accord with its elongated orbit 8 by which physical nature regulates birth. For of all the planets, the sun has the greatest diffusion. There is a similar diffusion from the heart, as all physicians say. For the vital spirit is diffused by it through the arteries, and the animal spirit through the nerves, supplemented by the brain. The natural spirit is diffused by the same heart through the veins, but completed in the liver.
19. Considerat autem physicus duplex medium, scilicet maioris mundi et minoris mundi. Medium maioris mundi est sol, medium minoris est cor. Sol enim est in medio planetarum, secundum cuius delationem in obliquo circulo fiunt generationes, et regulat physicus generationem. Inter omnes autem planetas maioris diffusionis est sol. A corde similiter est diffusio, quidquid dicant medici. Nam spiritus vitalis ab eo diffunditur per arterias; spiritus autem animalis per nervos, licet complementum recipiat in cerebro; spiritus vero naturalis ab eodem diffunditur per venas, licet compleatur in hepate.
20. Christ was such a Center in His incarnation. Hence, it is written in John: "In the midst of you there has stood One whom you do not know." And later: "He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He upon whom thou wilt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, He it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' " The Scriptures call Christ sometimes the Center, sometimes the Head. He is called the Head because all the senses and spiritual motions and charismatic graces flow from Him. This He pours in as being united to the members. For the head of Christ is God, that is, in so far as He is God; but the head of every man is Christ, in so far as He is God and man. Hence He pours the Holy Spirit into the members of the Church united to Him, not separated from Him. And since in the human body there is no diffusion from the head to the members unless the members are united to the head, so it is with the Mystical Body. And so Christ is the center of the two animating spirits, as is the heart. Hence Habacuc: In the midst of the two animals Thou shalt make it known. And according to a different translation, in the midst of the years, as is the Sun: for the sum total of time runs on according to the ten steps in the dial of Achaz. According to the Septuagint, Christ was in between the animated beings that preceded Him and those that followed Him. 9
20. Hoc medium fuit Christus in incarnatione; unde dicitur in Ioanne: Medius vestrum stetit, quem vos nescitis 27 ; et sequitur: Qui misit me baptizare in aqua, ille mihi dixit: Super quem videris Spiritum sanctum descendentem et manentem super eum, hic est qui baptizat in Spiritu sancto 2 *. -- Scriptura quandoque dicit Christum medium, quandoque caput. Caput dicitur, quia ab eo fluunt omnes sensus et motus spirituales et charismata gratiarum. Hoc autem influit, secundum quod est unitum membris. Caput enim Christi Deus est, secundum quod. scilicet Deus est; sed viri caput Christus 29 , secundum quod Deus et homo. Diffundit ergo Spiritum sanctum in membra Ecclesiae sibi unita, non separata. Unde sicut in corpore humano non est diffusio a capite in membra, nisi sibi unita; sic in corpore mystico. Ipse est ergo medium duorum animalium ut cor; unde in Habacuc: In medio duorum animalium cognoscens 30 ; et secundum aliam translationem: In medio annorum, scilicet ut sol; quia totum tempus decurrit, secundum quod iste sol descendit per decem gradus in horologio Achaz 31 . Ipse est ergo secundum Septuaginta in medio animalium, quae praeibant et quae sequebantur.
3) Distance
21. the third center is in the order of distance. It is most deep because of the centrality of position. It is related to the mathematician: for although his first concern is the measuring of the earth, he further considers the motion of the higher bodies in so far as they act by their influence upon the lower earthly bodies. 10
21. Tertium medium est distantiae centrali positione profundum, de quo mathematicus, cuius licet prima consideratio sit circa mensuram terrae, est tamen ulterius circa motus corporum superiorum, ut habent disponere haec inferiora secundum influentiam eorum.
22. Christ was such a Center in His crucifixion. God is our king before ages; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. The earth is clearly the center, and hence it is the lowest, and of modest size; and because the lowest and of modest size, it receives all the heavenly influences, and brings forth a marvelous multiplication of beings. Likewise the Son of God, the very small and poor and humble One, assuming our earth, and made of earth, not only came upon the surface of the earth, but indeed to the depth of its center, that is, He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth, for after His crucifixion, His soul went down into hell and re-established the heavenly thrones.
22. Hoc medium fuit Christus in crucifixione. In Psalmo: Rex noster ante saecula operatus est salutem in medio terrae 32 . Terra enim plane centrum est, et ideo infima et ideo modica; et quia infima et modica, ideo suscipit omnes influentias caelestes, et ideo facit mirabiles pullulationes. Sic Filius Dei infimus, pauperculus, modicus, humum nostram suscipiens, de humo factus, non solum venit ad superficiem terrae, verum etiam in profundum centri, scilicet operatus est salutem in medio terrae, quia post crucifixionem anima sua in infernum descendit et restauravit caelestes sedes.
23. Such a Center has a saving power: and anyone who draws away from it is condemned, as drawing away from the means of humility. And the Saviour proves it: "I am in your midst as He who serves"; and in Matthew: "Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." In such a center He has wrought salvation, that is, in the humility of the cross.
23. Hoc medium est salvativum; a quo recedens damnatur, scilicet a medio humilitatis. Et hoc ostendit Salvator: Ego in medio vestrum sum9 sicut qui ministrat 33 ; et in Matthaeo: Nisi conversi fueritis et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum caelorum 34 . In hoc medio operatus est salutem, scilicet in humilitate crucis.
24. But darkness has crept in, for Christians reject this central place in which Christ has saved mankind. In so doing, man opposes his own salvation, being unable to measure himself. What is the use of being able to measure other things if he is unable to measure himself? If he exalts himself a little more than he should, there is danger for him. As Bernard says: "The man who lifts up his head as he comes through the door will be hurt; the man who bows will not be hurt." 11 Hence it was answered to blessed Anthony that only the humble could escape from the devil's snares. 12 But how is it that humility is lacking, and also the light of wisdom? Because the fire is not banked in cinders, but our lantern is exposed to every wind, and before long the light goes out. As soon as there is something good in us, we want to show it off. By contrast, how marvelous is divine wisdom, for it brought forth salvation through the cinders of humility. For the center is lost in the circle, and it cannot be found except by two lines crossing each other at right angle.
24. Sed caligo subintravit, quia Christiani hunc medium locum dimittunt in quo Christus hominem salvavit. Unde homo impugnat suam salutem nesciens se metiri. Quid enim prodest, quod sciat metiri alia, cum se metiri nesciat? Si enim aliquantulum se plus quam debet, exaltat, periculum sibi est; sic dicit beatus Bernardus, quod «si quis intrans per portam, caput erigat, laeditur; qui autem se inclinaverit, non laeditur». Unde responsum fuit beato Antonio, quod solus humilis evadere poterat laqueos diaboli. -- Sed unde est, quod humilitas non habetur nec lumina sapientiae? Quia ignis non custoditur in medio cinerum, sed lucerna nostra exponitur omni vento, et cito extinguitur lucerna. Statim enim ostendere volumus, si quid boni in nobis est. Sed mirabilis fuit sapientia divina, quae per cinerem humilitatis operata est salutem. Medium enim, cum amissum est in circulo, inveniri non potest nisi per duas lineas se orthogonaliter intersecantes.
4) Doctrine
25. the fourth center is in the order of doctrine. It is most clear by rational proof. Every form of rational speech pertains to it, so that it is by means of it that we express what is with us. For speech is ordered to simple expression, expression to argumentation according to the four species of reasoning, argumentation to syllogism, and syllogism to persuasion. The intermediate term (center), therefore, by its evidence and manifestation and fittingness, forces the mind to give assent to the extremes, so that while the proper relationship between the extremes was not manifest at first, now by virtue of the intermediate term's fittingness to both, this relationship is made manifest. 13
25. Quartum medium est doctrinae rationali manifestatione praeclarum. Ad hoc est omnis sermo rationalis, ut per ipsum tanquam per medium exprimamus quod est apud nos. Sermo enim est ad simplicem orationem; oratio ad argumentationem secundum quatuor species argu- mentationis; argumentatio ad syllogismum; syllogismus ad persuadendum. Medium ergo per suam evidentiam et manifestationem et convenientiam cum extremis compellit rationem ad assentiendum, ut, quia extrema prius non conveniebant inter se manifeste, per virtutem medii cum utroque extremo convenientis inter se manifeste conveniant.
26. Christ was such a Center in His resurrection. For there is a reasoning of Christ and a reasoning of the devil. The reasoning of the devil leads to hell: it is a fallacy, a sophistic and destructive reasoning; the reasoning of Christ is constructive and restoring. For the devil deceived the first man and assumed the existence in the heart of man of a kind of self-evident proposition such as this: the rational creature must needs desire to be the same as its Creator since He is its likeness —hence in the damned there will be this highest punishment: that as such likeness is essential to the soul, so this desire will be essential in the damned —and, said he, "When you eat... you will be like God." Hence it is good to eat of the forbidden fruit in order to become like Him. And by this syllogism all men sin, for as Dionysius says, "No one commits evil with evil as a goal: every man intends good and desires good. But he is deceived because he takes for true what is only a likeness of good." 14 By means of this same fallacy, the devil made man fall into the sufferings of nature, the needs of indigence, and mortality of life.
26. Hoc medium fuit Christus in resurrectione. Est autem argumentum Christi et argumentum diaboli. Argumentum diaboli ducit ad infernum et est paralogismus et sophisticum argumentum et destructivum; argumentum Christi constructam et reparativum. Diabolus enim paralogizavit primum hominem et supposuit quandam propositionem in corde hominis quasi per se notam, quae est: creatura rationalis debet appetere similitudinem sui Creatoris, quia scilicet est imago -- unde in damnatis est maxima poena, quia, cum imago sit animae essentialis, similiter et talis appetitus erit essentialis in damnatis -- sed si comederis, assimileris 35 : ergo bonum est comedere de vetito, ut assimileris. Et per istum syllogismum omnes peccant, quia, ut dicit Dionysius, «nullus malus fit, ad malum aspiciens, sed omnis intendit bonum et appetit bonum; sed fallitur, quia similitudinem boni accipit pro vero». Per istum paralogismum induxit diabolus hominem in passibilitatem naturae, in necessitatem indigentiae, in mortalitatem vitae.
27. On the contrary, the reasoning of Christ brought about salvation and destroyed the devil's argument. Because the devil had made man differ from God while promising to make him similar to Him, Christ had to make Himself similar to man in order to make man similar to Himself, that is, to God. Hence, Christ as God enjoyed conformity of nature with the Father, equality of power and immortality of life. By these three perfections, He was united to the Father. But it was necessary that He be united to man in the three opposite qualifications. He assumed therefore the sufferings of nature, the needs of indigence, and mortality of life. And so He possessed the three [perfections] through His essence and assumed the three [imperfections] through His mercy. It was necessary also that the three [imperfections] be overcome by the three [perfections]. But by its very essence life could not be dominated by death, nor power by need, nor impassibility by suffering: and so it was necessary that man pass from mortality to immortality, from poverty to opulence, from suffering to the crown of glory. 15
27. Econtra argumentum Christi fuit salvativum et destructivum argumenti diaboli. Ex quo enim diabolus fecerat hominem dissimilem Deo, cum tamen promisisset, similem se facturum; necesse fuit, Christum esse similem homini, ut faceret hominem similem sibi sive Deo. Christus ergo habuit conformitatem naturae in quantum Deus cum Patre, aequalitatem potentiae, immortalitatem vitae. In his tribus coniunctus fuit Patri. Necesse ergo fuit, ipsum in aliis tribus oppositis coniungi homini. Assumpsit ergo passibilitatem naturae, necessitatem indigentiae, mortalitatem vitae. Tria ergo habuit per essentiam et tria assumpsit per misericordiam. Necesse ergo fuit, ut tria vinceretur a tribus. Sed vita per essentiam superari non potuit a morte, nec potentia a penuria, nec impassibilitas a passibilitate. Necesse ergo fuit, ut homo transiret a mortalitate ad immortalitatem, a defectu ad opulentiam, de passibilitate ad coronam.
28. The major proposition existed from all eternity, the minor came about on the cross, and the conclusion appeared in the resurrection. The Jews believed they had confounded Christ, and they taunted Him: "If Thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross!" For Christ did not say: "Allow Me to live," but "Allow Me to take on death, to be joined with the opposite extreme, to suffer and to die." The conclusion follows from that. And so He Himself made a fool of the devil.
28. Maior propositio fuit ab aeterno; sed assumptio in cruce; conclusio vero in resurrectione. Iudaei credebant Christum confudisse et improperabant ei: Si Filius Dei es, descende de cruce }6 . Nam Christus non dicebat: sinite me vivere, sed dicebat: sinite me mortem assu- mere et alteri extremitati copulari, pati, mori; et tunc sequitur conclusio. Unde ipse illusit diabolo.
29. And this is the reasoning Christ used, during forty days appearing to them. "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things before entering into His glory?" Concerning this central position, John writes: When it was late ... Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you!" He is showing two things here, the loftiness of the state of glory, in that, being impassible and immortal, He entered as God while the doors were closed; later, He showed them His hands and side and forced Thomas to confess: "My Lord and my God!" Consider the progression. First He entered as God while the doors were closed: this is the major proposition. Then He proposed the minor by showing them His hands and His side. Finally, He wrested out the conclusion so that Thomas confessed: "My Lord and my God!"
29. Et ista sunt argumenta, quibus Christus utebatur, per quadraginta dies apparens eis 37 . Nonne, inquit, oportuit Christum pati, et ita intrare in gloriam suam? }S . De hoc medio Ioannes: Cum sero esset die illo, stetit Iesus in medio discipulorum et ait illis: Pax vobis 39 . Et duo ibi ostendit, scilicet gloriae sublimitatem, eo quod impassibilis et immortalis, clausis ianuis, intravit tanquam Deus; postea ostendit eis manus et latus 40 et confessionem extorsit a Thoma, ut diceret: Dominus meus et Deus meus/ 41 . Vide processum! Primo intravit ut Deus, ianuis clausis; haec fuit maior; deinde minorem propositionem assumit, cum ostendit eis manus et latus; tertio conclusionem extorsit, ut confiteretur Thomas: Dominus meus et Deus meus.
30. It is not without reason that the scroll was sealed with seven seals. "Behold," said one of the Elders, "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals." These are the seven Centers. By their significance, Christ opened the tomb, and this represents the opening of the scroll, and He removed the shroud, and this represents the manifestation of mysteries. This is our logic, this is our reasoning which must be used against the devil who constantly argues with us. But in assuming the minor proposition, we must do it with all our strength; often in fact we refuse to suffer, we refuse to be crucified. And yet the whole reasoning tends to this one point: that we resemble God. When the devil saw Christ suffering, he believed His argument had little weight. But Christ ridiculed him. Can you play with him as with a bird? Can you put him in leash for your maidens Christ considered the argument most powerful: "And 1, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself
30. Non sine causa signatur liber septem sigillis. Ecce, inquit, vicit leo de tribu Iuda, radix David, aperire librum et solvere septem signacula eius 42 . Ista sunt septem media. In huius significationem Christus sepulcrum reseravit, et significat apertionem libri, et linteamina removit, et significat manifestationem mysteriorum. -- Haec est logica nostra, haec est ratiocinatio nostra, quae habenda est contra diabolum, qui continuo contra nos disputat. Sed in assumptione minoris est tota vis facienda; quia nolumus pati, nolumus crucifigi. Tamen ad hoc est tota ratiocinatio nostra, ut simus similes Deo. -- Diabolus vero parum reputabat argumentum Christi, cum vidit eum patientem. Sed Christus illusit ei; Iob: Numquid illudes ei quasi avi, aut ligabis eum ancillis tuis? 43 . Christus reputavit argumentum fortissimum, Ioannis duodecimo: Ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad me ipsum 44 .
5) Moderation
31. the fifth center is in the order of moderation. It is most important because of the choice of moral good. For moderation is a virtue; and a virtue consists in the middle way. 16 This is considered by the moralist.
31. Quintum est medium modestiae morali electione praecipuum. Modestia enim virtus est; virtus autem in medio consistit; hoc medium considerat ethicus.
32. Christ was such a Center in His ascension. It is written in Exodus: Moses passed into the midst of the cloud ... and there he stayed for forty days and forty nights. And this is what Christ was in His ascension. Hence it is written in Acts: A cloud took Him out of their sight. Likewise the Christian must rise from strength to strength, and not stand still at the terminal point of virtue, for by so doing he would cease to be virtuous.
32. Hoc medium fuit Christus in ascensione. Dicitur in Exodo:. Ingressus Moyses medium nebulae, fuit ibi quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus 45 . Et hoc fuit Christus in ascensione; unde in Actibus dicitur: Nubes suscepit eum ab oculis eorum 46 . Sic Christianus debet ascendere de virtute in virtutem, non statuendo terminum virtutis, quia ex hoc facto desineret esse virtuosus.
33. The foundation of virtue is faith, and we place it as a center. At this point the moralist says that the center is "that which determines right reason." 17 And such is faith. Faith is as the morning star in the midst of a cloud. To this star the Christian rises after being lifted up from the waters of baptism. He enters darkness, and this darkness of faith is accompanied by a mysterious light. Now this foundation is that by which Christ is established in us. Through it faith goes forward by rising to the practical virtues, as if reaching the foot of the mountain where Moses offered twelve sacrifices; then it proceeds to the cleansing virtues as if at mid-slope, and finally to the virtues of the cleansed soul as at the mountain's top, a place well suited to the contemplation of the exemplary virtues. 18 It is said [collectively] of these virtues in the Book of Wisdom: For she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty. Later, she is the refulgence of eternal light, referring to purity or moderation; the mirror, referring to prudence; she reaches from end to end mightily, referring to fortitude; and governs all things well, referring to justice.
33. Fundamentum autem virtutis fides est, et nos ponimus eam sicut medium. Hic dicit ethicus, quod medium est, «ut ratio recta determinat». Ista autem fides est; fides est sicut stella matutina in medio nebulae 41 . Ad istam ascendit Christianus assumptus de aquis baptismi et intrat in caliginem, quae quidem caligo fides est cum lumine in ae- nigmate. Hoc fundamentum est, per quod fundatur in nobis Christus; per hanc fidem proficit anima ascendendo ad virtutes politicas, quasi ad radicem montis, ubi Moyses fecit duodecim holocausta 48 ; deinde ad virtutes purgativas, quasi ad medium montis; deinde ad virtutes animi iam purgati quasi ad supremum montis, ubi aptus est locus ad contemplandas virtutes exemplares. De quibus in Sapientia: Vapor est enim virtutis Dei et emanatio quaedam est claritatis Dei sincera 49 ; sequitur: candor est lucis aeternae quantum ad munditiam vel temperantiam; et speculum 50 , quantum ad prudentiam; attingit a fine usque ad finem fortiter, quantum ad fortitudinem; et disponit omnia suaviter 51 , quantum ad iustitiam.
6) Justice
34. the sixth center is in the order of justice. It is outstandingly beautiful and important because of the retribution of justice. Christ will be such a Center in the final judgment. It is considered by the jurist or the civil ruler, in order that repayment be made according to merit. Justice embellishes the whole world: it makes beautiful what had been deformed, it makes more beautiful what was already beautiful, and most beautiful what had been improved. In this sense Augustine writes that the damned are most beautifully placed in hell. 19
34. Sextum medium est iustitiae iudiciali recompensatione perpulcrum seu praecelsum. Quod medium erit Christus in iudicio. Hoc considerat iurista sive politicus, ut fiat retributio secundum merita. -- Hoc totum mundum purificat, quia deformia facit pulcra, pulcra pulcriora et pulcriora pulcherrima. Unde Augustinus dicit, quod damnati pulcherrime locantur in inferno.
35. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire, enveloped in brightness, from the midst of which, the midst of the fire, something gleamed like electrum. Within it were figures resembling four living creatures. Ezechiel is describing the judgment, first, as to the disturbance of natural powers shown by the stormwind; second, as to the conflagration of fires shown by the flashing fire; third, as to the examination of consciences or merits shown by the word brightness, for then the consciences will be clear; fourth, as to the assistants to the judges shown by the word enveloped. Christ in His twofold nature is referred to by the word electrum, and the four orders are designated by the four living creatures: the order of pontiffs by the lion, that of martyrs by the ox, that of confessors by the man, that of virgins by the eagle, by reason of contemplation. Thus the separation of the pure from the impure, of the sheep from the goats, will be brought about by Christ.
35. Ezechielis primo: Vidi, et ecce, ventus turbinis veniebat ab aquilone et nubes magna et ignis involvens; et splendor in circuitu eius, et de medio eius quasi species electri, scilicet de medio ignis. Et in medio eius similitudo quatuor animaliumDescribitur iudicium, primo quantum ad commotionem naturarum, per ventum turbinis et per nubem; secundo, quantum ad conflagrationem ignis, per ignem involventem; tertio, quantum ad examinationem mentium vel meritorum, per splendorem, tunc enim conscientiae clarae erunt; quarto, quantum ad assistentiam iudicantium, per circuitum; per electrum, Christus in duplici natura; per quatuor animalia, quatuor ordines: pontificum in leone, martyrum in bove, confessorum in homine, virginum in aquila, propter contemplationem. Unde fiet segregatio puri ab impuro per Christum, agnorum ab hoedis 53 .
36. Jurists are concerned with judgments of money, we with the judgment of ourselves. Hence, before you are judged, seek merit for yourself.
36. Agant ergo iuristae de iudiciis pecuniarum, nos agamus de iudicio nostro. Unde ante iudicium para iustitiam tibi 54 .
7) Concord
37. the seventh center is in the order of concord. It concerns peace through universal conciliation. It is the field of the theologian who considers how the world made by God can be returned to Him. Although it deals with the works of creation, it is principally concerned with the works of reconciliation. 20
37. Septimum medium est concordiae universali conciliatione pacatum. De quo theologus agit, qui considerat quomodo mundus factus a Deo reducatur ad Deum. Licet enim agat de operibus conditionis, principaliter agit tamen de operibus reconciliationis.
38. Christ is this Center in eternal beatitude. The theologian deals with the salvation of the soul, how it starts with faith, moves forward through the virtues, and is consummated in the gifts. Hence in the Apocalypse: They shall neither hunger nor thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to the fountains of the waters of life. The Lamb in the midst of the waters is the Son of God, the Son I mean who is the central Person, and from whom all happiness comes forth. John, indeed, beheld a river... in the midst of the city streets... coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb. For the Lamb of God leads us, so that seeing the body and the soul and the divinity, we may find pastures either by going in or by going out. Here the beatifying Center sheds its light on body and soul. There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, that is, the one coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb, the Holy Spirit. And there will be no inner defect, since they shall neither hunger nor thirst through lack of sustainment by which life is lost; neither shall the sun strike them through any external harm.
38. Hoc medium est Christus in sempiterna beatificatione. Agit enim theologus de salute animae, quomodo inchoatur in fide, promo- vetur in virtutibus, consummatur in dotibus. Unde in Apocalypsi: Non esurient neque sitient amplius, nec cadet super illos sol neque ullus aestus; quoniam Agnus, qui in medio throni est, reget illos et deducet eos ad vitae fontes aquarum 55 . Agnus in medio aquarum est Filius Dei, Filius, dico, qui est media persona, a qua omnis beatitudo. Vidit enim Ioannes fluvium in medio platearum procedentem a sede Dei et Agni 56 . Agnus enim Dei deducet nos, ut, videntes corpus et animam et Divinitatem, pascua inveniamus sive ingrediendo, sive egrediendo. Hic lucet super corpus et animam, medium beatificans. In Psalmo: Fluminis impetus laetificat civitatem Dei 51 , scilicet procedens a sede Dei et Agni, Spiritus sanctus. Et nullus defectus interior erit, quia non esurient neque sitient per defectum pabuli, per quod deficit vita; neque cadet super illos sol, per extrinsecam perturbationem.
39. These Centers are the seven golden lamp-stands, and Christ in the midst of the seven lamp-stands, which are the seven illuminations of wisdom described above, that is, the metaphysical, the natural, and so forth. These are the seven eyes of the Lamb, and the seven facets of the stone mentioned by Zachary, and the seven days that followed upon the first light.
39. Ista media sunt septem candelabra aurea, sive Christus in medio candelabrorum 58 , quae sunt septem illuminationes sapientia^ praedictae, scilicet metaphysica, naturalis etc. Isti sunt septem oculi Agni et septem oculi super unum lapidem 59 , ut dicit Zacharias, et septem dies, quos fecit prima lux 60 .