Luke 8

And it happened afterward, that he was traveling through cities and villages, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him. We see in Christ's disciples the fulfillment of what we read said about that ancient people of the Hebrews. Nor is it surprising, because the same God of both Testaments will give blessing through the Son, who gave the law through the servant. As it says, a (mother) eagle provoking her young to fly, and hovering over them, spreads her wings, takes them up, and bears them on her shoulders (Deut. XXXII). For just as the young birds, newly born, cannot yet conquer the air by flying until they become feathered: so all the faithful, to be able to fly to heavenly things, must first clothe themselves with the wing of virtues in the nest of faith. Thus the apostles themselves, teachers of the faithful, gradually ascend to the heights, so that they can also preside over the teaching of others. First indeed the Lord teaches in synagogues, performs miracles, spreads renown everywhere, receives the crowds coming to him, heals, instructs. Hence he makes disciples, refreshes at the wedding of the bridegroom, leads them through fields, and defends them from the bites of serpentine Pharisees, like the young eagles with the stone brought against the bites of serpents. From these he chooses twelve, whom he names apostles, but he first teaches them in the presence of the crowd, giving to the usual benefits to the wretched along with the threatening crowd. Afterward, however, as it has been read herein, preaching through cities and villages, he retains only those who might hear him more intimately, explaining to them alone the mysteries of the kingdom of God, which he had spoken to others in parables. As if finally, with the manifestation of his virtues, firm as with the protection of wings, he gives them the power to heal, and sends them out to preach the kingdom of God.

But like the eagle, enticing its young ones to fly, our Lord, step by step, raises up His disciples to heavenly things. He first of all teaches in the synagogues, and performs miracles. He next chooses twelve whom He names Apostles; He afterwards takes them alone with Him, as He preached throughout the cities and villages, as it follows, And the twelve were with him.

And it came to pass afterwards etc. Above was set forth the common instruction of the disciples in the doctrine of those things which are required for the salvation of all. But in this part there follows the special instruction in the mystical doctrine of the Scriptures. And since this doctrine is proposed to the crowds in parables, and opened to the disciples, and confirmed by miracles, therefore this part has three sections: in the first of which is set forth parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries; in the second, apostolic formation in open discourses, at the place: Now the parable is this: and in the third, its authoritative confirmation in manifest miracles, at the place: And it came to pass on one of the days etc.

First is set forth the parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries through three points.

Concerning the parabolic doctrine, which is proposed to every class of people in common for hearing and to the Apostles for understanding, three things are introduced. The first is the gathering of the multitude for hearing; the second is the proposal of the similitude for leading by the hand, and this at the place: A sower went out to sow etc.; the third is the arousing of solicitude for understanding, which is described at the place: Saying these things, he cried out etc.

As to the first point, it should be noted that there was a concourse of the multitude to the doctrine of Christ for a fourfold reason, as can be gathered from the text: for some accompanied Christ by reason of the office undertaken, as the Apostles; some, by reason of a benefit received, as the sick who had been healed; some, by reason of service to be rendered, as the honorable women; and some, by reason of hearing the divine word, as the multitude of the crowd. And these four classes the Evangelist enumerates as having come together for the doctrine of Christ.

First, therefore, with regard to the Apostles accompanying Christ by reason of the office undertaken, it is prefaced: And it came to pass afterwards, and he was journeying through cities and towns, that is, through places where the lesser and the greater dwell, according to what is said in Wisdom 6: "He made the small and the great, and he has equal care of all," especially with regard to those things which pertain to salvation; on account of which it says: Preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God, according to that passage of Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace and announces salvation, who preaches good things." — And because the word is set forth in vain unless a hearer is present, therefore it is added: And the twelve with him, who, namely, were following him by reason of the office undertaken, to which he had chosen them: above in chapter six: "He chose twelve, whom he also named Apostles." Hence the Apostles themselves went about with him as he evangelized, so that they might collaborate with him in the Gospel, according to that to which the Apostle exhorts in Second Timothy 1: "But be a fellow laborer for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has delivered us and called us with his holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose"; because, in John 15, "you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain."

(Orat. xxxvii. 2.) For He passes from place to place, that He may not only gain many, but may consecrate many places. He sleeps and labours, that He may sanctify sleep and labour. He weeps, that He may give a value to tears. He preaches heavenly things, that He may exalt His hearers.

(lib. iii. ep. 206.) Now this kingdom of God some think to be higher and better than the heavenly kingdom, but some think it to be one and the same in reality, but called by different names; at one time the kingdom of God from Him who reigneth, but at another the kingdom of heaven from the Angels and Saints, His subjects, who are said to be of heaven.

Now this kingdom of God some think to be higher and better than the heavenly kingdom, but some think it to be one and the same in reality but called by different names; at one time the kingdom of God from Him who reigns, but at another the kingdom of heaven from the Angels and Saints, His subjects, who are said to be of heaven.

Nor indeed, if, among the Greeks, in accordance with the carelessness of custom, women and wives are classed under a common name-however, there is a name proper to wives-shall we therefore so interpret Paul as if he demonstrates the apostles to have had wives? For if he were disputing about marriages, as he does in the sequel, where the apostle could better have named some particular example, it would appear right for him to say, "For have we not the power of leading about wives, like the other apostles and Cephas? "But when he subjoins those (expressions)which show his abstinence from (insisting on) the supply of maintenance, saying, "For have we not the power of eating and drinking? "he does not demonstrate that "wives" were led about by the apostles, whom even such as have not still have the power of eating and drinking; but simply "women," who used to minister to them in the stone way (as they did) when accompanying the Lord. But further, if Christ reproves the scribes and Pharisees, sitting in the official chair of Moses, but not doing what they taught, what kind of (supposition).

He who descended from heaven, for our example and imitation, gives us a lesson not to be slothful in teaching. Hence it is said, And it came to pass afterward that he went, &c.

Not teaching or preaching, but to be instructed by Him.

For He who descends from heaven to earth, brings tidings to them that dwell on earth of a heavenly kingdom. But who ought to preach the kingdom of heaven? Many prophets came, yet preached not the kingdom of heaven, for how could they pretend to speak of things which they perceived not?

And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, who is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. Mary Magdalene, she is the one whose silent name the next reading relates as one who repented. For the evangelist, beautifully and reverently, when he mentions her traveling with the Lord and ministering to him from her resources, reveals her by her known name. But when he describes the sinful, yet repentant woman, he generally says "woman"; for otherwise, the name of such great fame, by which she is venerated today in all the Churches, would be stained by the mark of ancient error. Of whom it is reported that seven demons went out, showing that she was full of countless, indeed all, vices. For because the ages proceed by the seven days, the number seven often in the Scriptures signifies universality. Hence also the prophet embraces the grace of the Holy Spirit with the distinction of seven virtues.

Mary Magdalene is the same of whose repentance, without mention of her name, we have just read. For the Evangelist, when he relates her going with our Lord, rightly distinguishes her by her known name, but when describing the sinner but penitent, He speaks of her generally as a woman; lest the mark of her former guilt should blacken a name of so great report. Out of whom seven devils are reported to have gone, that it might be shown that she was full of all vices.

But Mary is by interpretation, "bitter sea," because of the loud wailing of her penitence; Magdalene, "a tower, or rather belonging to a tower," from the tower of which it is said, Thou art become my hope, my strong tower from the face of my enemy. (Ps. 61:3.)

Second, with regard to the healed accompanying him by reason of the benefit received, it is added: And certain women, supply: were journeying with him, and this by reason of the benefit received; whence he adds: Who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Therefore they accompanied him as their savior and physician, according to the counsel of the Wise Man, Sirach 38: "Give place to the physician, and let him not depart from you, for his works are necessary"; whence above in chapter six: "And those who were troubled by unclean spirits were healed. And all the crowd sought to touch him, because power went forth from him and healed all."

And note that although he healed both sexes, he nevertheless specifies more about the female sex, either because it is the weaker sex, according to that passage in First Peter 3: "Bestowing honor on the weaker feminine vessel"; or because she is more merciful than a man with respect to another's infirmity, according to that passage in Proverbs, the last chapter, concerning the good woman: "She opened her hand to the needy and stretched out her palms to the poor"; or because among the persons healed they were the more notable. — And therefore he names some of them individually, when he adds: Mary, who is called Magdalene, from Magdala, a town two miles from Tiberias; and she was notable by reason of the enormity of her sin; whence he also adds: From whom seven demons had gone out, that is, all vices. Gregory: "Mary had seven demons, because she was full of all vices." These demons went out when her sins were forgiven, according to what is said below in chapter eleven: "When the unclean spirit goes out from a man, it wanders through waterless places"; and they were forgiven her, above in chapter seven. For this is that sinful woman about whom he spoke above, as Bede says in the Gloss.

(Hom. 33. in Ev.) For what is understood by the seven devils, but all vices? For since all time is comprehended by seven days, rightly by the number seven is universality represented: Mary therefore had seven devils, for she was full of every kind of vice.

But lest it should seem that the women were hindered from following Christ, it is added, And certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils.

If anyone does not believe that wherever they preached the gospel the apostles brought women of holy life with them, so that these women might minister the necessities of life to them from their abundance, let him hear the Gospel and realize that the apostles did this by the example of our Lord himself.

And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward. If Mary suggests the Church cleansed from the filth of sins among the nations, why should not Joanna designate the same Church, once indeed subject to the worship of idols, but now redeemed by the piety of Christ? For any evil spirit, prompt to deceive the human race, while it acts for the kingdom of the devil, is almost like the steward of most impious Herod.

And Susanna, and many others, who were ministering to him from their resources. It was a Jewish custom, nor was it considered blameworthy, according to an ancient custom of the nation, that women should minister food and clothing to teachers from their substance. Because this could cause scandal among nations, Paul mentions that he refrained: "Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as the other apostles do?" (1 Cor. IX). They ministered to the Lord from their substance, that they might reap their carnal things, whose spiritual things they were reaping. Not because the Lord of creation needed food, but to show a type of teachers, that they should be content with food and clothing from their disciples. Susanna is interpreted as lily, or her grace. But better, if the female name is symbolized by the lily, I believe on account of the fragrant whiteness of heavenly faith and the golden ardor of inner love. Joanna, the Lord is her grace, or the Lord is merciful; namely because all that we live is from him. Maria, bitter sea, doubtless because of the implanted wailing of repentance, by which either Mary herself, or each of us, bewails the old vices, that we may deserve to attain eternal grace and splendor. Magdalene, tower; but better, just as from mountain comes montanus, so from tower comes turrensis. That is, to whom the Psalmist sings: "You led me forth, for you have been my hope, a tower of strength from the face of the enemy" (Psalm LX).

Joanna is by interpretation "the Lord her grace," or "the merciful Lord," for from Him cometh every thing that we live upon. But if Mary, cleansed from the corruption of her sins, points to the Church of the Gentiles, why does not Joanna represent the same Church formerly subject to the worship of idols?

For every evil spirit whilst he acts for the devil's kingdom, is as it were Herod's steward. Susanna is interpreted, "a lily," or its grace, because of the fragrance and whiteness of the heavenly life, and the golden heat of inward love.

There was also one notable by reason of the nobility of her husband; whence he adds: And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod, who was a noble person. There was also one notable in herself, of whom it is added without a surname: And Susanna. He names these three, moreover, in order to commend chastity according to a threefold distinction in the company of Christ, namely widowed, conjugal, and virginal. Whence the first is said to have previously been a sinner, the second married, and of the third both are left unmentioned. Or, so that in this the healing from a threefold sickness may be shown, namely of the soul, of the flesh, and of both together; therefore he names three persons who were healed, namely Mary, Joanna, and Susanna.

Third, with respect to those accompanying for the purpose of rendering service or ministry, it is added: And many others, who ministered to him from their resources, just as that Shunammite woman did for Elisha, in Fourth Kings chapter four, to whom it is said: "Behold, you have ministered to us diligently in all things." So also the mother-in-law of Simon, of whom it is said in Matthew chapter eight that after she was healed, "she arose and ministered to them." — For this had anciently been the customary office of women, as Bede says in the Gloss: "It was anciently the custom of the Jews, nor was it reckoned a fault, for women to feed and clothe teachers from their own substance. But because this could cause scandal among the Gentiles, Paul recalls that he abstained from it, in First Corinthians chapter nine: Do we not have the right to take about with us a woman who is a sister, as the other Apostles do? And therefore that practice ought not now to be drawn as a precedent, on account of avoiding scandal and also on account of danger." —

In this, however, we are instructed that it is lawful for a preacher to receive a stipend for his labor: 1 Corinthians 9: "If we have sown spiritual things for you, it is no great thing if we reap your carnal things"; and Matthew 10: "The worker is worthy of his food"; and below in chapter 10: "For the worker is worthy of his wages." And again in this we are instructed that to preach and to labor is the act of men and of the perfect, but to minister is the act of the imperfect, such as women; whence Acts 6: "It is not fitting that we should leave the word of God and serve tables."

(in Matt. 27:55.) It was a Jewish custom, nor was it thought blameable, according to the ancient manners of that nation, that women should afford of their substance food and clothing to their teachers. This custom, as it might cause offence to the Gentiles, St. Paul relates he had cast off. (1 Cor. 9:15.) But these ministered unto the Lord of their substance, that He might reap their carnal things from whom they had reaped spiritual things. Not that the Lord needed the food of His creatures, but that He might set an example to masters, that they ought to be content with food and clothing from their disciples.

When a very large crowd was gathering, and people from the cities were coming to him, he spoke by way of a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed." The Lord deemed it worthy to explain this parable himself so that it would be evident that he was speaking figuratively, and to teach that the meanings of things should be sought even in matters that he did not wish to explain himself. But because the Lord himself revealed that the seed, which represents the word of God, and the various types of soil, which signify the different hearts of the listeners, he left us the duty of identifying the sower. There can be no better understanding than interpreting the sower as the Son of God, who went out to sow his seed, because he came forth from the Father's bosom, which creatures could not access, and came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Therefore, according to other evangelists, he is rightly said to have left the house, gone to the sea, and boarded a ship, indicating this by the movement of his body as well as by the progress of his speech.

Fourth, with respect to those assembling for the purpose of hearing the divine word, it is added: When a very great crowd was gathering, namely to hear the teaching, according to that passage in John 18: "I have always taught in the synagogues, where all the Jews assemble." And thus is fulfilled that passage of Isaiah 2: "All nations shall flow to him, and many peoples shall go." Whence they were gathering in great number and coming with eagerness; whence he also adds: And from the cities they were hastening to him, namely to hear him.

He spoke by a similitude, namely a parabolic one concerning familiar things to which they were accustomed; and therefore they were hastening with desire to hear him. Whence Chrysostom says: "Mingling parables, he attracted hearers with greater gentleness, drawing from the threshing floor, the vineyard, and the field." Whence all are invited to this parabolic teaching, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Hear these things, all nations; give ear, all you who inhabit the world"; and afterward it is added: "I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery"; and again elsewhere: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will speak propositions from the beginning." And thus the stirring up of the multitude was accomplished.

It is clear that the Greek preliminary education combined with philosophy itself has come from God to human beings not as an ultimate goal but rather as rainstorms bursting on fertile soil, manure heaps, and houses alike. Grass and wheat sprout alike. Fig trees and other, less respectable trees grow on top of graves. These growths emerge in the pattern of the genuine articles, because they enjoy the same power of the rain, but they do not have the same charm as those that grow in rich soil. They either wither or are torn up. Yes, the parable of the seed as explained by the Lord has its place here too. There is only one cultivator of the soil within human beings. It is the One who from the first, from the foundation of the universe, has been sowing the seeds with potential growth, who has produced rain on every appropriate occasion in the form of his sovereign Word. Differences arise from the times and places that receive the Word.

The Sower, He says, went out to "sow his seed, and so forth." Concerning whom then did He thus speak? Evidently concerning Himself. For He verily is the Sower of all that is good, and we are His husbandry: and by Him and from Him is the whole harvest of spiritual fruits. And this He taught us when saying, "Without Me ye can do nothing."

And therefore it is significantly said, When much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city. For not many but few there are who walk the strait road, and find the way which leadeth to life. Hence Matthew says, that He taught without the house by parables, but within the house explained the parable to His disciples. (Matt. 13:36.)

(in Prov. 1.) Now a parable is a narration of an action as done, yet not done according to the letter, though it might have been, representing certain things by means of others which are given in the parable. An enigma is a continued story of things which are spoken of as done, and yet have not been done, nor are possible to be done, but contains a concealed meaning, as that which is mentioned in the Book of Judges, that the trees went forth to anoint a king over them. (Judges 9:8.) But it was not literally a fact as is said, A sower went out to sow, like those facts related in history, yet it might have been so.

That which David had foretold in the person of Christ, I will open my mouth in parables, (Ps. 78:2.) the Lord here fulfils; as it is said, And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable. But the Lord speaks by a parable, first indeed that He may make His hearers more attentive. For men were accustomed to exercise their minds on dark sayings, and to despise what was plain; and next, that the unworthy might not receive what was spoken mystically.

But his disciples asked him what this parable might be. No one should think that the disciples immediately asked the Savior about these things as soon as the parable was finished, but as Mark says, when he was alone, those who were with him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.

For as often as the admonition occurs either in the Gospel or the Revelation of St. John, it signifies that there is a mystical meaning in what is said, and we must inquire more closely into it. Hence the disciples who were ignorant ask our Saviour, for it follows, And his disciples asked him, &c. But let no one suppose that as soon as the parable was finished His disciples asked Him, but as Mark says, When he was alone they asked him. (Mark 4:10.)

Second, as regards the disciplinary question that directs, it is added: And his disciples asked him, namely, so that they might be directed by him, according to that word of Sirach thirty-three: "He who makes known the question will prepare the word, and so having prayed he will be heard; and he who keeps discipline will then respond." But this is said not because they asked immediately, but because at the word of Christ they conceived the will to ask; whence in Mark four it is said: "When he was alone, they asked him."

And because the question is about hidden and mystical things, therefore it is added: What this parable might be, that is, what it might signify, so that through its interpretation they might be able to grasp the understanding, according to that word of Proverbs one: "The wise man hearing will be wiser, and the man of understanding will possess counsels; he will discern the parable and its interpretation"; and Sirach thirty-nine: "Therefore the wise man will seek out the hidden things of proverbs and will dwell in the secrets of parables."

The word of the Savior, so to speak, is constantly hidden. The blessed psalmist has also brought him before us saying, "I will open my mouth in parables." See what he spoke in olden times happened. "A large multitude was assembled round him of people from all Judea, and he spoke to them in parables." Since they were not worthy to learn the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, he wrapped the word for them in darkness.…It was not granted to them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but rather to us, who are more ready to embrace the faith. He has given us, since he is perfect wisdom, the ability to understand parables and the dark saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. Parables, we may say, are the images not of visible objects but rather spiritual and understandable by the intellect. The parable points out to the eyes of the mind what is impossible to see with the eyes of the body. It beautifully shapes out the subtlety of intellectual things by means of the things of sense and palpable to the touch.

However, his mother and brothers came to him and could not reach him because of the crowd. The brothers of the Lord are neither the sons of the blessed ever-virgin Mary according to Helvidius, nor the sons of Joseph from another wife according to some, but rather they should be understood to be his relatives, as we have discussed above. Surely, when the Lord, requested by his mother and brothers, refrains from leaving his duty of preaching the word, he is not rejecting the obligations of maternal piety, for the commandment is, "Honor your father and mother" (Exodus 20); but he demonstrates that he owes more to his Father's mysteries than to maternal affections, recommending to us by example what he commands by word, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10). He does not disdain his brothers out of disrespect, but by preferring spiritual work over carnal kinship, he teaches that the bond of hearts is more religious than that of bodies. Mystically, however, this reading is in harmony with the higher one, where it is said about the Jews who only look at the letter of the law: "And whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." For the mother and brothers of Jesus represent the synagogue from whose flesh he was born, and the people of the Jews: who, while the Savior is teaching within, coming cannot enter because they neglect to understand his spiritual teachings. For the crowd preoccupying indeed enters his house, because while Judea was differing, the gentiles flocked to Christ, and they drank in the internal mysteries of life, the closer in faith, the more capacious in mind. Thus, the Psalm says: "Come to him, and be enlightened" (Psalm 34).

But those who are said to be our Lord's brethren according to the flesh, you must not imagine to be the children of the blessed Mary, the mother of God, as Helvidius thinks, nor the children of Joseph by another wife, as some say, but rather believe to be their kinsfolk.

Now his Mother came to him etc. Here, fourth, he invites the Apostles to communicate doctrine from imitation of their Master, namely Christ, who preferred the affection of teaching to parental affection. Whence two things are introduced here: the first is the seeking of relatives; the second, the preferring of disciples.

First, therefore, regarding the seeking of parents, it is said: Now his Mother and his brothers came to him, toward whom special affection ought to be held—toward the mother indeed, because it is said in Exodus twenty: "Honor your father and your mother"; and Tobit four: "You shall have honor for your mother all the days of her life"; toward brothers, namely relatives and kinsmen: Leviticus nineteen: "You shall love your brother as yourself." Therefore, the seeking of these, to whom preeminent affection is owed, is introduced, but they could not by themselves: whence it is added: And they could not reach him because of the crowd; and therefore they sought him through a messenger.

Hence also His mother, when she is seemingly not acknowledged, is said to be standing outside, because clearly the Synagogue is not recognized by its Author, since, while holding to the observance of the Law, it lost spiritual understanding, and fixed itself outside in guarding the letter.

Our Lord had left His kinsfolk according to the flesh, and was occupied in His Father's teaching. But when they began to feel His absence, they came unto Him, as it is said, Then came unto him his mother and his brethren. When you hear of our Lord's brethren you must include also the notions of piety and grace. For no one in regard of His divine nature is the brother of the Saviour, (for He is the Only-begotten,) but He has, by the grace of piety, made us partakers in His flesh and His blood, and He who is by nature God has become our brother.

In a mystical sense he ought not to stand without, who was seeking Christ. Hence also that saying, Come unto him, and be enlightened (Ps. 34:6. Vulg.). For if they stand without, not even parents themselves are acknowledged; and perhaps for our example they are not. How are we acknowledged by Him if we stand without? That meaning also is not unreasonable, because by the figure of parents He points to the Jews of whom Christ was born, (Rom. 9:5.) and thought the Church to be preferred to the synagogue.

And it was announced to him: "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." The word is inside, the light is inside; whence above: "So that those entering may see the light." So if even parents standing outside are not recognized, and perhaps they are not recognized as an example for our sake, how will we be recognized if we stand outside? For those standing outside wish to see the Lord, who not seeking a spiritual sense in the law, have stationed themselves outside in the guardianship of the letter, and as if they force Christ to go out to teach carnal things, rather than consent to enter to learn spiritual things.

For they cannot enter within when He is teaching whose words they refuse to understand spiritually. But the multitude went before and entered into the house, because when the Jews rejected Christ the Gentiles flocked to Him. But those who stand without, wishing to see Christ, are they, who not seeking a spiritual sense in the law, have placed themselves without to guard the letter of it, and as it were rather compel Christ to go out, to teach them earthly things, than consent to enter in themselves to learn spiritual things.

On account of which it is added: And it was told him: Your mother and your brothers, to whom you owe much affection by reason of kinship, stand outside, wishing to see you, through the affection of charity. And thus he is effectively sought, that he might pass over or go out to his relatives, both on account of nature to be acknowledged and on account of charity to be repaid. Whence on this the Gloss says, on Matthew twelve, that "this was reported to Christ evasively, so that it might be known whether he would abandon his teaching." For they knew that what is said in Ephesians five is true: "No one ever hated his own flesh"; and thus they wished to test what he would more accept, whether the affection of parents or the instruction of disciples.

For a certain woman had exclaimed, "Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked!" And how else could they have said that His mother and His brethren were standing without? But we shall see more of this in the proper place.

But whenever a dispute arises about the nativity, all who reject it as creating a presumption in favour of the reality of Christ's flesh, wilfully deny that God Himself was born, on the ground that He asked, "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? " Let, therefore, Apelles hear what was our answer to Marcion in that little work, in which we challenged his own (favourite) gospel to the proof, even that the material circumstances of that remark (of the Lord's) should be considered.

But some take this to mean that certain men, hating Christ's teaching, and mocking at Him for His doctrine, said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without wishing to see thee; as if thereby to show His meanness of birth.

His brethren thought that when He heard of their presence He would send away the people, from respect to His mother's name, and from His affection towards her, as it follows, And it was told him, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without.

We are told above, moreover, that He passed the night in prayer. How then does He here fall asleep in a storm? The security of power is expressed, that while all were afraid, He alone lay fearless; but He lay asleep in the body, while in the mind he was in the mystery of divinity. For nothing happens without the Word.

As they were sailing, He fell asleep. Christ fell asleep while the disciples were sailing because, as the faithful tread the world and contemplate in their minds the rest of the future kingdom, and, either by the favorable breath of the Holy Spirit or by their own arduous rowing efforts, cast behind them with zeal the infidel pomp of the world, suddenly the time of the Lord's passion arrived. Hence, Mark rightly attests that this happened at the imminent hour of night to signify not only the Lord's sleep but also the very hour of the declining light.

And a storm of wind descended on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. As the Lord was ascending the stern of the cross, where He would embrace the sleep of death, the waves of blasphemous persecutors, stirred by demonic agents, rise up. Yet, it is not His patience that is disturbed by these waves, but the weakness of the disciples is shaken, terrified, and endangered.

And as they were sailing, etc. Here secondly is described the onset of the storm with the importunity of danger and with the opportunity of refuge. — First, regarding the importunity of the emerging danger, while Christ was sleeping, it is said: And as they were sailing, he fell asleep. And while he was sleeping, they encountered danger in sailing, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 43: "They who sail the sea tell of its dangers." — Therefore the danger is added: And there came down a storm of wind upon the lake, and they were being filled and were in danger, that is, the storm of wind agitated the lake and filled the boat with water, according to that passage of Mark 4: "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was filled." And this happened by divine dispensation, just as it is said of Jonah in Jonah 1: "A great tempest arose in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being broken." Whence, just as that ship was in danger on account of Jonah fleeing from the face of the Lord, so also this one on account of the presence of the traitor, according to what the Gloss says: "Rightly is the ship troubled in which the traitor is together with the good, and those who had been steadfast by their own merits are troubled by the merits of others."

(ubi sup.) But it seems to have been especially and wonderfully ordained that they should not seek His assistance when first the storm began to affect the boat, but after the danger had increased, in order that the power of the Divine Majesty might be made more manifest. Hence it is said, And they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. This indeed our Lord allowed for the sake of trial, that having confessed their danger they should acknowledge the greatness of the miracle.

He who was sleeping was awakened and cast the sea into a sleep. He reveals the wakefulness of his divinity that never sleeps by the wakefulness of the sea that was now sleeping. He rebuked the wind and it became still. What is this power, or what is this goodness of Jesus? See, he subjected by force that which was not his. Our Lord showed that he was the Son of the Creator by means of the wind of the sea and by the spirits and demons that he silenced.

(Hom. 27. in Matt.) Luke indeed avoids the question which might be put to him with regard to the order of time, saying, that He went into a ship on a certain day. Now if the storm had arisen when our Lord was awake, the disciples either had not feared, or not believed that He could do such a thing. For this cause He sleeps, giving them an occasion for fear; for it follows, But as they sailed he fell asleep; and there came down a storm of wind on the lake.

You must remember that no one can pass from the course of this life without temptations, for temptation is the trial of faith. We are therefore subject to the storms of spiritual wickedness, but as watchful sailors we must awake the Pilot, who does not obey but commands the winds, who although He now no longer sleeps in the sleep of His own body, yet let us beware, lest through the sleep of our bodies He is to us asleep and at rest. But they are rightly reproved who feared, when Christ was present; since he surely who clings to Him can in no wise perish.

(de Cons. Ev. l. 2. c. 24.) Matthew says, Master, save us, we perish. Mark, Master, carest thou not that we perish? There is the same expression in all of men awakening our Lord, and anxious for their safety. Nor is it worth while to enquire which of these was most likely to have been said to Christ. For whether they said one of these three, or some other words which no Evangelist has mentioned, but of the same import, what matter is it? Though at the same time this may have been the case, that by the many who awoke Him, all these things were said, one by one, and another by another.

They approached and woke Him up, saying: Master, we are perishing! The disciples awaken the Lord to prevent them from perishing due to the savagery of the waves while He sleeps, for they who had seen His death sought His resurrection with the greatest of desires, so that if He were to linger longer in the sleep of the flesh, their minds would perish forever in spiritual death. Hence, it rightly follows:

But He, rising, rebuked the wind and the raging water, and they ceased, and there was calm. Rising, He rebuked the wind, because, having celebrated the resurrection, He struck down the pride of the devil when He destroyed the one who had the power of death through His own death. He also made the raging water cease after rising, because by emerging from the grave, He quashed the insane rage of the Jews who had shaken their heads crying: If He is the Son of God, let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. Here it should be noted literally that all creatures perceive the Creator. For those whom He rebukes and commands perceive the one giving commands, not by the error of heretics who think all things are animated, but by the majesty of the Creator, for what is insensible to us is sensible to Him.

Second, regarding the opportunity of refuge coming to aid, as Christ awakens, it is added: And they came to him and awakened him, namely so that through his wakefulness they might obtain a remedy, they who had incurred danger during his sleep: the Psalm: "The Lord was roused as one who sleeps." Moreover, they awakened him not from boldness of spirit, but from need; whence it is added: Saying: Master, we perish; in which they invoke Christ's power and their own need: Christ's power in this, that they say: Master: Job 9: "He commands the sun, and it does not rise, and he seals up the stars as under a signet"; the Psalm: "You rule over the power of the sea, and you calm the motion of its waves"; Wisdom 14: "You have given a way in the sea and a most firm path in the waves."

They allege their own need in this, that they say: We perish, when nevertheless you do not will that anyone perish; Second Peter chapter three: "He acts patiently, not willing that any should perish," and especially the predestined. Whence John chapter ten: "My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish forever"; and chapter seventeen: "I have kept them, and none of them has perished except the son of perdition."

But he, rising up, rebuked the wind. Here thirdly is described the power of the Divinity, as commanding by word and as accomplishing by deed:

First therefore, as regards the command in word, it is said: But he, rising up, rebuked the wind and the tempest of the water: in which rebuke is understood the command of majesty over both. Whence it is said in Matthew chapter eight: "He commanded the winds and the sea, and a great calm was made"; in Mark chapter four it is said that he said to the sea: "Be silent, be still." And in this he shows himself to be the one who made the sea: Job chapter thirty-eight: "I surrounded the sea with my boundaries and said: This far shall you come, and here you shall break your swelling waves"; and Nahum chapter one: "Rebuking the sea and drying it up."

Secondly, as regards the effect in deed, it is added: And it ceased, and a calm was made; it ceased, namely the wind: Sirach chapter forty-three: "At his word the wind was silent"; because in the Psalm: "Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfill his word." And thus it appears that he is the one to whom Tobit says, in chapter three: "After the tempest you make calm." And thus what is said in the Psalm is true in Christ: "And the spirit of the storm stood still."

Hence when their great danger had driven them into intolerable fear, having no other hope of safety but the Lord of power Himself, they awoke Him. It follows, And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, we perish.

But it could not be that they should perish while the Almighty was with them. Christ then arose, Who has power over all things, and immediately quells the storm and the violence of the wind, and the tempest ceased, and there was a calm. Herein He shows Himself to be God, to Whom it is said, Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them (Ps. 89:10.). So then as He sailed, our Lord manifested both natures in one and the same person, seeing that He who as man slept in the ship, as God by His word stilled the raging of the sea.

(de Con. Ev. ut sup.) Now this is related by the other Evangelists in different words. For Matthew says, that Jesus said, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? (Matt. 8.) but Mark as follows, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? (Mark 4.) i. e. that perfect faith like the grain of mustard seed. Mark then also says, O ye of little faith; but Luke, Where is your faith? And indeed all these may have been said, Why are ye fearful? Where is your faith? O ye of little faith. Hence one Evangelist relates one, another another.

But he said to them: Where is your faith? They are rightly reproved who feared with Christ present, since indeed he who clings to him cannot perish. Similar to this is that after the sleep of death, appearing to the disciples, he reproached their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him risen. And again he said to them: O foolish and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and so enter into his glory (Luke 24)? As if by a metaphor of the ship he were saying: Was it not necessary for the Christ to be asleep, while the waves were tossing the ship in which he was resting here and there, and so with the swelling heaps of the abyss immediately calmed, to reveal to all the power of his divinity?

Those who feared were amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him?" Matthew writes thus: "But the men were amazed, saying, 'What sort of man is this?' etc." Therefore, it was not the disciples, but the sailors and others who were on the ship who marveled. However, if anyone contentiously insists that those who marveled were the disciples, we will rightly respond that men are called those who had not yet known the power of the Savior. And we too, when individually imprinted with the sign of the Lord's cross, set out intending to leave the world, undoubtedly board the ship with Jesus, attempting to cross the lake. But He who neither slumbers nor sleeps, always guarding Israel (Psalm 121), although He seems to slumber for us often while sailing amidst the roaring of the sea, when amidst the efforts of virtues, or the repeated assaults of unclean spirits or wicked men, or the very rush of our thoughts, the splendor of faith grows dim, the height of hope fades, the flame of love cools. However, in such storms, it is necessary to flee to that helmsman, to diligently rouse Him who does not serve but commands the winds. He will soon quell the tempests, restore tranquility, and grant the harbor of salvation.

And he said to them, etc. Here fourthly is determined the progress of our belief, in two ways, namely as regards knowledge in the heart and as regards confession in the mouth: — First therefore, as regards knowledge of the heart proceeding from the hesitation of doubt to the certainty of belief, it is said: And he said to them: Where is your faith? Which indeed he says by rebuking doubt and urging firmness of faith, as if to say: Why did you doubt, fearing submersion and peril? According to what he said to Peter in Matthew chapter fourteen: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" For it is said in Hebrews chapter eleven: "By faith the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea as through dry land." Therefore he reproved the disciples for their faintheartedness, so that from the miracle seen he might arouse them to firmness of faith, through which they might recoil into their own smallness and marvel at the divine immensity.

Whence it is also added: Who, being afraid, marveled. For already they knew their own smallness, into which they recoiled through fear, and the divine immensity, into which they were carried beyond themselves through wonder: Jeremiah chapter ten: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations? For yours is the glory among all the wise"; Jeremiah chapter five: "Will you not then fear me? says the Lord." "Who have set the sand as a boundary for the sea, an everlasting decree which it shall not pass beyond."

And because wonder at power accompanies fear of majesty, rightly it is said: They marveled: Sirach 11: "Many marveled at him and honored God," because "the Lord is exceedingly great, and his power is wonderful," Sirach 43.

Second, indeed, as regards the confession of the mouth, it is added: Saying to one another: Who, do you think, is this? As if to say: no one is like him. Exodus 15: "Who is like you among the mighty, O Lord? Who is like you, magnificent in holiness, terrible and praiseworthy, working wonders?"

And they give the reason: Because he commands both the winds and the sea, by his ineffable power; and they obey him, with wondrous reverence. Job 28: "Who gave weight to the winds and weighed the waters by measure, when he appointed a law for the rains and a way for the sounding storms." And thus was verified that saying of Sirach 39: "At his word the water stood like a heap." This, therefore, is he of whom Job 38 says: "Who shut up the sea with doors?" For since the winds and the sea obey him, nothing can resist him. Sirach 42: "All things obey him of necessity." Whence Bede in the Gloss: "Note that every creature perceives its Creator, because things that are insensible to us are sensible to the majesty of the Maker."

When Christ calmed the storm, he also changed the faith of the holy disciples that was shaken along with the ship into confidence. He no longer permitted it to be in doubt. He worked a calm in them, smoothing the waves of their weak faith. He said, "Where is your faith?" Another Evangelist, however, affirms that he said, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" When the fear of death unexpectedly befalls people, it sometimes troubles even a well-established mind and exposes it to the blame of smallness of faith. This is also the effect of any other trouble too great to bear upon those it tries.

There is also much in this for the admiration and improvement of those who hear. Creation is obedient to whatever Christ chooses to command. What excuse can help us if we do not submit to do the same? What excuse can deliver from the fire and condemnation one who is disobedient and not easily led? He sets up, so to speak, the neck of his haughty mind against Christ's commands, and his heart is impossible to soften. Understanding that all those things that have been brought into existence by God entirely agree with his will, it is our duty to become like the rest of creation and avoid disobedience as a thing that leads to perdition. Let us rather submit to him who summons us to salvation and to the desire of living uprightly and lawfully, that is, evangelically. Christ will fill us with the gifts that come from above and from him.

But together with the raging of the waters, He quiets also the tumult of their souls, as it follows, And he said unto them, Where is your faith? By which word He showed, that it is not so much the assault of temptation which causes fear, as faint-heartedness. For as gold is proved in the fire, so is faith in temptation.

When the tempest was quelled at the command of Christ, the disciples in astonishment whispered one to the other, as it follows, And they being afraid wondered, &c. Now the disciples said not this as ignorant of Him, for they knew that He was God, and Jesus the Son of God. But they marvel at the exceeding vastness of His natural power, and the glory of His divinity, although He was like to us, and visible in the flesh. Hence they say, Who is this? that is, of what manner of man? how great, and with what great power and majesty? for it is a mighty work, a lordly command, no abject petition.

And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Gerasa is a notable city of Arabia beyond the Jordan, adjacent to the mountain Gilead, which was held by the tribe of Manasseh, not far from the lake of Tiberias, into which the swine were cast down. However, it signifies the nation of the Gentiles, which, after the sleep of the Passion and the glory of His Resurrection, the Savior deemed worthy to visit by sending preachers. Hence, it is fitting that Gerasa or Gergesa (as some read) is interpreted as 'casting out the colonist' or 'the stranger approaching.' Specifically indicating that the people of the Gentiles both cast out from their hearts the enemy who wickedly occupied it, and those who were far off were made near by the blood of Christ.

For Geraza is a famous city of Arabia, on the other side of the Jordan, close to the mountain of Galaad, which was possessed by the tribe of Manasseh, and not far from the lake of Tiberias, into which the swine were cast headlong.

Now mystically; Gerasa signifies the Gentile nations, whom after His passion and resurrection Christ visited in His preachers. Hence Gerasa or Gergesa, as some say, is by interpretation "casting out an inhabitant," that is, the devil by whom it was before possessed, or, "a stranger approaching," who before was afar off.

And they sailed to the region, etc. After the Evangelist first showed that Christ has dominion over corporeal creation, here secondly he shows that he has dominion over spiritual creation in the admirable expulsion of the demonic legion. Hence the Evangelist intends in this part to explain the marvelous liberation of the demoniac accomplished through the power of Christ. For the explanation of this miracle, four things are introduced. The first is the violence of the besieging demon; the second is the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates, which is treated there: And they begged him not to command them, etc.; the third is the reverence of the people coming to meet him, there: When those who were feeding them saw what had happened, etc.; the fourth is the benevolence of the cured man obeying, there: And the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him, etc.

The violence of the besieging devil is shown from four things, namely from the roaring of fury, from the clamor of outcry, from the assault of strength, and from the accompaniment of multitude.

First, therefore, regarding the roaring of fury in the demoniac running to meet the Lord as he arrived, it is said: And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes. "Gerasa, as Bede says, is a city of Arabia"; in which it is shown that after the miracles performed among the Jews, divine dispensation requires that they be performed among the Gentiles; according to what is said in Acts thirteen: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles," as if in contempt of the rebellious. Hence he adds: Which is opposite Galilee, which refers to the city understood through that people, which is called Gerasa. He sailed there to show the power of his might through miracles and to draw them to himself. For Gerasa is interpreted, as the Gloss says, as "sojourner"; and therefore it designates the Gentiles, according to Ephesians two: "Remember that at one time you were Gentiles, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near." Hence in this it is clear that "the same Lord of all is rich toward all who call upon him," Romans ten. "For everyone, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved."

It is shown, therefore, that from the aforesaid, according to the literal sense, seven notable points can be gathered: first, that the power of Christ's word alone exceeds the strength of infinite thousands of demons; second, that the fury of demons with respect to the human race is very great; third, that their fear with respect to the man Christ is very great; fourth, that demons are incorporeal, since so many were in one man; fifth, that they can do nothing even over brute animals unless permitted; sixth, that men in possessing these temporal things are nothing but stewards of Christ; seventh, that God showed that the salvation of one man is to be preferred to infinite brute animals.

The Saviour, as He sailed with His disciples, came to a port, as it is said, And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

Many accurate copies have neither "Gerazenes" nor "Gadarenes," but "Gergezenes." For Gadara is a city in Judæa, but neither lake nor sea is found at it; and Geraza is a city of Arabia, having neither lake nor sea near. But Gergeza, from which the Gergezenes are called, is an ancient city near the lake of Tiberias, above which is a rock hanging over the lake, into which they say the swine were dashed down by the devils. But since Gadara and Geraza border upon the land of the Gergezenes, it is probable that the swine were led from thence to their parts.

We know that in the Gospel according to Matthew, two men attacked by demons met Christ in the country of the Gerasenes. Here St. Luke introduces one such man as naked. Whoever has lost the covering of his nature and virtue is naked. I think that we should not idly disregard but seek the reason why the Evangelists seem to disagree about the number. Although the number disagrees, the mystery agrees. A man who has an evil spirit is a figure of the Gentile people, covered in vices, naked to error, vulnerable to sin.

Now although the number of those healed by Christ is different in Luke and Matthew, yet the mystery is one and the same. For as he who had a devil is the figure of the Gentile people, the two also in like manner take the figure of the Gentiles. For whereas Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet; the family of Shem only was called to the possession of God, and from the other two the people of different nations were descended. He (as Luke says) had devils long time, inasmuch as the Gentile people was vexed from the deluge down to our Lord's coming. But he was naked, because the Gentiles lost the garment of their nature and virtue.

Or what are the bodies of the unbelieving but kinds of tombs in which the word of God abides not?

(Cons. Ev. ut sup.) Whereas Matthew says, that there were two possessed, but Mark and Luke mention only one; you must understand one of them to be a more distinguished and famous person, for whom that neighbourhood was chiefly distressed, and in whose restoration they were greatly interested. Wishing to signify this, the two Evangelists thought right to mention him alone, concerning whom the report of this miracle had been most extensively noised abroad.

(de Quaest. Ev. l. ii. q. 13.) He abode in no house, that is, he had no rest in his conscience; he dwelt among the tombs, because he delighted in dead works in his sins.

And when He had come out onto the land, a certain man who had a demon for a long time met Him. This man represents the people of the Gentiles, who for many times, that is, from nearly the very beginning of the world's birth, were vexed by a furious madness.

And he was not clothed with a garment. Because he lost the covering of his nature and virtue. For, indeed, our first parents, after sinning, are read to have been stripped of the garment of faith and charity. The prodigal son was clothed with this first robe after he returned repentant to the father.

Nor did he stay in a house, but in tombs. Because he did not rest in his conscience but delighted in dead works, that is, in sins. For what indeed are the bodies of the faithless if not certain sepulchers of the dead, in which not the word of God dwells, but the soul, dead in sins, is enclosed?

Therefore it is added: And when he had gone out onto the land, there met him a certain man, so that just as he had worked wonders on the sea, so also on the land. And through this it is apparent that he is the one of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Whatever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths." And he shows this in this man, who is rightly called a certain man of singular suffering, who was a notable person and was notably and miserably possessed. And therefore, although two came to meet him, according to what is said in Matthew 8, Luke nevertheless records only the encounter with one, whose notable torment he specifies by the length of time.

On account of which he says: Who had had a devil now for a long time, so that it had already claimed him for itself as a possession, such that there could be said of him that word of Isaiah 34: "It shall be the lair of dragons and the pasture of ostriches, and demons shall meet, the onocentaur"; this concerns those fully possessed by the devil.

It is aggravated also by the unseemliness of appearance: whence it is also added: And he wore no garment; which was very unseemly, according to what the Lord threatens in Ezekiel 16: "They shall strip you of your garments and take away the ornaments of your beauty." And in this the fury of the demon is apparent, who not only tormented the members of the body but also tore apart the garments, as is said of that one in Acts 19: "When the most wicked demon had prevailed against the two sons of Sceva the Jew, they fled naked and wounded from the house."

It is aggravated also by the horror of the place: therefore he adds: Neither did he abide in a house, but in the tombs, where is a very horrible place. And the princes of darkness seek such places; Job 30: "They dwell in the deserts of the mountains and in the caverns of the earth"; and yet from these the Lord delivers, according to that word of the Psalm: "Who brings forth the bound in might, likewise those who provoke, who dwell in the tombs."

In great misery and nakedness, he wandered among the graves of the dead. He was in utter wretchedness, leading a disgraceful life. He was a proof of the cruelty of the demons and a plain demonstration of their impurity.… Whoever they possess and subject to their power, at once they make him an example of great misery, deprived of every blessing, destitute of all sobriety, and entirely deprived even of reason.Some say, "Why do they possess people?" I answer those who wish to have this explained that the reason of these things is very deep. Somewhere one of his saints addressed God by saying, "Your judgments are a vast abyss." As long as we bear this in mind, we will perhaps not miss the mark. The God of all purposely permits some to fall into their power. He does not do this so that they may suffer but that we may learn by their example how the demons treat us and may avoid the desire of being subject to them. The suffering of one edifies many.

Now his going naked among the tombs of the dead was a mark of demoniacal wildness. But God permits some in His providence to become subject to evil spirits, that we may ascertain through them of what kind the evil spirits are towards us, in order that we may refuse to be made subject unto them, and so by the suffering of one many may be edified.

(Hom. 28. in Matt.) But as soon as our Lord had departed from the sea, He meets with another more awful wonder. For the demoniac, like an evil slave, when he sees Him confirms his bondage, as it follows, And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, &c.

(Hom. 28. in Matt.) Or, Luke selected from the two the one who was most savage. Hence he gives the most melancholy account of his calamity, adding, And he wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. But the evil spirits visit the tombs of the dead, to instil into men that dangerous notion, that the souls of the dead become evil spirits.

But the devils could not endure the clearness of the light of heaven, as those who have weak eyes can not bear the sun's rays.

In his sepulchral prison the savage demon had broken. Fetters of iron that bound him; he darts forth and kneels before Jesus. But the Lord sets the man free and orders the devil to madden. Herds of the swine and to plunge with them into the depths of the vast sea.

When he saw Jesus, he fell down before Him and cried out with a loud voice, saying, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" How great is the madness of Arius to believe that Jesus is a creature and not God, when even the demons believe and tremble at Him as the Son of the Most High God! What impiety of the Jews to say that He cast out demons by the prince of demons, when the demons themselves confess that He has nothing in common with them? Moreover, that which they then clamored in fury through the demoniac, they do not cease to say and confess afterwards in the shrines of idols, namely, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Most High God, and that they have nothing of peace or association with Him.

"I beg you, do not torment me." For He commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had seized him. The enemy of human salvation considers it no small torment to cease harming the man; the longer he has possessed him, the more difficult it is to agree to let him go. Hence, we must strive with the utmost effort that if ever we are overcome by the devil, we immediately strive to avoid his snares, lest if we resist his rule too late, he might be expelled more laboriously at some point.

Secondly, with regard to the tumult of the outcry, as the demon cries aloud and the Lord commands, it is added: When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him. And thus is verified that word of the Psalm: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down"; and that word of Isaiah 60: "They who detracted you shall come to you and shall adore the footsteps of your feet," "that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Philippians 2. This, however, he did not do out of the humility of devotion, but with murmuring and clamor of outcry.

And therefore he adds: And crying out with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? This he did not display out of reverence, but rather he abhorred his presence with a cry, through which he showed groaning and pain in his heart, according to that passage of the penultimate chapter of Isaiah: "You shall cry out for pain of heart, and for crushing of spirit you shall howl." Moreover, he cries out and grieves at his presence because there was no agreement with Christ; Second Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial? What fellowship has light with darkness, justice with iniquity?" And Ecclesiasticus 13: "What will the wolf share with the lamb? Or what communion has a holy man with a dog?"

And note that in this confession he refutes a twofold error: one of the Jews, who said that Christ had a demon, John 8, and that he cast out demons by Beelzebub, Matthew 12. Whence Bede says: "The Jews say that he casts out demons by the prince of demons — he whom the demons deny to have anything in common with themselves."

He refutes another error of the Arians, who say that Christ is a mere creature, whereas the demon calls him the Son of the Most High God, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature." But the demon confesses this not by venerating his dominion, but by dreading his command, according to that passage of James 2: "The demons believe and tremble."

And therefore it is added: I beseech you, do not torment me, namely by that power of which Wisdom 11 says: "Absent and present alike were tormented." Therefore he wanted to confess Christ so that at least by confessing he might find an opportunity of escaping, because, Wisdom 16, "the wicked who denied knowing you were scourged by the strength of your arm."

The Gerasene, or rather the herd of demons lying concealed within him, fell down before Christ's feet, saying, "What is there between me and you, Jesus, Son of God Most High? I beseech you, do not torment me." I ask you to observe here the mixture of fear with great audacity and conceited pride. The words which he is forced to shout are coupled with inflated haughtiness! It is a proof of the pride of the enemy that he ventures to say, "What is there between me and you, Jesus, Son of God Most High?" You certainly know that he is the Son of God Most High.…I beseech you to again observe the incomparable majesty of Christ who transcends all. With irresistible might and unequalled authority he crushes Satan by simply willing that it should be.

Mark here the combination of fear with boldness and great desperation, for it is a sign of devilish despair to speak out boldly, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? but of fear when they pray, I beseech thee not to cast me out. But if thou knowest Him to be the Son of God most high, thou confessest Him to be the God of heaven and earth, and of all things that are contained in them. How then dost thou make use not of thy own but His words, saying, What have I to do with thee? But what earthly prince will altogether endure to have his subjects tormented by barbarians? Hence it follows, For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him. And He shows the necessity of the command, adding, For oftentimes it had caught him, &c.

And hence it is plain that the rebel hosts against the Divine Majesty were thrust down to hell by the unspeakable power of the Saviour.

Did not the devils know the real nature of this name? It is fitting that the heretics should be found guilty, not by the teachings of the apostles but by the mouth of demons. The latter often exclaim, "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" The truth drew out this reluctant confession, and being forced to obey, their grief testifies to the strength of this nature. This power overcomes them, since they abandon bodies that they have possessed for a long time. They pay their tribute of honor when they acknowledge the nature of Christ. In the meantime, Christ testifies that he is the Son by his miracles as well as by his name. O heretic, where do you find the name of a creature or the favor of an adoption among those words by which the demons admit who he is?

In his sepulchral prison the savage demon had broken Fetters of iron that bound him; he darts forth and kneels before Jesus. But the Lord sets the man free and orders the devil to madden Herds of the swine and to plunge with them into the depths of the vast sea.

For with the last enemy death did He fight, and through the trophy of the cross He triumphed. Now of what God did the Legion testify that Jesus was the Son? No doubt, of that God whose torments and abyss they knew and dreaded.

(ubi sup.) Now that he was bound by brazen fetters and chains, signifies the harsh and severe laws of the Gentiles, by which also in their states offences are restrained. But, that having burst these chains he was driven by the evil spirit into the wilderness, means that having broken through these laws, he was also led by lust to those crimes which exceeded the ordinary life of men. By the expression that there was in him a legion of devils, the nations are signified who served many devils. But the fact that the devils were permitted to go into the swine, which fed on the mountains, signifies also the unclean and proud men over whom the evil spirits have dominion, because of their worship of idols. For the swine are they who, after the manner of unclean animals without speech and reason, have defiled the grace of their natural virtues by the filthy actions of their life.

And he was bound with chains and shackles. Chains and shackles signify the severe and harsh laws of the Gentiles, by which in their republic sins are also restrained.

And having broken the bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desert. For having even transgressed those laws, he was led by desire to such crimes as already exceeded common custom.

But this supplication availed him little, for it was not voluntary but coerced; therefore it is added: For he was commanding the unclean spirit to go out from the man, a command which it could not resist, according to that passage of Wisdom 19: "Every creature served your commands, that your children might be kept unharmed." Moreover, it feared this command because it is a comfort to the unclean spirit to possess a man and to inflict torment upon him, according to that passage below in chapter 11: "When the unclean spirit has gone out from a man, it walks through waterless places, seeking rest"; and Bede in the Gloss says: "It is a torment for the devil to cease from harming a man, and the longer he possesses, the more reluctantly he lets go. Let him who is harmed by the devil therefore take heed to break the yoke quickly." — But in this petition the demon did not merit to be heard, because it was not from a disposition of devotion, but from impatience and the clamor of outcry; the Psalm: "They cried out, and there was none to save them."

Third, as regards the assault of strength in the demon resisting human binding, it is added: For many times he would seize him, namely by an assault of strength which the possessed man could not resist: according to what is said of Saul in 1 Kings 18, that "the evil spirit of the Lord seized Saul." But with this man it was otherwise than with Saul, because the latter was soothed by the harp, but this man could not be restrained by a chain.

Whence it is added: And he was bound with chains, as regards the hands, guarded with fetters, as regards the feet, which was a very strong restraint, according to that of the Psalm: "To bind their kings in fetters and their nobles in iron manacles."

And although it was so strong, he could not withstand the assault of diabolical strength: on account of which it adds: And breaking the bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desert. In this is shown the pride and audacity of the devil, who could be held back by no restraints, according to that of Jeremiah 2: "From of old you have broken my yoke, you have burst my bonds." Thus indeed do the proud imitators of the devil, against whom Jeremiah, in chapter 5, speaking of the princes: "They have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds," namely of the divine precepts; although it is said in Ecclesiasticus 6: "Put your foot into his fetters, and be not weary of his bonds." But it is more tolerable for a sinner possessed by the devil to be driven about in the desert than to be bound by these fetters: Job 30: "They dwelt in the deserts of torrents and in the caves of the earth, who rejoiced in such things and counted it delightful to be under thorns."

For these thankless men saw, and by means of His miracles handled the wonder-working God, and yet remained in unbelief. They saw a man, blind from his birth, proclaiming to them the God who had restored his sight. They saw a paralytic, who had grown up, as it were, and become one with his infirmity, at His bidding loosed from his disease. They saw Lazarus, who was made an exile from the region of death. They heard that He had walked on the sea. They heard of the wine that, without previous culture, was ministered; of the bread that was eaten at that spontaneous banquet; they heard that the demons had been put to flight; the sick restored to health. Their very streets proclaimed His deeds of wonder; their roads declared His healing power to those who journeyed on them. All Judea was filled with His benefit; yet now, when they hear the divine praises, they inquire, Who is this?

And they begged him not to order them to go into the abyss. The demons knew that eventually, through the advent of the Lord, they would be sent into the abyss, not by foretelling the future themselves, but by recalling the words of the prophets spoken about them, and thus they thought that the Lord's advent, whose glory they marveled at, would tend to their own destruction.

And they besought him etc. After the violence of the besieging demon, the Evangelist here subjoins the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates. Now in this part Christ is shown to be powerful in every way, namely powerful in commanding, powerful in permitting, powerful in saving, and powerful in destroying.

First, then, he is shown to be powerful in commanding harsh things, in that it says: And they besought him, namely the demons, that he would not command them to go into the abyss: because they could not transgress his command, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He has established a decree, and it shall not pass away." Therefore they besought him, because they knew that he was that Angel of whom Revelation 20 says: "I saw an Angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss," that is, the power of sending into the abyss by his just judgment, as he did to the Egyptians: Exodus 15: "The depths covered them, they descended into the deep like a stone"; and Revelation 20: "Judgment was rendered upon each one according to their works. And hell and death were cast into the lake of fire." The demons feared that this judgment would be hastened upon them by the command of Christ, not as ones foreknowing the future, but on account of the sayings of the Prophets. Whence Ambrose says: "The demons knew that by the coming of Christ they would at some time be plunged into the abyss, not because they themselves were foretelling the future, but because they were recalling what the Prophets had said concerning them."

(Ep. ad Georgium.) Now the Lord ordains for each class of sinners an appropriate punishment. The fire of Hell unquenchable for fleshly burnings, gnashing of teeth for wanton mirth, intolerable thirst for pleasure and revelry, the worm that dieth not for a crooked and malignant heart, everlasting darkness for ignorance and deceit, the bottomless pit for pride. Hence the deep is assigned to the devils as unto the proud, it follows, And there was there an herd of swine, &c.

People are the authors of their own tribulation. If someone did not live like a swine, the devil would never have received power over him. If he did receive power, it would be power not to destroy but to test him. After the Lord's coming, the devil could already not corrupt the good, so perhaps he now does not seek the destruction of all people but only of the fickle. A mugger does not lie in wait for armed men but for the defenseless. He who understands that the strong will despise him or the powerful destroy him troubles only the weak with wrongs. Someone says, "Why does God permit this to the devil?" I say, "So that good people may be tested and the wicked punished, for this is the punishment of sin." This is also according to the law, because the Lord sends fever, trembling, evil spirits, blindness, and all scourges according to the punishment of sinners.

They are carried violently down, for they are reclaimed not by the contemplation of any good deed, but thrust as from a higher place to a lower, along the downward path of iniquity, they perish amidst the waves of this world, shut out from the approach of air. For they who are carried to and fro by the rapid tide of pleasure cannot receive the communication of the Spirit; we see then that man himself is the author of his own misery. For unless a man lived like the swine, the devil would never have received power over him, or received it, not to destroy but to prove him. And perhaps the devil, who after the coming of our Lord can no longer steal away the good, seeks not the destruction of all men, but only the wanton, as the robber lies in wait not for armed men, but the unarmed.

(de vita Anton.) But if they have no power over swine, the evil spirits have much less against men who are made after the image of God. We ought then to fear God alone, but despise them.

(de Con. Ev. l. ii. 24.) The words of Mark, that there was a herd of swine nigh unto the mountains, and of Luke, on the mountains, do not differ from one another. For the herd of swine was so large, that they might be part on the mountain, part near it. For there were two thousand swine, as Mark has stated. (Mark 5:13.)

Now there was there a herd of many pigs, feeding on the mountain, and they begged him to permit them to enter them: and he allowed them. He permitted this because he granted the demons' request, so that the destruction of the pigs would provide an occasion for salvation to humans. For the shepherds, seeing these things, immediately reported them to the city. Let the Manichaean be ashamed. If the souls of men and beasts were of the same substance and from the same author, how could two thousand pigs be drowned for the salvation of a single man? Nonetheless, in their destruction, unclean men are figuratively represented, who lack voice and reason, who feed on the mountain of pride, and delight in filthy acts. Indeed, demons can dominate such individuals through the worship of idols. For unless someone lives like a pig, the devil will never gain power over him, or even if he receives it, it will only be for testing, not for destruction.

Second, he is said to be powerful in permitting losses, in that it is added: And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, into which, although they are brute animals, the demons had no power except by divine permission. For of Christ it was said in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet"; and afterward: "moreover also the cattle of the field." Whence into this herd they could do nothing except by the permission of God, according to that passage of Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father," that is, without the power of the Father.

And therefore it is added: And they besought him that he would permit them to enter into them; in which the demons display Christ's power and their own powerlessness, because they can do nothing against beasts unless permitted, much less therefore against a human being. Whence in Job 1 satan said: "Lord, stretch forth your hand and touch all that he possesses." On account of which also in the tribulation that the devil is to inflict upon the Church, the divine permission precedes, according to that passage of Revelation 9: "The four angels were loosed, who were prepared for the hour and the day"; and in chapter 20 it is said that "satan shall be loosed."

And because the Lord by his just judgment permits them many things, it is added: And he permitted them; in which permission he shows himself to be lord not only restraining the demons but possessing the swine, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Mine are all the beasts of the forests, the cattle on the mountains and the oxen." But the owners were merely stewards of the Lord Jesus, and therefore in no way did he do them an injury.

The Lord also showed that He loves the salvation of one man more than thousands of brute animals: First Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen?" Wisdom 11: "But You spare all things, O Lord, because they are Yours, You who love souls." — Again, in this the Lord showed that carnal men, who are designated by the swine, are by the just judgment of God exposed to demons; Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die." Whence in First Corinthians 5 the Apostle says of that carnal man that "he judged to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." He also did this so that not only His power of saving but also of killing might be made known to the men of that land, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "I will kill and I will make alive, I will strike and I will heal: and there is none who can deliver from My hand."

The multitude of unclean spirits seek therefore to be sent into the herd of unclean swine, like to themselves, for it follows, And they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them.

The Gadarenes established a ruling for themselves that they would not come out or view the signs of our Lord. Consequently he drowned their swine so that they would have to come out against their will. "Legion," which had been chastened, is a symbol of the world. He commanded the demons to enter the swine and not the man. He, concerning whom they had said, "It is by Beelzebub that he casts out," engaged in battle against Satan on the mountain and against Legion, the chief of his force. When they entered the swine, he drowned them at that very moment. The force of the merciful One who was keeping watch over this man was known by this. They were begging him not to send them out of that region and not to send them to Gehenna.

This ("substance"), accordingly, he "squandered; "having been cast by his moral habits far from the Lord, amid the errors and allurements and appetites of the world, where, compelled by hunger after truth, he handed himself over to the prince of this age. He set him over "swine," to feed that flock familiar to demons, where he would not be master of a supply of vital food, and at the same time would see others (engaged) in a divine work, having abundance of heavenly bread.

Which indeed the devils demand, wishing yet longer to mix with mankind.

(ubi sup.) But by their being sent down violently into the lake, it is meant that the Church has been purified, and now that the Gentiles are delivered from the dominion of evil spirits, those who refuse to believe in Christ, carry on their unholy rites in hidden places with dark and secret watchings.

Therefore, the demons went out from the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. This signifies that with the Church now glorified, and the people of the Gentiles liberated from the dominion of demons, they who refuse to believe in Christ conduct their sacrilegious rites in hidden places, submerged in blind and profound curiosity. And it should be noted that the unclean spirits would not have gone even into the pigs unless the kind Savior himself had granted their petition, who certainly could have sent them into the abyss. He wanted to teach us a necessary lesson, namely that we should know that they can harm humans even less by their own power, who could not even harm any animals. However, this power, the just and good God can give to us with hidden justice, but not unjustly.

Third, He is shown to be powerful in saving the infirm in that which is added: The demons therefore went out from the man and entered into the swine: by which departure the man was freed. They went out by the command of divine power, according to that passage of Zechariah 13: "I will cast the unclean spirit out of the land." This was said by Him who says of Himself below in chapter 13: "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am consummated." For they went out by the power of Christ, in whose name they were cast out by His disciples, according to what is said in Acts 16, that "Paul said to the pythonic spirit: I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to go out from her; and it went out the same hour." But departing from the man, they enter into the swine, because the unclean spirit seeks unclean dwelling places: Job 37: "The beast shall enter its lair and shall dwell in its cave"; and of Behemoth it is said in Job 40: "He sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, in moist places." He says this with regard to carnal men, who seek nothing else but shadow and wantonness, like swine.

Fourth, He is shown to be powerful in casting down the proud in that which follows: And the herd rushed headlong over the precipice into the lake and was drowned; in which the Lord's extraordinary power is shown, which did not permit them to enter the swine for rest, but for drowning, so that thus might be fulfilled in them that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters"; in which the submersion of sins is spiritually designated, according to that prophetic passage of Micah, the last chapter: "He will put down all our iniquities and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

We may also learn this from what befell the herd of swine. Wicked demons are cruel, mischievous, hurtful and treacherous to those who are in their power. The fact clearly proves this, because they hurried the swine over a precipice and drowned them in the waters. Christ granted their request that we might learn from what happened that their disposition is ruthless, bestial, incapable of being softened, and solely intent on doing evil to those whom they can get into their power.If there is anyone among us who is wanton, swinish, filth loving, impure and willingly contaminated with the abominations of sin, God permits such a one to fall into their power and sink into the abyss of damnation. It will never happen that those who love Christ will become subject to them. It will never happen to us as long as we walk in his footsteps, avoid negligence in the performance of what is right, desire those things which are honorable, and belong to that virtuous and praiseworthy lifestyle that Christ has marked out for us by the precepts of the gospel.

But the Lord granted them permission, that this might be among other things to us an occasion of benefit, and the confidence of our safety. It follows, And he suffered them. We must therefore consider that the evil spirits are hostile to those which are subject to them, and this will be evident from their sending down the swine violently into the waters and choking them; as it follows, Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. And this Christ permitted to them which sought it, that it might appear from the event how cruel they are. It was also necessary to show that the Son of God has no less power to foresee than the Father, that equal glory might be manifested in each.

When those who kept the herd saw this they fled. For neither the teachers of philosophy nor the chief of the synagogue can bring a cure to perishing mankind. It is Christ alone who takes away the sins of the people.

(de Qu. Evan. l. ii. q. 13.) Or, by the herdsmen of the swine flying and telling these things, He represents certain rulers of the wicked, who though they evade the law of Christianity, yet proclaim it among the nations by their astonishment and wonder.

When they saw what had happened, those who were feeding the pigs fled and reported it in the city and in the villages. That the pig herders, fleeing, announced these things indicates that even some leaders of the impious, although they flee from the Christian law, nevertheless preach its power among the nations, in awe and wonder.

When they saw what was done etc. Here now thirdly the Evangelist shows the reverence of the people coming to meet him. Concerning the explanation of which four things are introduced, namely the announcement of the truth beheld, the investigation of the truth heard, the discovery of the truth sought, the veneration of the truth found, sought, and announced.

First, therefore, as regards the announcement of the truth beheld, it is said: When they saw what was done, those who were feeding them fled, namely out of fear, like hirelings; John 10: "But the hireling, and he who is not the shepherd, sees the wolf coming and flees"; and Zechariah 11: "O shepherd and idol, abandoning the flock"! Or they fled not from fear of human danger, but from fear of divine judgment, concerning which Job 19: "Flee from the face of the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity, and know that there is judgment." But they fled not to hide, for in the Psalm it is written: "Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face?" but so that they might quickly narrate what they had seen to those who were absent.

Whence it follows: And they told it in the city and in the villages, just as that messenger, Job 1: "I alone escaped, that I might tell you." And in this they had, as it were, the office of preachers, of whom in the Psalm: "They declared the works of God and understood his deeds"; Philippians 1: "Whether Christ be announced by occasion, in this also I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice." Whence good things seen concerning Christ are not to be kept silent but to be announced, according to that passage of 4 Kings 7: "Those four lepers said: This is a day of good tidings. If we are silent and do not wish to announce it until morning, we shall be charged with wickedness. Come, let us go and announce it in the court of the king." But evil things are not to be announced; 2 Kings 1: "Do not announce it in Gath, nor announce it in the crossroads of Ashkelon."

Note here that according to the letter, four notable points can be drawn from what has been said. The first is that the Lord willed to be made known to others through lowly and humble persons, such as through swineherds and herdsmen.

Second, that not all are to be admitted to the state of perfection, but only those who are suitable.

Third, that those whom Christ cures from the vexation of the devil are not to be barred from preaching the name of Christ. — Fourth, that we ought to be most ready for the giving of thanks for benefits received, after the example of this demoniac, who announced the benefit of God to all.

(Vide Victor. Ant. in Mark 5.) But the shepherds take flight, lest they should perish with the swine. Hence it follows, When they that fed them saw what was done they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country, and excited the like alarm among the citizens.

Those who came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, at His feet, and they were afraid, etc. This signifies the multitude delighted with ancient sweetness, honoring indeed, but unwilling to endure the Christian law, while they say that they cannot fulfill it, yet admiring the faithful people healed from their formerly lost conduct. For to sit at the feet of the Lord is to gaze upon the footprints of the Savior, supported by the rational examination of someone's mind, which he should follow. To resume being clothed is to be adorned with the studies of virtues, which he had lost by being deceived.

Secondly, as regards the investigation of the truth heard, it is added: And they went out to see what was done, and they came to Jesus. They went out, I say, for inquiry; Song of Songs 3: "Go forth, daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon"; and in the Psalm: "Come and see the works of the Lord, what wonders he has placed upon the earth."

They went out moreover to Jesus, who is the Truth, that they might learn the truth. For, as the diligent inquirer Job says in the twenty-third chapter: "Who will grant me that I might know and find him and come even to his throne"? So the Samaritans, having heard the word of the woman, John 4: "The woman went away into the city and says to those men: Come and see the man who told me all things whatsoever I have done." "They went out therefore from the city and were coming to him."

And it is greatly to be noted that it is said that when they go out to see what had been done, they came to Jesus, because the thing made, when it is beheld, leads to the Maker; Romans 1: "The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood through the things that have been made"; and Wisdom 13: "From the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of these things may be knowably seen." And therefore Sirach 42: "How admirable are his works, and like a spark is what one may contemplate"! In this, however, it is apparent that one must not remain in the thing made, but must press on even to Jesus: Sirach 43: "Look upon the rainbow and bless him who made it"; and in the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise," etc.

Third, as regards the discovery of the truth sought, it is added: And they found the man sitting, from whom the demons had gone out; and thus in a fitting state, against restlessness, because he never rested when the devil possessed him: Isaiah 57: "The wicked are like a raging sea, which cannot rest." On the contrary, concerning him in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells, it is said in Lamentations 3: "He shall sit solitary and shall be silent"; because, according to that passage of the Psalm, "in peace is his place made."

They found him also in fitting attire, against nakedness: on account of which it adds: Clothed. For such attire befits a man both bodily and spiritually: Revelation 16: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked." — They found him also in his right sense, against madness: on account of which it adds: And of sound mind: whence he could say that word of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: "At that very time my understanding returned to me." Which understanding the devil takes away from those whom he possesses, by deranging their minds: Second Corinthians 4: "In whom the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers."

They found him also in a fitting position, against disorder: on account of which is added: At his feet, as one attentive to his preaching, according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Deuteronomy: "Those who approach his feet shall receive of his teaching"; and below in the tenth chapter: "Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord heard his word."

And by these signs they manifestly knew him to be set free, from their own sight. Now they had learned the manner and cause of the cure by hearing, because they had heard that this had been done through Christ. On account of which it is added: And they were afraid, namely of Christ, attending to his wondrous power and strength, according to that passage of Jeremiah 10: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations? For to you belongs glory; among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you."

But the severity of their loss led them to the Saviour; for it follows, Then they went out to see what was done, and came to Jesus; and here remark, that while God punishes men in their substance, He confers a blessing upon their souls. But when they had set out, they see him in his right mind who had been long vexed. It follows, And they found the man out of whom the devils had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed, (whereas before he was naked,) and in his right mind. For he departed not from those feet, where he obtained safety; and so acknowledging the miracle, they were astonished at the cure of the malady, and marvelled at the event; for it follows, And they were afraid.

To this he adduces sure testimony, therefore he adds: And those who had seen it reported to them, namely the herdsmen. For such persons ought to bear witness; John 19: "And he who saw it bore witness."

How he had been made well from the legion, through Christ's command. Such testimony is to be believed; 1 John 1: "What we have seen and heard and perceived, we testify and announce to you"; the Psalm: "Declaring the praises of the Lord and his wondrous works which he has done"; because, Acts 4, "we cannot but speak what we have heard and seen."

But this thing they discover partly by sight, partly hearing it in words. It follows, They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.

Or there seems to have been a kind of synagogue in the city of the Gerasenes who besought our Lord to depart, because they were seized with great fear. For the weak mind receives not the word of God, nor can it endure the burden of wisdom. And therefore He no longer troubled them, but ascends from the lower parts to the higher, from the Synagogue to the Church, and returned across the lake. For no one passes from the Church to the Synagogue without endangering his salvation. But whoever desires to pass from the Synagogue to the Church, let him take up his cross, that he may avoid the danger.

(de Qu. Evan. l. ii. q. 13.) But by the Gerasenes, when they knew what was done, asking Jesus to depart from them, for they were struck with great fear, he represents the multitude delighting in their old pleasures, honouring indeed, but unwilling to endure the Christian law, saying that they cannot fulfil it, while they still marvel at the faithful released from their former abandoned mode of life.

And all the multitude of the region of the Gerasenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. The Gerasenes, conscious of their fragility, judged themselves unworthy of the Lord's presence, not grasping the word of God, nor being able to sustain the weight of wisdom with their still infirm mind. This is also read to have happened to Peter himself, when he saw the miracle of the fish, and the widow of Zarephath, who perceived she was blessed by hosting the blessed Elijah, nonetheless thought herself burdened by his presence. "What have I to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquities to remembrance, and to kill my son?" (III Kings [I Kings] XVII).

But he himself, boarding the ship, returned. He had said above that the Lord, having left his parents, boarded the ship, and with the waves calmed together with the wind, immediately upon disembarking, he cured the demoniac who met him. By this, we taught that leaving behind the people of Judea, from which he took his origin according to the flesh, he provided for the salvation of the Gentiles after the storm of his passion had passed. Having done these things, he returned to his homeland, because blindness has happened in part to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in; and thus all Israel will be saved (Rom. XI). He boarded the ship, yet neither is he seized by sleep, nor is the ship struck by a storm, because Christ, rising from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has dominion over him (Rom. VI). However, his trophy of passion and the glory of resurrection will be proclaimed to the believing tribes of Judea, and when the preacher of his death, by which he conquered death with the standard, begins to be believed by the Hebrews, he will return to the homeland with the ship in which he had slept, as if repeating.

Fourth, indeed, as regards the veneration of the truth discovered, it is added: All the multitude of the region of the Gerasenes asked him. After they recognized the fearsome dominion of Majesty, they asked him to depart from them. Which indeed they did not say from the contempt of pride, as those of whom Job 21 says: "Who say to God: 'Depart from us; we do not desire the knowledge of your ways'"; but from reverential fear. Whence it is also added: Because they were held by great fear, as Peter, above in chapter 5: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man"; and as the centurion, above in chapter 7: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof"; because, according to that passage of Sirach 13, "he who associates with one more honorable than himself takes a burden upon himself." Whence Ambrose says: "A weak mind does not grasp the word of God, nor can it sustain the weight of wisdom." And since they were less fit for divine cohabitation, therefore they were heard.

On account of which it is added: But he, boarding the boat, returned. The Lord did not wish to be burdensome to anyone; whence Matthew 10: "And whoever shall not receive you, going out, shake the dust from your feet"; and Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." But the Samaritans had acted more prudently than these, of whom John 4 says: "When the Samaritans had come to him, they asked him to remain there. And he stayed with them two days." But astonishment had surrounded these people, just as it had Peter, above in chapter 5. Therefore they could say that passage of Job 31: "I always feared God as waves swelling over me, and I was unable to bear his weight."

In this also it is given to understand spiritually that the Lord, when rejected, departs; 1 Chronicles 28: "If you seek him, you shall find him; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever." It is also intimated that the Lord does not abandon us unless we first repel him, but rather presses himself upon us; whence Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock," etc.

They feared lest they should again suffer some loss, as they had suffered in the drowning of the swine.

But they ought to have besought the Lord not to depart from them, but to be the guardian of their country, that no evil spirits might come near them; but through fear they lost their own salvation, asking the Saviour to depart. It follows, Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from, them, for they were taken with great fear.

It says, "The herdsmen saw this and fled." Neither professors of philosophy nor leaders of the synagogue can offer any cure when people perish. Christ alone takes away the sins of the people, provided they do not refuse to submit to healing. He does not want to cure the unwilling and soon abandon the weak for whom it seems that his presence is a burden, like the peoples of the Gerasenes. They went out from that country, which appears to be an image of the synagogue, and begged him to depart from them, because they were very afraid.… Why does Christ not accept the healed man but advise him to return home? Perhaps this occurs to avoid a cause of boasting and give an example to unbelievers, although that home may be an inn by nature. Since he received the healing of his mind, Christ commanded him to depart from the tombs and the graves and to return to that spiritual home. He who had in him the grave of the mind became a temple of God.

(ubi sup.) But that he, now that he is healed, desires to be with Christ, and it is said to him, Return to thy house, and tell what great things God has done for thee, implies that each should understand, that after the remission of his sins he should return to a good conscience as to his home, and obey the Gospel for the salvation of others, in order that there he may rest with Christ, lest by too early wishing to be with Christ he neglect the ministry of preaching necessary for this redemption of his brethren.

And the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and tell how much God has done for you." These words can be rightly understood from the Apostle's sentiment when he says, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is necessary on your account" (Philippians 1). Thus, one should understand that after the forgiveness of sins, he must return to a good conscience and serve the Gospel for the salvation of others as well, so that afterward he may rest with Christ. Otherwise, if someone wishes prematurely to be with Christ, he may neglect the ministry of preaching, suited for the redemption of his brothers.

As for Matthew saying that two were cured from the legion of demons, while Mark and Luke mention only one, understand that one of them was a more notable and famous person, whom that region especially grieved for and whose salvation they greatly desired. The two evangelists, wanting to signify this, judged that only this one should be commemorated because the fame of this deed had spread more widely and clearly. But even in the highest concord of allegory, it is concordant because just as one possessed by a demon represents the Jews, so also two represent the types of Gentile peoples not inappropriately. For while Noah had three sons, only one's family was taken into possession by God: from the other two, diverse nations who served idols were born.

And he besought him etc. Here fourthly is described the benevolence of the healed man in his obedience, which the Evangelist commends on four grounds, namely from the offering of service, from the condescension of the Physician, from the commission of office, and from the publication of the benefit, such that one disposes toward the other.

First, therefore, as to the offering of service, it is said: And the man from whom the demons had gone out besought him, namely the healed man besought the physician, that he might be with him, that is, that he might serve him as Lord and Savior, as Ittai the Gittite said to David in 2 Kings 15: "As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, in whatever place you shall be, whether in death or in life, there will your servant be." So Elisha to Elijah, in 4 Kings 2: "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." Moreover, he wished to be with him so that he might be more secure, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 51: "I will call upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he may not forsake me in the day of my tribulation." Also that he might be more perfect: Psalm: "I will keep your justifications; do not utterly forsake me." Also that he might be more blessed: Philippians 1: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ"; and John 12: "I will, Father, that where I am, there also my minister may be." — Therefore he wished to dwell together on the way, so that he might dwell together in the homeland.

Secondly, as to the condescension of the Physician, it is added: But Jesus dismissed him, namely in complete freedom, not wishing to impose any other burden upon him, showing that service ought not to be accepted on account of a benefit conferred; whence Matthew 18: "The lord, having compassion on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt."

For as one who had been tried by experience, he feared, lest perhaps when far from Jesus he should again become the prey of evil spirits. But the Lord shows him, that though He is not present with him, He can protect by His grace, for it follows, But Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done for thee. But he said not, "how great things I have done for thee," giving us an example of humility, that we should attribute all our righteousness to God.

But as He was departing, the man who had been afflicted will not part from his Saviour, for it follows, Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him.

(de Con. Ev. l. ii. c. 28.) After relating the miracle of the Gadarenes, Luke goes on to relate that of the ruler of the synagogue's daughter; saying, And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

And it happened, when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And I said above that at the end of the age the Lord will mercifully return to the Jews and will be gladly received by them through the confession of faith. For the fact that they were all waiting for him is certainly what the prophet speaks to the synagogue: "You will wait for me many days, you will not be unfaithful, and you will not belong to another man" (Hosea 3). Now indeed, neither subjected to the man Christ nor committing idolatry, in the long expectation of her former spouse, that is, the Lord Christ, she awaits the embrace to come by grace.

Or at the end of the world the Lord is about to return to the Jews, and to be gladly received by them through confession of the faith.

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had returned, etc. Above, the Evangelist showed the dominion and authority of Christ over corporeal creation in the calming of the tempest, and over spiritual creation in the expulsion of the demon; here he shows that he has dominion over the creature composed of both in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood and the raising of the girl. Now this part has two sections, inasmuch as human nature is composed of two things, namely body and soul. For first is shown the lord of bodies in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood; second, the lord of souls in the raising of the girl, at the place: While he was still speaking, etc.

The explanation of each miracle is introduced to manifest the dignity of Christ's power, which he demonstrates quite perfectly in the miracle of the healing of the woman with the flow of blood. For first is demonstrated in this part the benignity of Christ's desirable presence; second, the sublimity of his inestimable power, at the place: And a certain woman was in a flow of blood, etc.; third, the profundity of his ineffable wisdom, at the place: And Jesus said: Who is it that touched me, etc.

The kindness of Christ's presence is shown to be desirable from the people receiving him with joy, from the prince supplicating with confidence, from the multitude accompanying him with benevolence. The first regards Christ's coming, which the people meet; the second, Christ's station, to which the prince has recourse; the third, Christ's progress, toward which the multitude runs together. From the meeting, therefore, and the recourse and the concourse of the multitude, the presence and coming of Christ is shown in manifold ways to be desirable.

First, therefore, as regards the reception of joy made by the people, it is said: Now it came to pass, when Jesus had returned, namely across the sea into Galilee, from whom he had for a time withdrawn his desired bodily presence; according to what was prefigured in Third Kings ten concerning Solomon: "And all the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had given him." By this Solomon we understand Christ, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men," etc. — And therefore it is added: A great crowd received him, namely with joy and gladness, so that that word of Isaiah twenty-nine might be fulfilled: "The poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel." — And therefore it is added: For all were waiting for him, namely with desire, because, Lamentations three, "it is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God." For "the Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him"; "for he shall be the expectation of the nations," Genesis, the second-to-last chapter; Psalm: "Wait therefore for the Lord and act manfully," etc.

At once both because of His teaching, and His miracles.

But when about to raise the dead, in order to bring faith to the ruler of the synagogue, He first cured the issue of blood. So also a temporal resurrection is celebrated at the Passion of our Lord, that the other might be believed to be eternal. But as he went, the people thronged him.

Now mystically Christ had left the synagogue in Gerasa, and Him whom His own received not we strangers receive.

But whom do we suppose the chief of the synagogue to be, but the Law, from consideration of which our Lord had not entirely abandoned the synagogue.

(ubi sup.) But the event which He adds, And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, must not be supposed to have taken place immediately, but first that of the feast of the publicans which Matthew mentions, (Matt. 9:18.) to which he so joins on this that it cannot consequently be understood to have happened otherwise.

And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. To the earlier reading, in which we interpreted about the rejection of the synagogue and the faith of the Church, and again about the restoration of the synagogue, is consequently added the dying daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. As the Lord was hastening to raise her, that woman with the hemorrhage intervened, obtained health, and thus by anticipating, she was the first to obtain salvation. For Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands to God (Psalm LXVII). And when the fullness of the Gentiles shall have come in, then all Israel shall be saved. Therefore, the ruler of the synagogue is understood to be none other than Moses himself. Hence, Jairus is well called, that is, "illuminating," or "illuminated," because he receives the words of life to give to us and by these he illuminates others, and he himself is illuminated by the Holy Spirit, by which he can write or teach vital instructions.

And he fell at the feet of Jesus, begging him to enter his house. If the head of Christ is God, the feet consequently are the incarnation, by which He touched the land of our mortality. Therefore, the ruler of the synagogue fell at the feet of Jesus, because the lawgiver, with the whole lineage of the fathers, acknowledged that Christ appearing in the flesh was to be preferred far above himself in the glory of dignity, affirming the apostle's statement with diligent devotion: Because the weakness of God is stronger than men (I Cor. I). He begged Him to enter his house, because with continuous prayers of joy he desired to see His coming. And my soul (says the Prophet) shall exult in the Lord, and shall delight in His Jesus. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto Thee (Psalm XXXIV)? And this is to fall at the feet of Jesus, to confess Him with faithful piety as uniquely great above all.

Or, by the ruler of the synagogue is understood Moses. Hence he is rightly called Jairus, that is, "enlightening" or "enlightened," as he who receives the words of life to give to us, thereby both enlightens others, and is himself also enlightened by the Holy Spirit. But the ruler of the synagogue fell at the feet of Jesus, because the lawgiver with the whole race of the patriarchs knew that Christ, appearing in the flesh, would be far preferred to them. For if the head of Christ is God, (1 Cor. 11:3.) His feet must agreeably to this be taken for the Incarnation, by which He touched the earth of our mortality. The ruler asked Him to enter into his house, because he was desirous to behold His coming. His only daughter is the Synagogue, which alone was framed with a legal institution; which at twelve years of age, that is, when the time of puberty was approaching, lay dying; for having been brought up nobly by the prophets, as soon as it came to years of discretion, when it ought to bring forth spiritual fruits to God, being suddenly subdued through its weakness and error, it forgot to enter the way of spiritual life, and unless Christ had come to its help, would have fallen away into destruction. But the Lord going to heal the girl is thronged by the crowd, because giving wholesome warnings to the Jewish nation, He was borne down by the customs of a carnal people.

Second, as regards the supplication of confidence made by the prince, it is added: And behold, there came a man whose name was Jairus, whose name is expressed because the person was notable by reason of his office of governance, according to what is said in Second Kings seven: "I have made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth"; or also because the name corresponded to his office and dignity. For Jairus is interpreted as illuminated; such a one ought to hold governance among the people. — Whence it is added: And he was a ruler of the synagogue; Sirach forty-five: "He established for him a covenant of peace and made him prince of the holy ones and of his people." Now this prince, although he was exalted in glory, so that there could apply to him that word of First Kings two: "That he might sit with princes and hold a throne of glory"; was not thereby puffed up through pride, but humbled through reverence, heeding that word of Sirach thirty-two: "Have they made you ruler? Be not lifted up." — Therefore it is added: And he fell at the feet of Jesus, knowing it is written, Isaiah forty-five: "Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear"; and in the Psalm: "Come, let us adore and fall prostrate before the Lord." He fell prostrate, therefore, that he might honor the majesty of Christ by his reverence; Sirach three: "How great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble"; and also that he might implore his mercy with confidence.

Whence he also adds: Asking him to enter into his house. This he did with insistence, so that he could say that word of Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go, until I brought him into the house of my mother."

Christ foreknew his mystery, even before the foundations of the world. It was in the last ages of the world that he arose for the inhabitants of earth. Having borne the sin of the world, he abolished both it and death, which is its consequence and was brought upon us by its means. He plainly said, "I am the resurrection and the life," and "he that believes on me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life." We will see this fulfilled in facts. The ruler of the synagogue of the Jews came near and, embracing the Savior's knees, begged him to deliver his daughter from the bonds of death. Look, she already was brought down to this and was in extreme danger! The Savior consented and set out with him. He was even hurrying on to the house of the one who invited him and was aware that what was being done would profit many of those who followed him and would also be for his own glory.

When the woman with a hemorrhage learned that the Lord said to the leader of the synagogue, "Believe, and your daughter will live," she thought to herself that he who could bring back the soul of a little girl of twelve into her body would also be able to take away an illness of twelve years and expel it from the body. When she heard him say, "Believe firmly and your daughter will live," this woman reflected, "I can give the faith he requires as the price." The healing came forth from his mouth, and he negotiated as its price the faith expressed by the woman's mouth. He gave a clear healing and demanded a clear price. The healing that came out from his lips could be heard publicly, and he required from the lips a faith openly professed. Although the woman professed before everyone, they did not believe her, especially since her pains were hidden. When the Lord opened the eyes of the blind man, they called him a madman, and when he restored Lazarus to life, certain people, even among those who had seen for themselves, did not believe. This is why he restored the little girl of twelve years to life. He who was able to put the continued vitality of twelve years in the body back into its place was also able to arrest and banish from its place a flow of blood that continued for twelve years. He who was able to alleviate one illness was also able to banish another. He who was able to vivify all the dead members of this little girl was also able to heal the woman's womb.

They maintain, further, that that girl of twelve years old, the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, to whom the Lord approached and raised her from the dead, was a type of Achamoth, to whom their Christ, by extending himself, imparted shape, and whom he led anew to the perception of that light which had forsaken her.

Through urgent need then he fell at His feet, as it follows, And he fell at Jesus' feet; but it were right for him without a pressing necessity to fall at Christ's feet and acknowledge Him to be God.

(Vide Victor. Ant. in Mark 5.) The name is inserted for the sake of the Jews, who at that time well knew the event, that the name might be a demonstrative proof of the miracle. And there came not one of the lowest, but a ruler of the synagogue, that the mouths of the Jews might be the more closed. As it follows, And he was a ruler of the synagogue. Now he came to Christ because of his need; for grief sometimes urges us to do those things which are right, according to the Psalm, Hold their mouths with bit and bridle, who come not nigh unto thee. (Ps. 32:9.)

But while the Word of God hastens to this daughter of the ruler that He might save the children of Israel, the holy Church collected from among the Gentiles which was perishing by its falling away into gross crimes, seized first by faith the health prepared for others.

But what means it that this daughter of the ruler was dying at twelve years, and the woman was afflicted with the issue of blood for twelve years, but that it might be understood that as long as the Synagogue flourished the Church was weak. For almost in the same age of the world, the Synagogue began to grow up among the patriarchs, and idolatry to pollute the Gentile nation.

(Asterius.) But the cause of his coming is told by adding, For he had only one daughter, the prop of his house, the succession of his race, about twelve years old, in the very flower of her age; and she lay dying, about to be carried to the grave instead of her nuptial bed.

Because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. The Synagogue itself, which alone was composed by legal institution, as if it were the only daughter of Moses, as if in the twelfth year of age, that is, when the time of puberty was approaching, was dying; because, having been nobly brought up by the prophets, after reaching the age of understanding, after it ought to generate spiritual fruits for God, suddenly distressed by the languor of errors, despairingly omitted to enter the ways of spiritual life. And if it were not helped by Christ, it would have fallen into horrendous death in every respect.

And it happened, as he went, the crowd pressed against him. The Lord, going to heal the girl, was pressed by the crowd, because, providing salutary advice to the Jewish people, which would raise its conscience sick with vices, he was burdened by the harmful custom of carnal populations.

But to this insistence he was driven by need, which he expresses when he says: Because she was his only daughter, and thus very much to be loved. For, in 2 Kings 1, "as a mother loves her only son, so did I love you," said David. Moreover she was lovable not only because she was his only child, but also because she was a young girl; and therefore he adds: About twelve years of age; and because she was tender, she was therefore to be loved with a tender love, according to that word of Genesis 37: "Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had begotten him in his old age." And because her life was very much to be loved, therefore her death was very much to be grieved.

On account of which he adds: And she was dying; which could not be without great sorrow, such as is in the mourning for an only child; Jeremiah 6: "Make for yourself mourning as for an only child, a bitter lamentation." Therefore Jacob said concerning Benjamin in Genesis 42: "My son shall not go down with you, he said, for his brother is dead, and he alone remains. If any harm should befall him on the way, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." So also here he could say the same concerning his only daughter.

Since therefore he approached the presence of Christ with dutiful reverence, asked out of confidence, and desired out of need, therefore his prayer was heard, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 4: "Do not reject the petition of the afflicted." Hence it is that the Lord did not rebuke this man who was asking him to come to his house, as he did the royal official in John 4; because the royal official believed that he could heal the sick more readily than raise the dead, whence he said: "Lord, come down before my son dies." But this man believed that he could do equally well in either case, whence he regarded his daughter as already dead. — And therefore another Evangelist, namely Matthew, introduces him asking on behalf of one who was dead, although according to Luke and Mark some life yet remained. Whence Augustine in On the Harmony of the Evangelists says that Mark and Luke expressed the ruler's words, but Matthew expressed his meaning, because he regarded her as dead.

Third, as to the accompaniment of benevolence shown by the multitude, it is added: And it happened, as he went, he was pressed by the crowds: because out of the affection of love all wished to touch him, as above in chapter six: "The whole multitude sought to touch him." In this also, conversely, the benevolence of the Savior is shown: who even wills to be pressed by the multitude, as if repelling no one from himself. For he it is who says in John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast out"; he who calls in Matthew eleven: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you"; he it is who knocks at the door; Revelation three: "I stand at the door and knock." This pressing together is caused by mutual love, which is the bond of the lover and the beloved: because, First Corinthians six, "he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit"; and John fifteen: "Abide in me, and I in you." Whence perfect love is not content with any sense without touch: on account of which the bride says in Song of Songs one: "Draw me after you"; Jeremiah thirty-one: "With everlasting love I have loved you, therefore I have drawn you."

This was the greatest sign that He had really put on our flesh, and trampled under foot all pride. For they followed Him not afar off, but thronged Him.

(ubi sup.) But the Lord had come not to judge the world, but to save it. Whereupon He does not weigh the rank of the petitioner, but calmly undertakes the work, knowing that what was to happen would be greater than what was asked. For He was called to heal the sick, but He knew that He would raise up one that was by this time dead, and implant on the earth a firm hope of the resurrection.

The assembly of the nations is like the woman who spent all her money on physicians. The assembly of nations also lost all the gifts of nature and squandered the inheritance of life. It was holy, shy, pious, ready in faith, and hesitant in modesty, because it is a sign of modesty to recognize the weakness of faith and not to despair of pardon. The shy woman touched the hem, the faithful approached, the pious believed, the wise knew she was healed. The holy people of the nations that believed in God were so ashamed of their sin that they abandoned it. Brought faith, they believed. They showed devotion, so that they entreated. They put on wisdom, so that they perceived their own health. They took confidence, so that they confessed the alien truth that they snatched.Why is Christ touched from behind? Is it because it is written, "You shall follow the Lord your God"? Why is it that the twelve-year-old daughter of the ruler was dying and the woman with a flow of blood was afflicted for twelve years, except that it is understood that as long as the synagogue flourished, the church suffered? The weakness of the one is the virtue of the other, because by their offense salvation has come to the Gentiles. The consummation of the one is the beginning of the other, the beginning not of nature but of salvation.

But as she had spent all her substance upon physicians, so the Gentile nations had lost all the gifts of nature.

Now hearing that the people of the Jews were sick, she begins to hope for the remedy of their salvation; she knew that the time was arrived when a Physician should come from heaven, she rose to meet Him, more ready from faith, more backward from modesty. For this is the part of modesty and faith to acknowledge weakness, not to despair of pardon. From modesty then she touched the hem of His garment; in faith she came, in piety believed, in wisdom knew herself to be healed; so the holy people of the Gentiles which believed God, blushed at its sins so as to desert them, offered its faith in believing, showed its devotion in asking, put on wisdom in itself feeling its own cure, assumed boldness to confess that it had forestalled what was not its own. Now Christ is touched behind, as it is written, Thou shall walk after the Lord thy God (Deut. 13:4.)

For they believe not who throng Him; they believe who touch. By faith Christ is touched, by faith He is seen. Lastly, to express the faith of her who touched Him, He says, I know that virtue is gone out of me, which is a more palpable sign, that the Divine Nature is not confined within the possibility of man's condition, and the compass of the human body, but eternal virtue overflows beyond the bounds of our mediocrity. For the Gentile people is not released by man's aid, but the gathering of nations is the gift of God, which even by its little faith turns to itself the everlasting mercy. For if we think what our faith is, and understand how great the Son of God is, we see that in comparison of Him we touch only the hem, we cannot reach the upper parts of the garment. If then we also wish to be cured, let us touch by faith the hem of Christ. But he who has touched Him is not hidden. Happy the man who has touched the extreme part of the Word. For who can comprehend the whole?

(ubi sup.) Now a certain woman afflicted with a severe disease, whose infirmity had consumed her body, but physicians all her substance, finds her only hope in such great humbleness that she falls down before our Lord; of whom it follows, And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, &c.

Then a woman, weak and timid, touched his sacred garment's hem: Instant was his blessed healing, and the pallor left her cheek, As the hemorrhage she had suffered. Through so many years was stopped. -.

And a certain woman was in the flow of blood for twelve years. The woman flowing with blood is the Church gathered from the gentiles, which, polluted by the inborn flow of carnal delights, had already been separated from the company of the faithful. But when the Word of God decided to save Judaea, it snatched away certain salvation from others with firm hope. It is also to be noted that the daughter of the synagogue leader is twelve years old, and this woman had been flowing with blood for twelve years, that is, she began to be sick at the same time that the other was born. For almost at the same period of this age of the world, the synagogue was born among the patriarchs, and the nation of the gentiles began to be defiled by the filth of idolatry throughout the world. For the double flow of blood, that is, both over the prostitution of idolatry and over those things that are committed by the delight of flesh and blood, can be understood. Whence the sacred history beautifully refers that at the time when David, still a boy, slew the giant Goliath, the Philistines were encamped in the borders of Dommim, that is, of the bloods. Because evidently the Lord, appearing humble, found the peoples of the gentiles not only given to unfruitful works but also to the most filthy religion, in order to overthrow the prince of the world. Therefore, as long as the synagogue flourished, the Church toiled. The decline of that is the strength of this, because through their sin, salvation came to the gentiles.

She had spent all her substance on physicians and could not be healed by any. By physicians, he either means false theologians, philosophers, or secular law doctors who, discussing virtues and vices with great subtlety, promised to provide useful teachings for mortals on seeing and believing, or he certainly means the unclean spirits themselves who, as if advising men, suggested that they should already be worshiped as God. The more Gentile civilization spent its strength on listening to these, the less it could be cured of its own filth of iniquity. Hence, Mark, writing about this woman, says: "And she had suffered much from many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse." But when she learned that the people of the Jews were sick, and recognized the true physician from heaven to be present, she also began to hope for and seek a remedy for her own ailment.

Now the issue of blood may be taken in two ways, that is, both for the prostitution of idolatry, and for those things which are done for the delights of the flesh and blood.

Now by physicians understand either false doctors, or philosophers and teachers of secular laws, who disputing much concerning virtue and vice, promised that they would give to mortals useful instructions for life; or suppose that by the physicians are signified the unclean spirits themselves, who by giving as it were advice to men, procure themselves to be worshipped as God, on listening to whom the Gentiles the more they consumed the strength of their natural industry, so much the less were they able to be cured from the pollution of their iniquity.

And a certain woman was in a flow etc. After the desirable presence of Christ has been shown, his admirable power is shown in the wondrous healing from a flow of blood. The Evangelist shows that this healing proceeded from admirable omnipotence, both on account of the long duration of the illness in the woman, and on account of the impossibility of curing by medical art, and on account of the ease of the remedy from the Savior.

First, therefore, as to the long duration of the unclean affliction in the woman, it is said: And a certain woman was in a flow of blood for twelve years. This was an unclean affliction, and therefore difficult to bear; Leviticus fifteen: "A woman who suffers a flow of blood, if it does not cease to flow, as long as she is subject to this affliction, she is unclean." It was difficult to heal on account of its persistence, because it was already of long standing: Sirach ten: "A prolonged illness weighs upon the physician." This affliction was therefore unclean, continuous, and of long duration; therefore degrading to live with, grievous to endure, and difficult to heal. Whence she could say that word of Lamentations three: "He has made my skin and my flesh old," and that word of the Psalm: "My loins are filled with illusions, and there is no soundness in my flesh." This woman, according to Ambrose, seems to have been Martha. For he says: "Christ dried up the copious flow of blood in Martha and cast out demons from Mary."

Second, regarding the impossibility of human assistance through art, it is added: Who had spent all her substance on physicians, seeking a remedy for her cure, according to the counsel of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Honor the physician for the need you have of him, for the Most High has created him." He says this, however, concerning the honor of gifts, not of words: whence she had honored them, because she had spent all her substance. And therefore it is probable that, if the illness had been curable, it would have been cured through art. — Nevertheless, art did not avail: whence he adds: Nor could she be cured by anyone, and thus neither by nature nor by art could she be helped, so that there might be verified in her that word of Wisdom sixteen: "Neither herb nor poultice healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all things."

Whence note that nature can do nothing without supernatural power, nor can art do anything without nature: whence where nature does not assist, art does not avail but rather harms, as in this woman, of whom it is said in Mark five that "she had suffered much from many physicians and had spent all she had, nor had she improved at all, but rather grew worse." But Luke the physician passes over this in silence, speaking more courteously of physicians. — From which it is gathered that the art of physicians is praiseworthy when it follows supernatural power and the underlying nature. Whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Give place to the physician, let him not depart from you." But then the work of the physician will be blameworthy when he neglects either to consider nature or does not set divine power first, as is said of Asa in Second Chronicles sixteen: "Asa fell grievously ill with a disease of the feet, and yet he did not seek the Lord, but rather trusted in the art of physicians"; and it follows that "he died."

On the way, he saved the woman who was the victim of a severe and incurable malady. No one could stop her issue of blood that ruined the art of physicians. No sooner had she touched the hem in faith, than he immediately healed her. A miracle so glorious and revealed was, so to speak, the work merely of Christ's journey.

Certainly the woman who had the issue of blood of twelve years' standing did not touch the Lord Himself, but only the hem of His garment, with a view to her cure.

Glory to you, hidden offspring of Being, because the hidden suffering of her that was afflicted proclaimed your healing. Using a woman whom they could see, he enabled them to see the divinity that cannot be seen. The Son's divinity became known through his healing, and the afflicted woman's faith was revealed through her being healed. She caused him to be proclaimed, and she was proclaimed with him. Truth was being proclaimed together with its heralds. If she was a witness to his divinity, he in turn was a witness to her faith.She poured faith on him by way of reward, and he bestowed healing on her as the outcome of her reward. Since the woman's faith had become public, her healing also was proclaimed in public. The physicians were put to shame about their remedies because his power became resplendent and magnified the Son. It became evident how great faith surpasses the healing art and how hidden power surpasses visible remedies.

If the woman once cured had withdrawn from him in secret, our Lord would have deprived her of a crown of victory. It was fitting that the faith that shined out brightly in hidden agony was publicly crowned. He wove an eloquent crown for her, because he said to her, "Go in peace." The peace he gave was the crown of her victory. When he said, "Go in peace," he did not end here but also added, "Your faith has saved you," so that they would know who was this crown's Lord. This would make known that the peace his mouth wove was the crown that crowned her faith. "Your faith has saved you." If it was faith that restored her to life, it is clear that he crowned her faith with a crown. This is why he cried out, "Who touched my garments?" He said this so all the people might know who touched more than anyone else did. She chose to honor him more than others do, first, by approaching from behind, and second, in that she touched the fringe of his cloak. It was also fitting that he would honor her before all of these, she who chose to honor him more than all these.

(Eccles. Hist. l. vii. c. 18.) Now they say that the woman set up in Paneas (Cæsarea Philippi, whence she came) a noble triumphal monument of the mercy vouchsafed to her by the Saviour. For there stood upon a lofty pedestal near the entrance to her house a brasen statue of a woman on bended knees, and with her hands joined as if in prayer; opposite to which was erected another statue like to a man, made of the same material, clothed in a stole, (διπλοῑς.a) and holding forth his hand to the woman. At his feet upon the base itself a strange kind of plant was growing, which reaching to the hem of the brasen stole, was said to be the cure of all diseases. And they said that this statue represents Christ. It was destroyed by Maximinus.

Then a woman, weak and timid, touched his sacred garment's hem: Instant was his blessed healing, and the pallor left her cheek, As the hemorrhage she had suffered Through so many years was stopped.

Allow me some indulgence in my effort against the heretic. Jesus is touched by the woman who had an issue of blood, He knew not by whom.

(non occ.) Of how great praise then is this woman worthy, who with her bodily powers exhausted by the continual issue of blood, and with so great a crowd thronging around Him, in the strength of her affection and faith entered the crowd, and coming behind, secretly touched the hem of His garment.

She came up behind and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her flow of blood ceased. The Church approaches and touches the Lord, who draws near to Him through the truth of faith. She comes up behind Him, either according to what He Himself said: "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me" (John 12), and elsewhere it is commanded: "You shall walk after the Lord your God"; or because, not seeing the Lord present in the flesh, after the sacraments of the temporal dispensation were accomplished, she began to follow His footsteps through faith. She touches the fringe of His garment and restrains the flow of blood because blessed and truly to be purified is he who touches even the hem of the word with the hand of faith. For it is very rare to find one who deserves to recline on His chest or anoint His head with pure nard, since even that great one deemed himself unworthy to carry His sandals; and great too was she who merited to anoint His feet and wipe them with her hair.

And He Himself says, If any man serve me, let him follow me. (John 13:26.) Or, because not seeing Christ present in the flesh, now that the sacraments of the temporary dispensation were completed, the Church began to follow His footsteps through faith.

Or one believing woman touches the Lord, since Christ who is afflicted beyond measure by the diverse heresies multiplying around Him, is faithfully sought by the heart alone of the Catholic Church.

Third, regarding the ease of perfect healing from the Savior, it is added: She came up from behind and touched the fringe of his garment. She came up, because she believed; Hebrews eleven: "He who comes must believe"; from behind, because she was afraid, just as a sister of hers, Mary, above in chapter seven: "Standing behind at the feet of the Lord." She touched, because she hoped to be healed; Matthew nine: "She said within herself: If I touch the fringe of his garment, I shall be healed." She touched, moreover, the fringe, that is, the lowest part of his garment, considering herself unclean and honoring the power of Christ, who can give healing through the lowliest things.

And because she believed and hoped, she therefore easily obtained what she sought. For this reason it is added: And immediately her flow of blood stopped: from which the wondrous power of God is apparent, which cured so prolonged and so grave a disease immediately at the touch of one small part of the garment. Wondrous therefore is the power of Christ, which through faith in him makes the impossible easy, according to that passage in Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes"; and John 14: "He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do"; and Acts 19: "God worked no small miracles through the hand of Paul, so that even from his body handkerchiefs and aprons were carried away, and diseases departed from them." If therefore it is so salutary to touch the fringe of his garment through faith, how salutary will it be to hold Christ himself? Whence Bernard says: "It is sweet enough to seek you, good Jesus, sweeter still to hold you"; whence the bride in Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go." "Sweet indeed is the touching of you; for even this joyful act is not without fruit. For the woman of the Gospel by a happy theft touched the fringe of Jesus, and immediately there stopped in her the flow of carnal enticement, carnal delight, and carnal care."

What made that sick woman wish to remain hidden? The law of wise Moses imputed impurity to any woman who was suffering from a flow of blood and everywhere called her unclean. Whoever was unclean could not touch any thing that was holy or approach a holy man. For this reason the woman was careful to remain concealed, for fear that having transgressed the law she should have to bear the punishment which it imposed. When she touched, she was healed immediately and without delay.

For it was not lawful for the unclean either to touch any of the holy saints, or come near a holy man.

But not the garments alone saved her, (for the soldiers also allotted them among themselves,) but the earnestness of her faith.

But as when a man turns his eye to a shining light, or puts fuel to the fire, immediately they have their effects; so indeed he who brings faith to Him who is able to cure, immediately obtains his cure; as it is said, and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

For she believed, and was saved, and as was fitting first touched Christ with her mind, then with her body.

Secondly, there is added the disclosure of the truth discovered through another's confession, when it is said: But the woman, seeing that she was not hidden from him; whence she could say that word of the Samaritan woman, John 4: "Lord, I perceive that you are a Prophet." For which reason she too could bear similar testimony with that woman and therefore say: "Come and see a man who told me all things whatsoever I have done." This one was truly another Solomon, nay wiser than he, of whom it is said in Third Kings 10: "There was no word that could be hidden from the king"; because he is the one of whom Daniel 2 says: "He knows what is established in darkness, and light is with him." And because she had already recognized his power in its effect and perceived his wisdom in his word, therefore she understood that she could not escape. — And for this reason it is added: And trembling, she came and fell down at his feet, to honor his Majesty; Micah 6: "What worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord? Shall I bow the knee to God most high?" And this with trembling, because God regards only such persons; Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look, but to the poor little one who trembles at my words?" And therefore, Philippians 2: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for God works in you both to will and to accomplish according to his good will."

And because nothing pertains more to the honor of Majesty than the manifestation of truth, therefore it is added: And for what cause she had touched him, she declared before all the people, namely how she was immediately healed; because, Tobit 12, "it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God." And therefore the Angel said: "Bless the God of heaven and confess to him before all the living, because he has shown his mercy to you."

It says, "Servants came to the ruler, saying, 'Do not trouble him.' " Still they were without faith in the resurrection, which Jesus foretold in the law and fulfilled in the gospel. When he came into the house, he approved a few eyewitnesses to the imminent resurrection, because many did not immediately believe the resurrection. Then, as the Lord said, " 'The girl is not dead but sleeps,' they laughed him to scorn." Whoever does not believe, jeers. Those who think they are dead will weep for their dead, but when there is faith in resurrection, there is the appearance not of death but of sleep.

But still also were the servants of the ruler incredulous with regard to the resurrection, which Jesus had foretold in the Law, fulfilled in the Gospel; therefore say they, Do not trouble him; (Ps. 16.) as if it were impossible for Him to raise the dead.

(de Con. Ev. l. ii. c. 28.) But since Matthew states the ruler of the synagogue to have told our Lord that his daughter was not on the point of death but quite dead, and Luke and Mark say, that she was not yet dead, nay, even go so far as to say that there came some afterwards, who told her death; we must examine, lest they should seem to be at variance. And we must understand that for the sake of brevity, Matthew chose rather to say, that our Lord was asked to do what it is obvious He did, namely, to raise the dead. For our Lord needs not the words of the father concerning his daughter, but what is more important, his wishes. Certainly, if the other two or any one of them had mentioned that the father had said what those who came from the house said, that Jesus need not be troubled because the maid was dead, His words which Matthew has related would seem to be at variance with his thoughts. But now to those who brought that message, and said that the Master need not come, it is not said that the father assented. The Lord therefore did not blame him as distrustful, but the more strongly confirms his belief. As it follows, But when Jesus heard it, he answered the father of the girl, Believe only, &c.

While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue ruler, saying to him: "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher." As the woman was healed from the issue of blood, immediately the death of the synagogue ruler's daughter is announced, because while the Church is cleansed from the stain of vices and, due to the merit of faith, is called a daughter, immediately the synagogue, which is of infidelity and envy, is dissolved by the law. Of infidelity indeed, because it did not want to believe in Christ; of envy truly, because it grieved that the Church believed. For it is written in the Acts of the Apostles: On the following Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and contradicted the things spoken by Paul, reviling the way before the multitude (Acts XIII).

"Do not trouble the Teacher," is said even today by those who see the state of the synagogue so destitute that they do not believe it can be restored, and therefore do not think it should be interceded for its resurrection. But what is impossible with men is possible with God (Luke XVIII). Hence it follows:

But mystically, when the woman was cured of the issue of blood, word is brought that the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue is dead; because while the Church was cleansed from the stain of its sins, the Synagogue was forthwith destroyed by unbelief and envy; by unbelief indeed, in that it refused to believe in Christ; by envy, in that it was grieved that the Church had believed.

While he was still speaking, etc. After the Evangelist showed Christ as lord of bodies through the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, here he shows Christ as lord of souls through the raising of the girl. Now this part has four sections: in the first of which there is set forth the solidity of faith by way of disposing. Second, there is joined the fitness of testimony by way of approving, at: And when he had come to the house, etc. Third, there is shown the sublimity of command by way of effecting, at: But he, taking her by the hand. Fourth, there is noted the renown of the miracle by way of terminating, at: And he commanded that she be given something to eat. And thus the miracle is perfectly described with respect to the fourfold genus of cause.

The solidity of faith of the ruler of the synagogue is described in a twofold respect: first with respect to human dissuasion and with respect to divine persuasion: by the first it is tested and by the second it is strengthened.

First, therefore, as to the testing of faith through human dissuasion, it is said: While he was still speaking, namely Jesus, someone came to the ruler of the synagogue: he came, however, not as an aid like a good angel, as is said in Daniel ten: "Michael, one of the chief princes, came to my aid"; but as a bad messenger he came to impede. On account of which he adds: Saying to him: Your daughter is dead, and thus there can be no hope of life, according to that passage of Second Kings twelve: "Now, since the child is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back any more? I shall go to him rather; he will not return to me."

And therefore he adds: Do not trouble the Master anymore, that is, to lead him with you in vain with toil. This indeed was the word of one not believing that Christ could raise the dead. For he was ignorant of that divine word in John 5: "For the hour is coming, that those who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live." Hence this messenger was not speaking out of reverence, as the centurion did, above in chapter seven: "Lord, do not be troubled," but out of distrust, as if to say that word of Job 7: "My days have passed more swiftly than a web is cut by the weaver, and they are consumed without any hope."

And afterwards there met them from the ruler of the synagogue's house a messenger, saying: "Thy daughter is dead: trouble not the Teacher." What, then, was Christ's answer, seeing that He possesses universal sovereignty; that He is Lord of life and death; and by the all-powerful determination of His will accomplishes whatsoever He desires? He saw the man oppressed with the weight of sorrow, swooning, and stupefied, and all but despairing of the possibility of his daughter being rescued from death. For misfortunes are able to disturb even an apparently well-constituted mind, and to estrange it from its settled convictions. To aid him, therefore, He gives him a kind and saving word, fit to sustain him in his fainting state, and work in him an unwavering faith, saying, "Fear not: only believe, and she shall live."

When the woman was healed, our Lord said, "Who touched me?" so that she could profess her healing before everyone. Also in the case of the little girl, he said, "She is sleeping" so that the spectators might testify that she was dead, and then seeing her restored to life, these who scorned would be converted into believers. The witness given by them concerning the death of the little girl and her restoration to life performed by the Lord was a witness in anticipation of his death. Those who would see that he was alive again would not deny it.

(Hom. 31. in Matt.) Our Lord conveniently waited until the death of the girl, that the miracle of her resurrection might be made public. For which reason also He goes slower, and speaks longer with the woman, that the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue may expire, and messengers come to tell Him. As it is said, While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying unto him, Thy daughter is dead.

Therefore having entered into the house, He called a few to be judges of the coming resurrection: for the resurrection was not soon believed by the many. What then was the cause of this great difference? In a former case the widow's son is raised up before all, here a few only are set apart to judge. But I think that herein the mercy of the Lord is shown, since the widowed mother of an only son suffered no delay. There is also the token of wisdom, that in the widow's son we should see the Church quick in believing; in the ruler of the synagogue's daughter, the Jews about indeed to believe, but out of a great many only a few. Lastly, when our Lord says, She is not dead, but sleepeth, they laughed Him to scorn. For whoever believes not, laughs. Let them therefore mourn their dead who think they are dead. Where there is a belief of the resurrection, the notion is not of death but of rest.

And when he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Previously, the son of the widow was publicly raised, here several witnesses are removed. Therefore, I think that the kindness of the Lord is again shown in this, because the widow, being the mother of an only child, did not suffer delays, and therefore, to avoid further affliction, maturity is added. It is also a form of wisdom, in that the son of the widow quickly believed in the Church, in the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, indeed, the Jews will believe, but fewer of the many.

And when he had arrived, etc. Here secondly, after the solidity of the disposing faith, the Evangelist adds the suitability of the approving testimony. For the proof of the raising, however, testimony is required concerning life restored and concerning life lost; therefore witnesses are brought forward with respect to both.

First therefore, as regards the persons suitable for testifying concerning the miraculous raising, it is said: And when he had come to the house, where namely the girl was to be raised, which was a house of mourning, to which it is profitable to go, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 7: "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting"; because "in that is the end of all" etc.

And because the mysteries of God are not to be opened to all—John 15: "The servant does not know what his lord does"—therefore it is added: He did not permit anyone to enter with him, according to that passage of Sirach 6: "Let those at peace with you be many, but let your counselor be one in a thousand."

But because the disciples were his friends, according to what he says in John 15: "But I have called you friends" etc., therefore he does not exclude all, but exempts from those excluded, when he adds: Except Peter, James, and John, who were the principal disciples; and hence these were taken up at the Transfiguration, below in chapter 9 and Matthew 17: "Jesus took Peter and James and John, his brother" etc.

And because "it is necessary to have testimony" not only from those within, but also "from those who are without," according to that passage of 1 Timothy 3, therefore he joins two persons to the disciples, when he says: And the father and mother of the girl, so that thus "in the mouth of two or three witnesses" the firm testimony of truth may stand.

Whence it appears that according to the literal sense there is a suitability of testimony both as regards the persons and as regards the number, because it has nothing superfluous, nothing lacking.

According to the spiritual understanding, this is not devoid of mystery. For Peter, who is interpreted as "the one who recognizes," designates faith; James, who is "the wrestler," designates hope; John, in whom is grace, designates charity. And these three virtues are most intimate to the Lord and concur in the raising of the sinner from death, which is designated in the raising of the girl. For faith concurs: John 11: "He who believes in me, even if he should die, shall live." Likewise hope: Psalm: "Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, and upon those who hope in his mercy, that he may deliver from death." Likewise charity; 1 John 4: "In this the charity of God appeared, that he sent his only-begotten Son, that we might live through him." — Moreover, the father and mother are teachers of the Law: the father, who instructs in faith, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 4: "In Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you"; the mother, who nurtures in morals, according to that passage of Galatians 4: "My little children, whom I bring forth again in labor, until Christ be formed in you." And concerning these, Proverbs 6: "Keep, my son, the commandments of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." — Now these are present with Christ when he raises the sinner.

But that this point is true, that that number which is called five, which agrees in no respect with their argument, and does not harmonize with their system, nor is suitable for a typical manifestation of the things in the Pleroma, [yet has a wide prevalence,] will be proved as follows from the Scriptures. ... Again, five men are said to have been with the Lord when He obtained testimony from the Father,-namely, Peter, and James, and John, and Moses, and Elias. The Lord also, as the fifth person, entered into the apartment of the dead maiden, and raised her up again; for, says [the Scripture], "He suffered no man to go in, save Peter and James, and the father and mother of the maiden."

(ubi sup.) But He took not with Him His other disciples, so provoking them to a strange desire, because also they were not yet fully prepared, but He took Peter, and with him the sons of Zebedee, that the others also might imitate them. He took also the parents as witnesses, lest any should say the evidence of the resurrection was false. Luke adds to this also, that He shut out from the house those that were weeping, and showed that they were unworthy of a sight of this kind. For it follows, And they all wept, and bewailed her. But if He then shut them out, much more now. For then it had not yet been revealed that death was turned into sleep. Let no one then hereafter despise himself, bringing an insult to the victory of Christ, whereby He has overcome death, and turned it into sleep. In proof of which it is added, But he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth, &c. showing that all things were at His command, and that He would bring her to life as if He were awakening her from sleep.

When He was about to raise the dead He put all out, as teaching us to be free from vain-glory, and to do nothing for show, for when any one ought to perform miracles, he must not be in the midst of a great many, but alone and apart from the other. As it follows, And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John. Now these only He permitted to enter as the Heads of His disciples, and able to conceal the miracle. For He did not wish to be revealed to many before His time, perhaps on account of the envy of the Jews. So also when any one envies us, we ought not to make known to him our righteousness, lest we give him an occasion of greater envy.

And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. Because they preferred to mock the word of the one raising than to believe, they were deservedly excluded outside, unworthy to see the miracle of the resurrection.

But because "the natural man does not perceive the things that are of God," First Corinthians two: therefore it is added: And they derided him, knowing that she was dead. For he who is certain about something not only does not believe, but even derides the one persuading the contrary. And since divine wisdom frequently persuades the contrary of human knowledge, hence it is that man through human knowledge mocks God, and thus is made foolish: Jeremiah ten: "Every man is made foolish by his own knowledge." For that knowledge is foolish which derides wisdom: First Corinthians one: "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world." And because, as it is said in Proverbs eighteen, "the fool does not receive words of prudence, unless you say those things which revolve in his heart"; therefore these people did not receive but derided: Proverbs fifteen: "The fool mocks the discipline of his father"; and therefore they were not suitable witnesses for the restoration of life, but only for the loss of life. Therefore they were cast out, according to what is said in Matthew nine: "When the crowd had been cast out, he entered and took the girl by the hand," etc.

(ubi sup.) They yet nevertheless laughed Him to scorn. For it follows, And they laughed him to scorn. He did not reprove them nor put an end to their laughter, that laughter also might be a sign of death. For since generally, after a miracle has been performed men continue unfaithful, He takes them by their own words.

And her spirit returned, and she immediately got up. Mark says it this way: And immediately the girl got up and walked. And spiritually it teaches that whoever recovers from the death of the soul with Christ strengthening him by the hand, ought not only to rise from the filth of vices, but also immediately progress in good deeds.

And He commanded that she be given something to eat. He ordered her to eat, given as a testimony of life resurrected, so that it would be believed as truth and not a phantom. But if someone has risen from spiritual death, it is necessary that they soon be satiated with heavenly bread, and of course become a partaker of the divine word and the sacred altar. For according to moral understanding, those three dead ones whom the Savior raised in the bodies signify three kinds of the resurrection of souls. Indeed, some by giving in to the consent of evil delight, with the sin's thought hidden, bring death upon themselves. But indicating that he brings such to life, the Savior raised the daughter of the synagogue leader, who was not yet carried outside but was dead inside the house, as if concealing vice secretly in the heart. Others, not only by consenting to noxious delight but also by performing the very evil they delight in, bring their dead almost outside the gates. And demonstrating that He brings these to repentance, He raised the young son of a widow carried out outside the gates and restored him to his mother. For He restored the soul repenting from the darkness of sin to the unity of the Church, as we have also taught before. However, some, not only by thinking or acting illicitly, but by the habit of sinning itself, almost corrupt themselves by burying. Yet, neither is the power and grace of the Savior less in raising them if there are solicitous thoughts watching over their health, as devoted sisters to Christ. For indicating this, He raised Lazarus, already four days in the tomb, and attested by his sister as already stinking. For the worst deeds often accompany a harmful reputation. It should be noted, however, that the more severe the death of the soul that comes upon it, the more persistent the fervor of repentance must be that it deserves to rise. Secretly wishing to show this, the Lord resurrects the dead girl lying in the room with a modest and gentle voice, saying: "Child, arise." And because of the ease of resurrection, He denied that she had already died. The young man carried outside, He strengthens with more words so that he must revive, saying: "Young man, I say to you, arise." But the one dead for four days, to be able to release the long-sealing tomb, Jesus groaned in spirit, troubled Himself, shed tears, groaned again, and cried with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11). And thus at last, he who was in despair, with the weight of darkness dispelled, is returned to life and light. But it should also be noted that since public guilt requires a public remedy, but minor sins can be erased by lighter and private repentance, the girl lying in the house rises with few witnesses, who are also instructed not to divulge the miracle.

Secondly, as regards the subsequent efficacy, it is added: And her spirit returned, through intimate union, according to what is said in Third Kings 17: "The soul of the child returned into him, and he revived"; and she arose immediately, through vital operation. For to arise is the operation of the living, just as to fall is of the dying.

And note that this girl in her raising is said to have arisen, and the young man to have sat up, above in chapter seven, but Lazarus to have come forth bound hand and foot, in John 11: because, as was touched upon above, by the girl dead in the house is understood the sin of thought; by the young man at the gate, the sin of action; by Lazarus in the tomb, the sin of habit. And since, in proportion as sins are graver, they leave greater consequences, therefore he who sinned only by thought, once brought to life, immediately arises, because little difficulty remains; but he who sinned in deed sits up, because a proneness still remains; but he who sinned by habit is bound, because he has a great proneness binding him in evil and impeding him from good, even after he has been restored to life. And according to this, a heavier penance ought to be imposed on each respectively.

And he commanded that she be given something to eat. Here, fourthly and lastly, the clarity of the miracle is touched upon, as something to be made manifest for the benefit of faith and to be concealed against the vanity of glory. Whence first is set forth the useful manifestation; and secondly, the humble concealment, because, as Gregory says, "the work ought to be in the open, yet the intention should remain hidden."

First, therefore, as regards the useful manifestation of the miracle, it is said: And he commanded that something be given her to eat, so that the raising might be proven not phantastic but true, just as he himself proved his own resurrection, below in the last chapter: "Have you here anything to eat?" and the raising of Lazarus, John 12, where it is said that "Lazarus was one of those reclining at table." Moreover, he gives a sign to the senses of a true raising, so that he might elevate minds to an excess of admiration.

(Severus.) He next charges the parents, astonished at the miracle, and almost crying out, not to publish abroad what was done. As it follows, And her parents were astonished; but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done; showing that He is the Giver of good things, but not covetous of glory, and that He gives the whole, receiving nothing. But he who seeks after the glory of his works has indeed shown forth something, but receives something.

And his parents, he says, were amazed, and he commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened. The young man was raised outside the gate, with a large crowd accompanying and watching. Lazarus, called forth from the tomb, became so widely known to the people that due to the witness of those who saw it, many crowds met the Lord with palms, and many from among the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. The Lord recognized a fourth dead man, as informed by the disciple; but since there were no living ones to beseech the Lord for his rescue: "Let the dead bury their own dead," he said (Matt. 13); that is, let the wicked weigh down the wicked with harmful praises, and since there is no righteous person present to correct in mercy, let the sin of the sinner anoint their head.

Whence it is also added: And her parents were astonished, as though unable to bear the magnitude of divine power: Isaiah 29, "Behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, a great and stupendous miracle." Moreover, this astonishment elevated the faith of believers to an excess, according to that passage in Acts 10: "The faithful of the circumcision were astonished," etc.

Second, as regards the humble concealment, it is added: He commanded them to tell no one what had been done, wishing to humbly remain hidden and to give an example of humility, just as he commanded the disciples, Matthew 17: "He commanded them: Tell the vision to no one," etc.; in which he shows that we ought to wish to remain hidden in great deeds. Whence Augustine: "Hide what you do, as much as you can; but if you cannot entirely, let there be in your soul the will to conceal." — And note that there is a precept of execution, as the Decalogue; of testing, as concerning the sacrificing of the son of Abraham, Genesis 22; and of instruction, as here. In the first, the intellect is invited to knowing, the affection to willing, the effect to executing. In the second, the affection is invited, but not the effect. In the third, only the intellect is instructed; the affection is not bound, nor is the effect prohibited. And thus is that precept understood.