Rabanus Maurus

In his own words on Sirach

• Sirach 4:12

  Let us understand that the divine wisdom, which is rightly praised, in some way, is the same wisdom of God, that is, nothing else than Christ, the Son of God, of whom the apostle says, I preach Christ, the power of God and wisdom of God." That same wisdom "inspires the lives of his children" when it gives to his disciples and to all the other faithful the knowledge of his mystery and reveals that of the gospel. It welcomes those who search for it, as it shall welcome the meek, and it shall precede them on the way of the justice of the Lord, who says, "I am the way, the truth and the life; whoever follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." Therefore, who loves him, loves life, for he, observing his commandments, shall obtain eternal life, and "everyone who watches over it shall overflow with joy." It is as promised in the book of Proverbs: "Blessed is the one who hears me, watching every day at my gates and looking toward my doorposts." Call the holy Scriptures and their doctors the gates and the doorposts of the gate, without which we cannot enter into the promised life.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 1:17

• Sirach 6:17

  The gift of a full and perfect friendship cannot last if it is not among people of similar virtue. And this is what the holy Fathers taught, establishing certain stages in order to arrive at a perfect and unchanging condition of friendship. They said that the first step of true friendship is to despise earthly things and all possessions. Second, everyone should put in check his own will in order to avoid thinking that he is the only wise and sensible person around, preferring his own opinions to those of his neighbor. Third, they said that he should know to defer everything, even the things that he considers useful and necessary, when it will benefit charity and peace. Fourth, he should be convinced that he must not anger himself for no reason at all, whether the anger is just or unjust. Fifth, he should desire that the anger of his brother be assuaged like his own, even if that anger rises against him without reason, knowing that the pain of the one is equally damaging to both; if he lashes out against someone else, he will make every effort to remove that offense of his brother as well. Finally, he should believe that every day might be his last, which sentiment undoubtedly brings about the death of any vice. This conviction not only leaves no place for any sadness in our heart but furthermore stops any movement of evil desire and impedes all sins. Whoever, then, respects these things cannot experience or carry out the bitterness of anger and discord.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 2:2

• Sirach 7:34

  It shows that the offering that one offers to God with a humble mind and pure love purifies him from many shortcomings and omissions, even if they are small. Concerning these matters it is written, "Love covers a multitude of sins." And the psalmist writes, "A broken spirit is a sacrifice to God, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." And it is for this same reason that the Lord did not despise the two small coins from the poor widow but accepted them with joy.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 2:10

• Sirach 8:9

  The apostle Peter recommends, "In your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you." It is good for a servant of God to learn from his masters with diligence and commitment what afterwards he must teach to others with prudence and for their benefit. Because if he does not and instead is lazy and indolent in applying himself, he will turn out to be useless in teaching others later.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 2:13

• Sirach 10:2

  The city of Christ is the holy church, which follows his footsteps with the affection of a devoted heart and imitates him in the realization of good works. It is there where his ministers, that is, the leaders of the faithful, and the holy preachers observe his commandments and never cease in ordering others to do so as well. And Qoheleth praises their conduct inspired by moderation: "Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of free people, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness!" Of another king he says quite the opposite: "Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!" Woe, then, to the land whose king is the devil, always avid for new prey; as judges and princes he has those who love the pleasures of this world, those who say before their death arrives, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Instead, blessed is the land of the church, for Christ is its king, the son of nobles, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who descends from the lineage of the prophets and all the saints, from those who have not been dominated by sin and for that reason are free. His princes are the apostles and all the saints, whose king is the son of nobles, and they do not eat until the morning—or with voracious appetites. They do not indeed search for the pleasures of this world, but they will eat in their due time, when the moment of reward arrives: "Blessed is one who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 3:1

• Sirach 10:26

  Avoid boasting about one's own good works, for arrogance of this kind is an abomination before the eyes of God and stops one from doing good in adversity, "because tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 3:3

• Sirach 10:31

  This means that the one who places all of his trust in the abundance of earthly things must fear future poverty, always remembering that evangelical parable of the rich man dressed in purple and the poor Lazarus. The one clothed with temporary glory is thrown into eternal torments while the other clothed in the misery of the present life rises to eternal joy. And James also says this: "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted and the rich in that he is made low." For whoever humbly undergoes adversities for the Lord shall receive the highest rewards of the kingdom from him. In other words, the rich should boast in their humiliation—in an ironic twist—otherwise, they will see the "glory" that is due them for the pride they placed in their riches while disregarding the poor or even oppressing them—their end will be perpetual punishment.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 3:3

• Sirach 11:7

  Avoid reckless judgments. This is why the Lord commands that the innocent, or the one against whom there is only one witness, should not be punished. Instead, "everything must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." Likewise, the apostle orders Timothy to "not receive accusations against an elder without the deposition of two or three witnesses."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 3:4

• Sirach 11:10

  Divine wisdom teaches its children not to overly struggle to obtain earthly profits, for otherwise you will not avoid such adversity as greed, envy and similar pains. Therefore it is written in the book of Proverbs, "The one with a covetous eye is impatient to enrich himself and does not consider that misery will fall on him." And again, "He who is greedy of dishonest gain troubles his own house," and, "Better is little with the fear of the Lord than a great treasure with trouble," and, in Qoheleth, "He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loves abundance with profit."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 3:4

• Sirach 14:1

  Declare blessed one who is prudent in his words and tries not to say what he might regret. In fact, "one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself from trouble." This also agrees with the words of James, "If one does not err in speech, he is a perfect person." But you might ask us, how can he say that one who does not offend in speech is perfect, since the apostle had just said, "We all fall short in many respects"? And Solomon says, "There is no one on earth so just that he does only good and never sins." And the psalmist, "I said with dismay, 'Everyone is false.' " And John the Evangelist, "If we say that we are without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." To which it can be replied that there are different kinds of falling short, since the elect fall short in a different way than reprobates, according to Solomon's testimony: "Because if the just person falls seven times, he gets up, but the impious succumb to disaster." Indeed, if the just individual falls short through the weakness of the flesh or through ignorance, he does not cease to be just, since, as this type of failure is daily and inevitable, so also is the remedy of prayer and good works always at hand. This immediately raises up the just individual who sins, so that he does not end up staining or ruining the wedding garment of charity and faith with the dirt of vice.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 3:9

• Sirach 17:15

  The ways of human beings are their desires and their actions, which in any case do not escape God's knowledge, since "everything is naked and exposed before his eyes." This is why the psalmist says, "The Lord knows a person's thoughts: they are but a breath." But he has especially known the way of those whom he approves. Conversely, it is said that he does not know the ways of those whose actions he condemns. Thus it is written, "The Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked ends in ruin."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:5

• Sirach 17:17

  We may interpret that the rulers placed by God over every people are the angels to whom he entrusted the care of each people, according to that word of Deuteronomy, "He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the angels of God." And one reads in the book of Daniel that there is a head of the Greeks and a head of the Persians, besides Michael, who is the head of the people of God. It also deals with the holy doctors, whom divine election established as those who would preach his word throughout the earth. Thus John was commanded in the Apocalypse to write to the angel of Ephesus and to the angel of Smyrna, and also to the angel of Pergamum and to the angels of the other churches.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:5

• Sirach 19:4

  "One who trusts lightly will be harmed, and one who sins against his own soul will suffer even worse harm." Note that this statement does not contradict that of the apostle, who says regarding charity, "It bears all, believes all, hopes all. Charity will never end," since here the perfection of a good will is present, always ready for any good work. The other statement, rather, describes levity of soul, always changeable and lacking in stability. For this reason it is written elsewhere, "The fool changes like the moon." One, therefore, who with itching ears lets himself be easily convinced, stops listening to the truth and turns to fables will suffer harm in both his intelligence and his virtue, and one who harms his own soul will be considered a fool.

  ON Ecclesiasticus 4:10

• Sirach 19:12

  "Like an arrow stuck in a dog's leg are words in the heart of a fool." The dog is at times explained in a good sense, at times in a bad. The good sense one finds in the Psalter: "They return at evening, hungry as dogs, and roam about the city," which indicates the doctors of Judaism who hunger for the justice of God's law. After the evening of Christ's passion, they went diligently about the city of the church, defending it with the barking of their preaching. We also read in the Gospel that the dogs licked the wounds of Lazarus the beggar. The dog is understood in a negative sense, however, when it indicates the filthiness of sinners, as in this passage: "As the dog returns to its vomit, so the fool repeats his folly." The arrow sticks in the dog's thigh when, under the devil's inspiration, perverse concupiscence lodges in the heart of a sinner. He is rightly called foolish, since like an ox he is led to the slaughter, neither thinking of himself nor keeping himself from ruin and eternal death.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:11

• Sirach 20:14

  The gift of a fool is useless, since the doctrine of heretics benefits no one. "It is as though he had seven eyes," because the intentions of his will are contaminated by various perversities, always ready to do harm. The number seven, which is identified with perfection by the divine charisms that the prophet Isaiah lists as gifts of the Holy Spirit, can, conversely, sometimes indicate the fullness of wickedness, as in that Gospel passage where the Savior tells about the unclean spirit that for a time abandons a person. "When the unclean spirit leaves the person, it roams through arid places in search of repose, and, finding none, it says, 'I will return to my house where I left.' Returning, he finds it swept and clean. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits worse than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:13

• Sirach 20:25

  The text was not written to justify the thief as though he were not guilty, but by using the comparison it indicates that the habit of lying is worse. As is said in the prophet Ezekiel, the fornication of Jerusalem is worse if compared with that of Samaria, though both merit condemnation. And in the Gospel, according to the word of the Lord, the sin of Sodom will be judged with more forbearance than that of Judea. In a mysterious way the thieves could indicate the Jews, of whom Paul says, "You who preach against stealing, steal," and the lying heretics, whose crime is more intolerable than that of the Jews, since after receiving the grace of baptism and putting on the garments of Christ, they have returned to apostasy, offending the grace of the Spirit—but both crimes will be met with eternal perdition if repentance does not intervene.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:14

• Sirach 23:22

  The divine judgment condemns the adultery of both the husband and the wife in the same way, and the fruit of such unions is not pleasing to the Lord, nor can what has clearly been born of the contamination of sin please him. According to allegorical interpretation, the assembly of the heretics, or any soul that is deceived by heretical perversity, ceases to please God, since she has abandoned her first husband, the guide of her youth, who had united her to himself in the sacred bond of baptism and adorned her with the beauty of virtue. Ezekiel wrote very clearly on this: "She has united with another man," that is, with the devil, "who has contaminated her with various errors, making her completely guilty."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:11

• Sirach 24:25-27

  We will first speak of the nature itself of the rivers, according to what we have learned from writers in the natural sciences, so as to then expound their allegories. The Pishon is a river that is also called the Ganges, which flows out of paradise toward the regions of India. Pishon means "multitude," since the river is formed from the confluence of ten large rivers. The Ganges received its name from king Gangaro of India. It is also said that it has floods like those of the Nile, inundating the lands of the East. The Tigris is a river of Mesopotamia that flows out of paradise and runs toward Assyria, and after many bends it empties into the Dead Sea. It received this name because of its velocity, which is like that beast called the tiger, which runs with great agility. The Euphrates is a river of Mesopotamia, full of gems, that springs from paradise and flows across Babylon. It receives its name from the harvests, that is, from its fruitfulness, since in Hebrew Euphrata means "fertility," and it irrigates some parts of Mesopotamia like the Nile does Alexandria. Sallust, a very reliable author, says that the Tigris and the Euphrates rise at the same source in Armenia and, following separate courses, move away from each other leaving a space of many miles, and that the land they embrace is called Mesopotamia. The Jordan is a river of Judea that receives its name from two sources, one of which is called Ghor and the other Dan. These begin at a great distance from each other but then flow together into a single bed, called the Jordan from that point on. It begins at the feet of Mount Lebanon and separates Judea from Arabia, and after a sinuous course it flows into the Dead Sea. The Gihon River flows out of paradise and encircles all of Ethiopia. It was given this name because it irrigates the entire land of Egypt with its floods. Ge in Greek is the same as "earth" in Latin. The Egyptians call it the Nile for the silt that it carries and that causes fertility: for this reason the Nile is called Niam ciaon, and previously in Latin it was called Melo. It makes its appearance in the Nile lake, from which it enters Egypt from the south; there it encounters winds from the north that make the waters regress, swelling and flooding Egypt. The identification of the four rivers of paradise, which come from a single source, with the wisdom of the king born of David, indicates that the four Gospels proceed from our Lord Jesus Christ, true Son of God and also true Son of man, that is, of David, since he took flesh from David's descendant. And the Gospels irrigate all the lands of the peoples with their preaching, so that Christ's faithful might cause many fruits of virtue to germinate. The course of the Jordan also comes from the same source, since the sacrament of baptism has come into the world that the offenses of the human race might be purified by its administration. It sends forth discipline as light, since its precepts give the light of eternal life to those who follow it faithfully. For this reason, when Christ sent his disciples to teach and baptize the nations after his resurrection, he said to them in the Gospel, "Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. See, I am with you all days, to the end of the world."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 6:2

• Sirach 26:29

  If we do not examine it closely, this passage seems contradictory and problematical. If in fact every merchant or shopkeeper merits condemnation, then no one who practices a trade can escape the same punishment. Is not a transaction the attempt to sell something at a higher price than what it cost? Elsewhere, we read in the Lives of the Fathers that Paphnutius, a very holy man, was compared by a divine revelation with a merchant, and even now we find some in the church who are dedicated to business but are very highly thought of. What is condemned is evil action, not honest activity, as when we read that a rich person will not enter the kingdom of heaven, though Job and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were very rich. Therefore, only those merchants are considered blameworthy who, corrupted by an immoderate desire for money, never think of the Lord's justice and fix their prices more to cheat people than to make an honest gain. Such were cast out of the temple by the Lord with the words, "Do not make of my Father's house a marketplace and a den of thieves."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 6:5

• Sirach 27:21

  Treachery is the worst evil, and of difficult remedy. This was shown by the example of Judas the traitor, of whom it was said through the prophet in the psalm, "Even the friend in whom I trusted, even he, who ate my bread, raises his heel against me." One who despairs in horror at the consciousness of his own sin thinks more of the noose than of the salutary medicine of repentance. This is why it is written about him, "He loved cursing: may it fall on him! He did not want blessing: may it be far from him!"

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 6:7

• Sirach 28:9

  If we consider what a good peace is, it is easy to understand the evil of discord. If, in fact, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God," there is no doubt that the contentious are evil and children of the devil, since, giving birth to enmities, they sow discord among those who are at peace. Principal among these are the heretics and schismatics who, defending their pernicious sects, are not afraid to provoke arguments and scandals. For this reason the apostle Paul exhorted Timothy with these words: "Avoid vain discussions, which are good for nothing but the destruction of those who listen." And, "Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, knowing that they breed quarrels. A servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but meek toward all, apt to teach, patient, gentle in reproof of those who oppose the truth."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 6:8

• Sirach 29:7

  This statement refers to the attitude of those who do not desire to do evil with ill will but are reprehensible for the fact that they do not want to help others, out of fear of losing perishable things. To this sickness one must apply the remedy of mercy and charity and the recollection of that saying of the Lord that says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, where thieves do not break in and steal." And elsewhere one reads regarding riches what comes from the same charity, "To one who has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. But to one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 6:10

• Sirach 29:16

  This passage opposes Pelagius, who puts free will before grace, even though the elect are freed from every stain only by the grace of Christ. Thus the apostle says, "By grace we have been saved." And, "Who will free me from this body given over to death? The grace of God through Christ our Lord." And again, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace in me has not been in vain."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 7:2

• Sirach 29:22

  According to the literal sense it is more agreeable to take a frugal but secure meal under the roof of a shack than to seek splendid banquets but in uncertain circumstances and at the price of enormous effort and excessive worry. Allegorically, the food of the spiritual sense that the poor people of the church obtain under the humble roof of the letters of catholic unity is better than the ambitious delicacies of philosophical dogmas, enclosed as they are by philosophers or heretics in the various books of the rhetoricians in the form of errors or hypotheses, instead of in respect for the truth. These latter involve huge labors and excessive worries and are of little use. Paul says on this theme, "They are always learning, without ever arriving at a knowledge of the truth." In fact, "God has shown the wisdom of this world to be foolish," and "the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in virtue."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 7:3

• Sirach 33:19

  Reason teaches the immediate sense of these things to parents, concerning the right way to rule over their children and to raise them strictly until they have reached maturity, so that they will be worthy heirs of their parents after they are gone. Moreover, according to the spiritual sense it instructs the leaders of the church, so that they might preserve the dignity of their order until death, with a deliberate authority and right guidance. In this way they will leave disciples who have been raised well and who will be useful heirs of their works.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 7:11

• Sirach 36:19

  Zion is translated as "contemplation." And the holy church is rightly called "contemplation," because it is from there that the hearts of the faithful contemplate the joys of the heavenly kingdom. The Lord fills them with his unspeakable words and instructs them with knowledge of the divine books, in which are proclaimed the inexpressible power of God and the incomparable glory of his majesty. Moreover, by the signs of miracles he manifests his power among all peoples, so that, for this reason, it will be a motive for terror and for honor among all the surrounding nations. Thus we read in the Acts of the Apostles that while Paul preached and performed miracles in the city of Ephesus, "all were filled with fear," that is, the Jews and the Gentiles who lived there, "and they glorified the name of the Lord Jesus. Many who had embraced the faith came to confess their actions in public. And many who had followed magic arts brought their books and burned them before all. The value of all of these was calculated, and they found it to be fifty thousand drachmas of silver. In this way the word of God grew and was strengthened."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 8:7

• Sirach 36:20

  The perverse heart of heretics contemplates injustice all day long, and their tongue prepares to deceive. The expert in right doctrine resists them with the shield of the true faith and with "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 8:7

• Sirach 37:14

  Having first discussed the differences between counselors, here he adds how human wisdom is surpassed by the knowledge of the holy person, infused in him by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The seven counselors are the philosophers that teach the liberal arts (which they have divided into seven parts). It is clear, however, that in every way the modest doctrine of a person having right faith, which is found in the divine books, is more true than the manifold intelligence of the philosophers in discussion and argumentation. In the one, the truth shines without blemish by means of a few pure words. In the other, in babbling on about abstruse questions, erroneous opinions emerge, or even obvious falsehoods.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 8:11

• Sirach 37:20

  With this statement, malicious discourse is reproved and the malice of heretics condemned. In fact, the arts of debate and calculation are not referred to the senses of the body but to the rational faculty of the soul. Through these arts the truth is piously sought by those who fear God, who find it with profit, but the art of debate is useful for deepening and resolving every sort of question found in the holy Scriptures. One must merely avoid the desire to argue and the puerile ostentation of deceiving one's adversary. There are many arguments called sophisms, that is, deductions based on false reasoning, that so closely imitate true reasoning that they deceive not only the obtuse but also those who, gifted with intelligence, do not give them the necessary attention. Someone, for example, says to another, "You are not what I am." And he responds that he agrees (which is in part true). But since the one was treacherous and the other a simpleton, the first added, "I am a man." And when the second said that he agreed, the first added, "Then you are not a man." I think that the Scripture condemns this kind of captious conclusion when it says, "One who has recourse to sophisms in discourse is hated," but also discourse that, though not being deceptive, is contorted by making use of more twists and turns of words than is appropriate to seriousness. This way of speaking by sophisms is characteristic of heretics, who do everything so as to seduce others with captiousness and malice. They are detestable to God and to all virtuous people.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 8:12

• Sirach 38:5

  The passage records an ancient episode, when the children of Israel "walked three days in the desert of Shur and did not find water. They arrived" finally "at Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter." But the Lord "pointed out a piece of wood" to Moses, and when he "threw it into the water, it became sweet." According to the account, the power of God was manifested there through his medical science, in the waters made sweet by the wood. And the mystery of this event is obvious. The people grumble, seeing the waters and being unable to drink. Moses throws the wood into the waters, and they become sweet. Understand that the bitter waters represent the letter that kills and the Law. If one throws on this the confession of the cross and adds the mystery of the passion of the Lord, then the bitter water becomes sweet, and the bitterness of the letter is transformed into the sweetness of spiritual knowledge. For this reason it is written, "The Lord established a law and judgments for his people, and he tested them." According to another sense, the bitter waters that become sweet by receiving the wood are an image of the bitterness of the nations over the wood of the cross of Christ, which at a certain point is destined to become sweet.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 8:13

• Sirach 38:29

  And what is meant by this potter if not the holy preachers that we have spoken of already? Through various activities they worthily exercise the degrees of their ministry, adapting their doctrine according to the condition of their hearers. The wise, in fact, must be admonished in a way different from the ignorant, the strong different from the weak, the young different from the old and men different from women. With the plow of the gospel they cultivate the field of the Lord. They pasture the sheep and animals of the Lord with the fodder of the Word. They engrave the seals of the new person in human hearts, producing the weapons of the virtues by the ministry of their tongue. They give an example, consoling by their words and behavior those who are fragile and sickly, until they are transformed into honorable vessels, fully fit for God's ministry. This is why this potter works, turning the wheel with his feet, transforming the changeable situations of this life into an example for his disciples through the signs of good works. He watches what he does so that he might persevere in good actions, and by his own actions he invigorates the activity of the sick, giving them an example of humility and meekness and setting his whole heart on the smoothing of all that is bitter in the habits of those under him by the sweetness of his example. In addition, he spends all of his solicitude cooking every action of the disciples in the fire of the furnace of the heart, so as to render them firmer by the flame of love. He does this because all of his work could be damaged by a fall if it is not held together by the bond of charity.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 8:16

• Sirach 41:1

  The death of the flesh, which is the end of bodily life, is bitter for one who trusts in the prosperity of this world and the pursuit of riches, since he has not learned to love the joys of the future life. But since "the world and its disordered desires are passing away," all those who love it will weep when it is no more.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 9:2

• Sirach 41:5

  The children of sinners are detestable in the eyes of the Lord, not because they are born of sinful parents (since many righteous people had wicked fathers, like Hezekiah son of Ahaz and Josiah son of Amon), but because they imitated the wicked actions of their fathers. For this reason he added, "One who stays in the dwelling of the ungodly," speaking of those who imitated the crimes of their reprobate parents, whose conduct was wicked and who consequently will miss the inheritance of the heavenly homeland, forever ashamed.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 9:2

• Sirach 41:21-22

  The wife of another man is the perverse doctrine of the heretic, who is estranged from faith and from religion, from the company of God and from association with the faithful. For this reason wisdom forbids turning one's gaze toward her, that is, to love her captivating speech. The maidservant is rather his carnal desire, which must be subjected to the dominion of the spirit, according to the words of the Lord to Cain, "Your instinct is toward you, but you can dominate it," but which nonetheless prevails in the life of reprobates. For this reason we are forbidden to look toward this maidservant, that is, to give in to her suggestions or to enter her bed, that is, to lie down in her delights. And it is for this reason that in Proverbs, wisdom reproaches this lustful woman in her bed and forbids us to follow her ways, saying, "Now, my son, listen to me, pay attention to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn toward her ways, do not lose yourself on her paths, because she has caused many to fall, pierced through, and every one of her victims was vigorous. Her house is a road to the netherworld, leading down to the chambers of death."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 9:3

• Sirach 43:8

  After having discussed the sun, he rightly speaks also of the moon, because the church follows Christ, and as the moon is illuminated by the sun, in the same way the church is illuminated by Christ and established by his glory. Scripture recalls this in the psalm in which the prophet speaks in a mysterious way of the king and of the king's son, saying, "He will endure as the sun, like the moon through all ages." The sun, in fact, is the Word of the Father, the Son of God, the Christ who remains as God and man, one from two natures and in two natures distinct and perfect. Moreover, Christ remains before the moon, that is, before the church, which gazes on him always with the light of the heart. It is right to compare the moon with the church, since it does not have a splendor of its own but receives light from the sun in certain ways that astronomers accurately explain, along with other things. In the same way, the church is apportioned light from the true Creator. In time of persecution, the light diminishes. Then, with the return of peace, it becomes full again with the joy of the clearest light.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 9:7

• Sirach 43:9

  The beauty of the saints adorns the church. Those whom the most high Lord has ordained to enlighten the whole world with the preaching of the gospel and with the marks of the virtues await the judgment of God in holy words, that is, they attend with constancy to the doctrine of the true faith and are not broken by the adversities of this world. Nor do they let themselves be overcome by anger but endure all things with patience, continually caring for the flock entrusted to them, always diligently remembering in their hearts those words of the Lord, "Be ready, with your loins girded and your lamps lit. Be like those who await the master's return from the wedding." "Be ready, because in an hour you do not expect, the Son of man will come." "By your perseverance you will save your souls."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 9:7

• Sirach 43:11

  God almighty set the rainbow as a sign between himself and humanity, indicating that he would never again destroy the world with a flood. And this is why the rainbow has the color of both water and fire—in part light blue and in part red—so that it might testify to both judgments, to the one that is to come and to the one that has already taken place, since the world will be burned by fire and was once destroyed by the waters of the flood. For this reason we liken the rainbow to the Scripture of the New and the Old Testaments, since, in a certain way, it encircles the necks of the faithful with two curved parts. On this we read, "He has strung and aimed his bow," and thus he gives a sweet yoke to to the faithful, but for rebels he proclaims himself to be a fearsome weapon. The rainbow is very beautiful in its brilliance, because the sense and intelligence of sacred Scripture are magnificent. "It encircles the heavens with a ring of glory," because it speaks abundantly of the highest things and of the lowest.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 9:7

• Sirach 44:9

  The godless and sinners were not worthy of memory, because if the Scripture says something of them, it does so not to praise them but to blame. In the psalm it is written of them, "The fortresses of the enemy have been pulled down forever, the memory of the city you destroyed has disappeared. Their memory has disappeared with a roar." At the end of the world, in fact, to the devil's joy, those who it has been determined belong to his city will fall, and their memory will perish with a fantastic din when they go to eternal punishment.

  ECCLESIASTICUS 10:1

• Sirach 44:16

  It is right that he began to enumerate the holy fathers, not from Adam, who transgressed the divine commandment and was expelled from paradise, but from Enoch, who walked with God and was taken up into paradise. And in this way the splendor of the saints shines, because from the pains of this world they are taken up to the peace of the heavenly kingdom. It is believed that he will return together with Elijah at the end of the world, to counsel men and women so that they would turn from their sins to repentance. In this way, together with his companion, he will pay the debt of death in the persecution of the antichrist.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:3

• Sirach 44:21

  The inheritance that he was promised symbolizes two things. The comparison with the sand of the sea indicates the Jews, who are sterile. And the comparison with the stars of heaven designates all the people who believe in Christ, who by the light of the resurrection will shine like the stars of heaven. "Every star in fact differs from another in splendor. So also in the resurrection." His descendents will inherit "from one sea to the other, from the river to the ends of the earth," since Christ, born of the descendents of Abraham, rules from one sea to the other and from the river to the ends of the earth, and his church, his very body, fills all the limits of the world. One also notes that Abraham represents in himself three things. In the first place, the Savior, who, leaving his family, came into this world. Second, the Father, when he sacrificed his only Son. Third, by the fact that he had welcomed three men and adored one of them, he symbolized the saints, who joyfully received the coming of Christ in the flesh. This mystery of the incarnation is the work of the entire holy Trinity but was realized only in the Son. "And the Word was made flesh and came to dwell among us."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:5

• Sirach 45:4

  It is certain that his faith and his meekness made holy and acceptable to God the one who was chosen by the divine providence to govern all. While the sons of Israel listened, the Lord gave him the law on Mount Sinai and established the precepts of life, speaking with him in the cloud so that he would teach his people and instruct them in how to live justly. And though he would symbolize many things at different times, by the fact that he brought the people of God out of Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea and led them through the desert, while the cloud guided and indicated the way, he is the image of the Law. Under the guidance of Christ, the Law freed the faithful from the spiritual Egypt and from the power of the true pharaoh by the waters of baptism, so that in the desert of this world, instructed and taught by the divine precepts, they would reach the promised land, the heavenly homeland, where they will have every good thing in abundance and will enjoy eternal life.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:8

• Sirach 45:8

  The vestments of the high priest are nothing other than the works of the virtues and the wise doctrine that truly adorn the priest of the Lord, since he must constantly possess these. And for this reason he said, "You have crowned him with instruments of virtue." The wise in heart, who have been filled by God with a spirit of prudence so as to make those very vestments, are the prophets and apostles, as well as the other doctors of the truth. They show us with the greatest clarity how priests and ministers of the altar must live and how they must teach, by example and action or with words of exhortation. The vestments made by Moses and his brother Aaron—that is, the sacred Scriptures—are what Paul indicates and recommends to leaders, saying, "Bishops, as administrators of God, must be beyond reproach: not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not avid for dishonest gain, but hospitable, loving the good, sensible, just, pious, self-controlled, holding fast to sure doctrine according to the teaching that has been handed down."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:9

• Sirach 45:24

  In a mysterious sense, it is right that the dignity of the eternal priesthood is promised to Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, for the zeal that he had against the fornicators. Indeed, whoever, moved by godly zeal, makes an effort to suppress the impulses of his flesh or reproves and restrains those under him, so as to not let them deviate from the truth out of lust and sexual desire, will have the dignity of the eternal priesthood in the church of God, which rightly belongs to that priest of whom it is written, "Like Melchizedek, you are a priest forever." He will possess, with him, the eternal kingdom in heavenly light.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:10

• Sirach 46:1

  Joshua son of Nun showed himself by his name and his actions to be a figure of the Savior, to whom God the Father "has given the name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee would bend in the heavens, on the earth and under the earth." And since this name is above every other name, for generations it was not borne by anyone. Moses wrote the book of Genesis, in which we read of Abraham and of those born to him, of whom many are righteous but none of whom merited to be called Jesus. Not even Abel was called Jesus, nor he who began to invoke the name of the Lord God nor he who pleased God and was taken away and did not know death. Nor Noah, who was the only just person of his generation before God. And not Abraham, who received the promises of the covenant, nor Isaac, born of him, nor Jacob the deceiver nor any of his sons. Moses was faithful in all his house, but not even he was called Jesus. Rather, I find the name of Jesus for the first time in the book of Exodus. I want to reiterate when the name of Joshua-Jesus is first mentioned, "Amalek came to fight against Israel, and Moses said to Joshua at Rephidim." This is the first mention of the name Joshua-Jesus: "Choose some brave men from among the sons of Israel to fight against Amalek tomorrow." He is the one who was given command after the death of Moses, who led the army and fought against Amalek and, as is symbolized by the hands stretched out on the mountain, nailed the principalities and powers to his victorious cross.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:11

• Sirach 46:9

  What Caleb says, "As my vigor was then, so it is now," indicates that all the saints and the wise of heart have the same vigor in things present as in those past, in things recent as in those ancient, in the Gospels and in the Law. This is therefore what he says, the one who is vigorous now under Jesus as he was vigorous then under Moses, since a vigilant heart remains vigorous in the mysteries of both Testaments. But we also see the request made by the same Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to Joshua: "Give me this mountain, of which the Lord spoke in that day." The saint asks for nothing earthly or lowly, nothing that lies in the deep valleys, but asks for a very high mountain, a mountain on which there is a great, fortified city. He asks for it because he knew how to fight, as it is written, "The wise man storms a city of warriors and breaks down the stronghold in which it trusted." Hearing these words of Solomon, do you think his intent was to teach us that the wise man had taken a city and destroyed fortresses made of stone? Or rather, does he indicate that the cities and walls are the dogmas of the godless and the syllogisms of the philosophers by which they compose impiety and what is opposed to the divine law, as practiced by the pagans and barbarians? But it must be assumed that the fortified cities set on the mountains are those things that heretics base on the statements of the Scriptures, as on high mountains. The wise man will therefore destroy the cities, preaching the word of truth and overthrowing the lying fortresses with the battering ram of truth, as Paul also said: "Destroying arguments and every bulwark that raises itself against the knowledge of God."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:11

• Sirach 46:11

  After Joshua son of Nun, the people of God were ruled by judges, who governed them and defended them from enemies. In the same way, after the passion, resurrection and ascension into heaven of our Savior, the church of God had the apostles and the apostolic leaders who instructed it with holy admonitions, fortifying it, with good merits and with holy prayers, against spiritual iniquity and against all enemies. For this reason it is right to say that "their hearts were not corrupted, and they did not turn away from the Lord," since they persevered to the end of their lives in right faith and in the true religion, to such an extent that their memory has been honored by a perennial blessing and the power of their good works was rewarded with an eternal prize. Thus the memory of their name will be handed down to their posterity with glory. Indeed, all peoples will recount their wisdom, and the entire assembly of the saints sings their praises.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:11

• Sirach 47:2

  When it says that Nathan, like the fat of salvation, was separated from the meat, it indicates that he was full of the grace of the Holy Spirit and that his conduct and his life were far from and foreign to those of carnal and sinful people.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:13

• Sirach 47:25

  This wicked innovation was perpetuated among the people of the ten tribes until the Lord enacted his revenge and they were deported to Assyria. When it says, "Until their justification came, and he freed them from all their sins," I think it refers to the justification and freedom of our Savior, who at his coming frees and protects from every enemy those who have turned to faith in him and have been purified from all their sins through baptism in him.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:16

• Sirach 48:12

  How is it possible that Elisha, when Elijah his master gave him the opportunity, asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah? The Lord says in the Gospel, "The disciple is not greater than the master. But everyone who is well prepared will be like his master." But if we examine the mystery of this request, we will find that it is not an inopportune one but necessary. In fact, "Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I must do for you before I am taken from you. Elisha responded, I beg you that a double portion of your spirit be in me. And he responded, You have asked a difficult thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken away from you, it will be granted to you. If not, it will not be granted you." What does Elijah symbolize here but our head, that is, the Lord our Redeemer, and Elisha his body, which is the church? Elijah, then, gives the occasion to ask, because in the Gospel it says, "Ask, and it will be given you." And also, "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." Having received this assurance from the Lord, Elisha, that is, the Christian people, asks that the spirit of Christ be doubled in him, which is to say, a double grace of the Holy Spirit, for the remission of sins and for the conferral of virtue. Our Redeemer, who had no sin, and neither did he commit sin, nor was deception found in his mouth, had no need for the remission of sins, not having any sin, but carried out the works of the Holy Spirit. He says this to the Jews in the Gospel: "If I cast out demons by the finger of God, it is because the kingdom of God has come on you."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:18

• Sirach 48:15

  When it says, "There remained only a people very few in number, with a prince of the house of David. Some of them did what was pleasing to God, but others multiplied sins," it indicates that the descendents of the house of David and the tribes of Judah and of Benjamin did not completely reject the worship of God and his temple, as did the ten tribes that were in Samaria. But some of them were idolaters, such as Joram, Ahaziah, Manasseh, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Others adhered to their God, as did Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah. Similarly, their subjects also acted in different ways: some followed the right way, others stumbled into error. For this reason it later happened that when many had already deviated from the truth, they were punished with imprisonment, so that those who had worshiped idols in their own land would also worship them in a foreign land.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:18

• Sirach 48:17

  What it says in this passage, "He dug a canal in the rock with iron and built cisterns for water," mysteriously indicates the holy city, of which it is written, "The Savior is our fortified city," which cannot remain hidden since it is built on a hill. Elsewhere it is also written, "The rush of the river gladdens the city of God," and, "Marvelous things are said of you, city of God." He founded it and fortified it. And the Father says, "He built my city" and restores all the walls—which were in part knocked down by the malice of the pagans or of the heretics—with correct faith and true religion, raising the towers of the virtues and putting another wall without, a bulwark. In the building of forts these are called parapets, and they teach us to hold on to the efficacy of good works. It is not enough in fact to have the wall of faith, if this faith is not reinforced by good works. This wall and this bulwark are in fact made of living stones, which, according to the prophet, turn on the earth. The king made every kind of armor and shield, establishing the various testimonies of Scripture and commanding the evangelical doctrine in defense of his church. He established doctors who would lead the spiritual warriors and guide all the armies in a just and reasonable way, adequately defending the church's camps against every enemy.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:19

• Sirach 49:2

  According to the allegory, Josiah is a figure of the saving Lord, he who is called the salvation and strength of the Lord, since Scripture says of him, "The mighty Lord, the Lord strong in battle." And elsewhere, "He will save his people from their sins." In fact, out of zeal for God, he who said through the prophet, "Zeal for your house consumes me," purifies the land of Judah and Jerusalem from all filth and abomination. Of him John says, "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:21

• Sirach 49:9

  Ezekiel, whose name is translated "confirmed by God" and who, in Babylon, predicted to the sinful masses the coming imprisonment, though promising forgiveness of sins to those who would turn and do penance, points in a mysterious way to the Lord and Savior, who is the power and wisdom of God and was called by the prophet the arm of the Lord. He has visited us, we who were in the prison of this world, foretelling future punishments for sinners and promising eternal healing to those who were repentant.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:23

• Sirach 49:11

  How he is a seal in the right hand of Israel is what the prophet Haggai shows at the end of his book: "In that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, says the Lord of hosts, and I will place you like a seal, because I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts." In the end, he is commanded to speak only to Zerubbabel, since he preceded Christ as his image, having assumed the flesh of the line of David. He is told, therefore, what will happen at the end, that this world will pass away and that he will destroy every principality, power and might, pull down the thrones of kings and destroy the power of kingdoms and nations, and the chariots, the horses and the riders. "In that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant." He calls him "servant" because of the human body, since "then he also, the Son, will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him," and with all things subjected it will be seen that he also is subjected. But when all of this is fulfilled, God will put a seal in his hands. God the Father marks him, and he is the image of the invisible God, his imprint and his substance, and whoever will believe in God will be sealed as with a ring.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:25

• Sirach 49:14

  What was set forth at first and again recapitulated concerning Enoch, if not that his being taken away prefigured the ascension into heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ, who became incarnate in the last days of the world and was testified to by all the patriarchs and prophets? It is rightly said of him that "no one was created on earth equal to Enoch," which means consecration, as one who has consecrated his church, consecrating it with his blood. He came into the world without sin and was received into heaven in glory. Of him the psalmist says, "You are the most beautiful among the sons of men," and, "Ascending on high, he took prisoners with him; he gave gifts to human beings."

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:27

• Sirach 50:25

  He says that he hated two peoples. One of these is the Jewish people subject to the letter of the law, which was also known by the name of Seir, which means "shaggy" or "hairy." Seir is Esau, whose name means "red," the older son of Isaac and Rebecca; the younger was called Jacob. But why was Esau all red and hairy, if not because the first people was stained by the blood of the prophets and of Christ and lived in the squalor of sin and wickedness? For this reason the younger one grabbed onto his heel, since the younger people would mysteriously surpass the older. This is in fact "a perverse and adulterous generation," according to the truthful voice of the Gospel, that "kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to them." In the last days they did not fear to raise their impious hands against the heir, killing the Son of God. … The other people are the Philistines, whose name means "double ruin" and symbolizes the people of the nations, contaminated by both idolatry and perverse conduct and thus making themselves hateful, since in error they have strayed far from the way of truth. The third is then the assembly of heretics, the foolish people living at Shechem, in the sides of the mountain and in discomfort, because, writing and teaching perverse things every day, they foolishly waste their effort. The fact that they are not even considered a people shows that heretics do not have a single origin or a single error but have arisen in many different places and fallen into many errors. And they even contradict each other.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:30

• Sirach 51:4

  We read that this happened frequently in the passions of the martyrs. Like the three young men, who remained unhurt in the intense flames of the furnace, they also would not have suffered harm from the consuming flames. But since this has not been granted to all the martyrs of God, since many of them were burned bodily by the fire, though their souls arrived freely in the heavenly places, it is better to understand this fire and this flame as the intense heat of persecution, which, although it can afflict the saints of God for a little while, cannot go so far as to cause them to lose their souls.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:31

• Sirach 51:14

  After the prayer offered by the author of this book, speaking as the church, he tells how he had sought wisdom from his childhood, having asked it of the Lord. When he says that he sought wisdom before his youth, before the opportune time to ask, he shows to have desired it prior to the errors of childhood and adolescence, and even before his youth, and to have asked insistently that God would give it to him, promising to seek it always. Adolescence and youth are fraught with dangers, because the actions of the exterior person dominate, as Solomon says in the book of Proverbs, confessing that he does not know "the way of a youth in his adolescence," and the prophet asks the Lord, "Do not recall the sins of my youth and of my ignorance." For this reason philosophers, representing human life with the letter Y, assign the lefthand stroke to infancy and adolescence and the righthand stroke to the more mature age, when the intellect is more robust and rejects the earlier foolishness of the senses. In fact, this letter was first used by Pythagoras as an example of human life, in such a way that the bottom stroke, thinner than a comma, would indicate the uncertain condition of the earliest age, not yet given to either vice or virtue. The junction above it begins with adolescence, of which the right side is difficult but tends to a blessed life, and the left is easier but leads to perdition and death.

  ON ECCLESIASTICUS 10:31