Bede, on Prov 25:4

“Take away the rust from silver, and there shall come forth a most pure vessel:”

“Remove the dross from the silver, etc. Remove the surface of the letter from the sacred word, and you will find the purest meaning hidden by the subtlety of the letter, and spiritual mysteries were concealed under the figures of carnal ceremonies.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.