Gregory the Great, on Ezek 40:40

“And on the outward side, which goeth up to the entry of the gate that looketh toward the north, were two tables. and at the other side before the porch of the gate were two tables.”

“The gate that leads to the north. The gate that leads to the north also has two tables on one side and two on the other—the same chief priests and elders of the people we mentioned who held greater authority in governance, as well as the scribes and Pharisees who presided over that unlearned people in a lesser position. But these tables are beside the gate that leads to the north, because when these four orders presided over the people, the Synagogue, raging in the persecution of our Redeemer, rushed headlong into the torpor of unbelief. Nevertheless, these tables had sacrifice, which they held according to the letter alone; hence they also slipped into the torpor of cold, because they were not kindled by the flame of the Spirit. But the interior tables have a holocaust, because whether in the hearts of the apostles and prophets, or in the minds of the evangelists and teachers, the fire of the Spirit both burned and burns. Because it consumes their every thought in good work, the flame of the love of God, like a holocaust, sets ablaze all at once whatever it finds. For they offer a holocaust who are kindled to the very marrow, whether in good work or in holy meditation.”

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

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