Cornelius a Lapide

Verse 13. My beloved is to me a cluster of cyprus, in the vineyards of Engaddi.

You may ask, what is cyprus? First, the Rabbis, and among them the Tigurine version, judge from the similarity of sound that it is caphura, or camphor. Camphor, however, is the gum of a certain tree growing in India, of such size and height that under its shade hundreds of men can find shelter. Matthiolus recounts the powers and properties of camphor in his commentary on Dioscorides, book I, chapter 75. But the authors relate three things worth noting about this gum. They say that caphura burns in water; then they relate that it grows moist with dampness, and that it is kept in fresh, warm bread; finally they say that, unless it is carefully kept, it sometimes vanishes even from covered containers. These three things indeed suit the Bridegroom greatly, so that not without reason has he been called a cluster of copher. For in this spiritual cataclysm of the human race, in which wintry waters — flowing both from origin and bursting forth from evil will — have overwhelmed the world and quenched the fire of charity, he himself, standing upright in the midst of the flood, is fed by the very waves as if by oil, and, kindled after the manner of a lamp, sends forth the flame of charity, which the rivers cannot overwhelm. So John the Carmelite.

Again, R. Abraham understands by the cluster of cyprus the dates of the palm, which are most flavorful.

Second, St. Gregory, Cassiodorus, Bede, Anselm, Rupert, St. Bernard, Titelmannus and others hold that the clusters of cyprus are grapes growing on the island of Cyprus, or vines brought from Cyprus into Judea. For Cyprian wine, as well as Cretan (commonly malvasia), is excellent, strong and outstanding, on the testimony of Pliny, book XIV, chapters 1 and 7. And this sense fittingly applies to Christ our Bridegroom, who, as a most rich and most delightful cluster of the most precious and most excellent wine, pressed and squeezed in the winepress of his bitter passion, poured out the blood of the grape, as precious as it was abundant, and gave it to drink to his bride the Church, by whose draught she is even now given life and refreshed, gladdened and inebriated.

To this may be added the Chaldean, who understands by the cluster of cyprus the wine received from the grapes of Engaddi, which the Hebrews, on entering the holy land, poured out in libation to God: "They went," he says, "to the vineyards of Engaddi, and took from there clusters of grapes, and pressed out wine from them, and poured it in libation upon the altar, a fourth part of a hin for each ram."

Third, Justus Orgelitanus understands by cyprus the cypress tree, or cupressus, or cyparissus, whose foliage presents a certain appearance of a cluster. But cyprus is one thing, cupressus another, as is clear from Pliny, Dioscorides, Galen, Theophrastus and others.

Fourth, Origen, Theodoret, Nyssen, and Philo Carpathius expound the cluster of cyprus as a cluster of flowering, that is, still in flower, and not yet swelling with fruit, that is, with grapes: for κυπριάζω is "I flower," and κυπρισμός is "flowering." But the Hebrew כופר, copher, and the Latin and Greek cyprus, signify nothing of the sort.

Fifth, others understand by cyprus the balsam. So Aponius, Bede, St. Bernard, Honorius, Hailgrinus, Sotomayor, Sanchez and others. They prove this, first, because balsam is most fragrant, and proper to Judea in the vineyards of Engaddi. Hence St. Jerome, on chapter 27 of Ezekiel, says: "Balsam, which grows in the vineyards of Engaddi"; and in the Epitaph of Paula: "She contemplated the vineyards of balsam in Engaddi." Second, because Ecclesiasticus, following Solomon's custom, compares Christ to balsam, Ecclesiasticus chapter 24, verse 21: "My odor is as balsam not mingled," he says. Third, because the tree, or shrub, that produces balsam, is similar to a vine, on the testimony of Pliny, book XII, chapter 25: "Its seed," he says, "is nearest to wine in taste." And a little before: "This is more like a vine than a myrtle; it is said to be sown by cuttings, recently bound up like a vine, it fills the hills after the manner of vineyards."

But it stands against this, first, that balsam is nowhere called copher, or cyprus. Second, that balsam has neither clusters nor grapes; but from the cutting of the shrub there flows that most fragrant liquid which is called opobalsam. Sotomayor answers that the cluster of cyprus is the same as the branch of balsam. But the Hebrew אשכול, escol, and the Latin and Greek botrus signify a cluster, not a branch; yet here mention is made of balsam in the vineyards of Engaddi. One might more probably say that the cluster of cyprus is called the liquid flowing from the cut shrub of balsam, which congeals and warms after the manner of a cluster.

Third, that Pliny, Dioscorides, Galen, and indeed Josephus the Hebrew, book V, On the Jewish War, chapter 4, distinguish cyprus from balsam.

I say therefore: "Cyprus," says Pliny, book XII, chapter 24, "is a tree in Egypt with leaves like the jujube, seed like coriander, and a white and fragrant flower." And, as Philo Carpathius says on chapter 4 of the Canticle, verse 13: "Cyprus is a small tree with a white flower, its most fragrant foliage hanging like ringlets, with a leaf like the olive; from it is made an ointment called cyprinum, most useful for many things, and it has leaves, flowers, fruit and branches all most useful. This grows best in Ascalon of Judea and in Canopus of Egypt." Cassiodorus in the same place: "Cyprus," he says, "is an aromatic tree, having a seed like coriander, that is, white and somewhat shining, which is cooked in oil, and from it is pressed out that which is called cyprus; from which the royal ointment is prepared." But Dioscorides, book I, chapter 4, describing cyprus, gives it these properties: "It opens the passages of the veins, drives out urine against stones, and water on the skin; it is drunk most beneficially; against the stings of scorpions it is a remedy; it helps, applied warm, chills of the womb and obstructions; it brings on the menses. Against ulcers of the mouth, even if they eat away and devour, its meal is effective; it is commonly added well to warming plasters and to the thickeners of ointments." And Galen, book VII, On Simple Medicines: "The roots of cyprus," he says, "are of the greatest use, warming as well as drying, without any biting quality. Therefore they wonderfully benefit ulcers which, because of excessive moisture, admit a scar with difficulty; for they have also something astringent; wherefore they are likewise suited to ulcers of the mouth. Indeed it must be attested that they have in them a certain power of cutting, by which they also suit those troubled with stone, and provoke urine and the menses." Matthiolus adds in the same place an image of cyprus, in which it is clearly seen that at the top of the cyprus small leaves arise together with the seed, after the manner of a cluster or bunch.

Furthermore, that cyprus is the same shrub as the Italian ligustrum, Pliny teaches from the opinion of various authors, book XXIV, chapter 10, where he asserts that ligustrum is the same tree which in the East is called cyprus. And Galen, book VII, On Simple Medicines: "The leaves of cyprus, or of ligustrum, etc.," he says, "have something digestive and astringent. Therefore some foment burns with a decoction of them. They are also used against fiery inflammations and carbuncles. For they dry without irritation or biting. Indeed, chewed, they are suited also to ulcerations arising spontaneously in the mouth, to aphthae, and to the very aphthae of children." Dioscorides hints at the same thing, book I, chapter 107: "Ligustrum," he says, "is a tree with leaves around the branches like those of the olive, etc., with a white and fragrant flower." And presently he adds: "The cyprine oil, which is made from it, being fragrant, warms and softens the nerves"; where he implies that cyprine oil is the oil of ligustrum, and consequently that ligustrum is cyprus. But Ruellius expressly asserts this same thing, book I, Distinctions, chapter 94, as does Matthiolus on the passage of Dioscorides already cited. Where also, as is his custom, he presents the likeness or form of ligustrum, or of cyprus, to be viewed in an image, in which one can plainly see clusters, or grapes, of ligustrum or of cyprus, similar to the grapes that grow on the vine. And he adds: "It puts forth white and mossy flowers, and clusters, and black fruit." Hence the Arabic version renders, for cluster of cyprus, cluster of flowers: for such is found in ligustrum. Hence also Theophrastus, book IX, History of Plants, chapter 7, asserts that the cyprine, or ligustric, ointment is most fragrant.

But Rembert Dodoens, in On Plants, sixth pemptad, book II, chapter 13, although he distinguishes ligustrum from cyprus, on the ground that ligustrum sheds its leaves in winter while cyprus remains green with perpetual foliage, nevertheless asserts that it is very similar to it; and that ligustrum is called by the Greeks φιλλυρέαν, concerning which Dioscorides says: "Phyllyrea," he says, "is a tree similar in size to cyprus, with leaves darker and broader than the olive's: it has fruit similar to the lentisk, black, somewhat sweet, hanging together in clusters"; and such altogether is ligustrum.

Furthermore, the Syriac Dictionary asserts that copher, that is, cyprus, is a certain tree, whose leaves, dried and reduced to powder and paste, render the hands, hair, and other parts of the body purple. The same thing is held by the eyewitness Pierre Belon, book II, Observations, chapter 74, where he says that the cyprus of Solomon is the shrub which the Arabs call alkanna or henne, and the Greeks scenna, which, similar to ligustrum, grows abundantly in Cairo of Egypt. This, he says, the Turks and Moors carefully cultivate on account of the charm of its flowers (which, dense and closed, present the appearance of clusters), and its sweet odor similar to musk. Whence the emperor of the Turks collects from it a yearly revenue of more than eighteen thousand ducats: for this custom has taken hold, that all women dye their hands, feet, and part of their hair red or yellow, and the men their nails red, with the powder of alkanna.

Note. However it may be, cyprus is similar to ligustrum, and in Judea was most fragrant, and bearing fruit, namely clusters of wondrous size as well as flavor, as is clear from this passage and from chapter 4, verse 13. Hence cyprus is named from the Hebrew כופר, copher, that is, expiation, namely of foul odor, because by its odor it refreshes man and wards off stenches, says Marinus in his Lexicon. Copher, then, or cyprus, is the shrub of the cyprus tree, which St. Jerome testifies to be fragrant, and to flower after the manner of a grape coming into bloom, from which is made the cyprine oil, which they likewise call cyprus, most fragrant and most wholesome, on the testimony of Pliny, book XXIII, chapter 4. This was truer in the age of Solomon, when Judea flourished in the excellence and abundance of all things: for then the land was flowing with milk and honey, which now is seen to be rough, barren and stony. Wherefore cyprus and the other aromatic trees, which, cultivated by the skill and care of Solomon, gave excellent fruits, have now either dried up, or degenerated from their original goodness, as is plain in the case of balsam, which Judea alone once possessed, but now knows nothing of. For Solomon had vineyards, both near Jerusalem and in Engaddi. For there were vineyards there, both of vines, and of cyprus, and of the most excellent balsam, which he, by cultivating with his own industry, made far more excellent.

Furthermore, our Delrio probably understands by the clusters of cyprus the most delicate grapes of Engaddi, which drew a cyprine flavor from the neighboring aromatic cyprus trees, and displayed it to the one tasting them: for it is a property of vines and grapes to take on a flavor from the shrubs or herbs growing near their roots, as experience shows, and as Pliny teaches, book XV, chapter 16. Thus, then, the clusters growing up in Engaddi near the cyprus trees, drawing in the flavor and odor of the cyprus, exhibited it, and were therefore held in high esteem, just as today in Italy and elsewhere the muscatel grapes. To these most fragrant and most flavorful clusters of grapes, then, the bride compares her most beloved bridegroom. So Delrio.

The First and Adequate Sense: Concerning Christ and the Church.

The bride says: As my bridegroom Christ, on account of the passion undergone for me, is to me a bundle of myrrh, bitter, yet fragrant, which continually lies between my breasts, that is, abides in my heart, and is remembered by it; so likewise he is, as it were, a cluster of cyprus, because after its likeness he is to me most sweet in scent and in taste. For as copher, or cyprus, expiates the stenches of odors, so Christ by his passion and grace expiates the stenches of crimes: for כופר, copher, in Hebrew is the same as expiation; whence some translate, cluster of expiation, or of the redemption of iniquity, or of price, or of propitiation. For copher signifies all these things, as if to say: My beloved, on account of his passion, is to me the beloved of bitter myrrh; but this bitterness is covered, expiated, and sweetened by the fruit of our redemption acquired through it, which he merited and obtained for himself and for us. So Cassiodorus, Bede, Rupert, Anselm, and St. Bernard.

Hence Honorius of Autun says that Christ was nard in the incarnation, a bundle of myrrh in the passion, a cluster of cyprus in the resurrection. Furthermore, the cluster of cyprus is a gathering and condensation of the flowers of cyprus, just as the grape-seeds are condensed in a cluster of grapes; yet it is called a cluster rather than a flower here, because cluster signifies the multitude and condensation of flowers, that is, of the gifts of the glorious soul and body of Christ, namely impassibility, clarity, agility, subtlety, likewise the liberation of the fathers from limbo, the ascension into heaven, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the apostles, the conversion of the nations, and the other charisms of the Holy Spirit, which Christ has bestowed, bestows, and will bestow from heaven upon the Church until the day of judgment, indeed for all eternity. This sense is favored by the interpretation of the names; for κύπρος, that is, cyprus, is the same as beautiful, or beauty. But what is more beautiful than the resurrection and the glorious body? Again, Engaddi in Hebrew can be translated as fountain, or eye, of happiness: but what is happier than heavenly beatitude, in which the blessed see with the eyes of the mind the essence of God and every good?

Furthermore, this cluster of cyprus is said to be "in the vineyards of Engaddi," to signify that this cluster is most excellent, both in itself and in the vicinity of the balsam and the other aromatic trees, whose force and power breathed upon it, as Origen notes, homily 2 of the four, Cassiodorus, Bede, Aponius, St. Bernard, sermon 44, St. Jerome on Ezekiel 27. For balsam, which surpasses all spices in sweetness of odor as much as in wholesomeness of liquid, on the testimony of Pliny, formerly grew nowhere except in Engaddi: for Engaddi is a city and region near Jericho and the Dead Sea, in the tribe of Judah toward the west, breathing forth a most pleasing odor from the abundance of fragrant trees, especially of balsam: whence it was also called Asasonthamar, that is, city of palms, because it abounds in palms and balsams. So St. Jerome, Hebrew Traditions on Genesis, chapter 14, and from him Adrichomius in his Description of the Holy Land. But the most fragrant balsam, which heals ill-affected bodies, and preserves the dead from corruption, most fittingly denotes the resurrection of Christ, immortality, salvation, and eternal glory, which he bestows upon his elect. Hence St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, sermon 3: "Engaddi," he says, "is a place in Judea, in which opobalsam is produced; if you seek the interpretation, it signifies in Latin temptation. For in those vineyards there is a tree; which, if anyone pricks it, sends forth an ointment: this is the fruit of the tree; if the tree is not cut, it does not so fragrantly give off its scent; but when it has been pricked by the hand of the craftsman, then it distills a tear: just as Christ also, crucified on that tree of temptation, weeps for the people, that he might wash away our sins, Hebrews 5:7, and from the depths of his mercy poured forth ointment, saying: Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do, Luke 23:34. The fountain, then, in the tree was pricked by the lance, and there came forth from it blood and water, John 19:34, sweeter than every ointment, a victim accepted by God, pouring forth over the whole world the odor of sanctification, and as balsam from the tree, so power went out from the body." And after some words to the same effect: "He shook the earth, and clung to the tree; he covered the heaven with darkness; he crucified the world, and was crucified; he bowed his head, and the Word went forth; he was emptied, and filled all things: God descended, man ascended, the Word was made flesh, John 1:14, that the flesh might claim for itself the throne of the Word at the right hand of God, John 19: a wound was inflicted, and ointment flowed: the beetle was heard, and God was recognized."

So also Bede, understanding by the balsam that grows in the vineyards of Engaddi the charisms of the Holy Spirit: "And the bridegroom," he says, "is in the vineyards of Engaddi: because the Lord himself, appearing in the flesh, is full of the Holy Spirit, and himself bestows his gifts on believers." And he adds that Christ is nard, a bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of cyprus: "because first a devoted woman poured nard upon the Lord as he reclined at the supper; then the disciples, to bury him after he was crucified, wrapped him, anointed with myrrh, in linen cloths; and after these things, with the joy of the resurrection soon coming, he himself distributed spiritual gifts to the faithful."

Again, Engaddi is the same as fountain of the kid; whence it denotes baptism, by which all kids, that is, sinners and sins, are washed away: so Cassiodorus, Bede, Aponius, Anselm, Rupert, Philo Carpathius, and St. Gregory, whom hear: "In Engaddi balsam is produced, which, with oil, by the pontifical blessing, is made into chrism, by which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are expressed. Engaddi is interpreted fountain of the kid: but the kid was of old sacrificed for sins. What, then, is figured by the fountain of the kid, if not the baptism of Christ? in which, while the body is plunged, the soul is washed, and through the faith of him who suffered death for sinners, the human soul believes itself cleansed from all sins." And St. Bernard, sermon 44: "In faith and gentleness he will make him holy, and will give him not oil, but balsam in the vineyards of Engaddi. Nor is it doubtful that better things flow forth by grace from the fountain of the kid, whose anointing indeed turns kids into lambs, and transfers sinners from the left hand to the right, sinners more abundantly bathed beforehand in the anointing of mercy, so that where sins abounded, grace might abound the more." And earlier, after the beginning of the sermon: "He calls, therefore, the vineyards of Engaddi the people of the Church, which has the liquid of balsam, the spirit of gentleness, in which it tenderly cherishes the tenderness of those still little ones in Christ, and consoles the sorrows of the penitent. But if any brother should be overtaken in some fault, the man of the Church, who has already received this spirit, will take care to instruct such a one at once in that same spirit of gentleness, considering himself, lest he too be tempted. In this figure, the Church has been accustomed to anoint bodily with material oil as many as are to be baptized."

The Second and Partial Sense: Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul.

Christ is a cluster of cyprus to the holy soul in the meditation and imitation of his passion and resurrection, and especially in the receiving of the Holy Eucharist, which is the memorial of his passion. For in it the blood of Christ is drunk under the appearance of wine. Whence Zechariah 9:17 calls the Eucharist "the wheat of the elect, and wine budding forth virgins." It is, then, similar to a cluster of cyprus: first, because it contains the blood of Christ, as a cluster pressed in the winepress of the cross; second, because it is itself a most sweet food, which inebriates the soul with heavenly delights, graces, and joys; third, because through it we shall rise again to a blessed and immortal life, as Christ says, John 6:55. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 44: "If beloved in myrrh, much more in the sweetness of the cluster. Therefore my Lord Jesus, myrrh to me in death, a cluster in the resurrection, tempered himself for me, most wholesome, into a drink, in tears, in measure. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification, Romans 4:25, that, dead to sins, we might live to righteousness. Therefore you, if you have mourned your sins, have drunk bitterness: but if you have now breathed again into the hope of life, in a holier life, the bitterness of myrrh has been changed for you into wine, which gladdens the heart of man," Psalm 103:15.

Second, the same St. Bernard, understanding by the cluster of cyprus the best wine, which grows on the island of Cyprus, understands by it the fervor and zeal of righteousness: "For indeed," he says, "if you love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, could you, if you saw his injuries and his contempt, bear it at all with an even mind? By no means: but soon, seized by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of ardor, and as one made drunk with wine by his might, filled with the zeal of Phinehas, you will say with David: My zeal has made me waste away, because my enemies have forgotten your words; and with the Lord: The zeal of your house has consumed me. Wine, then, is this most fervent zeal, pressed from the cluster of cyprus, and the inebriating cup is the love of Christ." And after some words: "A cluster of cyprus is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Engaddi, that is, the zeal of righteousness, the love of my beloved, is to me in the affections of piety."

Third, Nyssen, Origen, Theodoret, and Philo, who understand by the cluster of cyprus a flowering cluster, not yet producing grapes, understand by it Christ, who shows to beginners a certain sweetness of odor, by which they may advance, so that to those already mature he may offer the wine of love and fervor. Hear Nyssen, homily 3: "The boy Jesus, who was born in those who have received him, advances differently in wisdom and age and grace; he is not the same in all, but according to the measure of him in whom he is, insofar as he who receives him is fit, he appears such — either an infant, or advancing, or perfect — in keeping with the nature of a cluster, which is not always seen on the vine in the same form, but changes its form with time, flowering, perfect, mature, made into wine. The vine, therefore, professes concerning its fruit, that it is not yet mature and timely for wine, but awaits the fullness of time; yet not as though wholly without a share in the delights to be enjoyed. For by the flower it signifies a sure hope of future grace: but a sure hope of grace is enjoyment for those who wait through patience." And this, "in the vineyards of Engaddi," that is, in a rich place where vines strike deep roots, that is, in deep thought and meditation, which supplies the soul with the sap of piety, by which it may grow, and pass from flower into the fruit of virtue and charity.

Hear also Origen, homily 2 of the four: "The divine Word, in those in whom it becomes the true vine, does not suddenly produce clusters mature and sweet; nor is wine sweet and gladdening the heart of man suddenly made from them, but it first produces only the sweetness of odor in the flower. But this cluster is said to be flowering in the vineyards of Engaddi, which is interpreted eye of temptation, so that the grace of its fragrance may be sent into the beginnings of the soul, so that after this it may be able to endure the bitterness of tribulations and temptations, which are stirred up for believers on account of the word of God, and thus at last it offers the sweetness of its maturity." Whence Origen adds that the flower of cyprus has the power of warming. Christ, therefore, is a cluster of cyprus to those whom he kindles with the fire of charity: these, in Engaddi, that is, in the fountain of temptation, do not succumb, but overcome it bravely. Hence Philo Carpathius understands by the cluster the very faithful of Christ: "The cluster," he says, "while it ripens, brings pleasure to those who behold it: so those who have begun to believe in Christ, yet not receiving mature fruits, are compared to a flowering cluster; but when they already taste the ripe cluster, having put on the true faith and charity of Christ, they begin to be perfect, and are called by the name of bride."

Fourth, Aponius, interpreting cyprus as sadness and sorrow, asserts that Christ is a cluster of cyprus to sinners, while he casts into them the spirit of compunction and sorrow for sins, that he may lift them up to the blessedness promised to those who mourn, Matthew 5:5: "Blessed," he says, "are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." For these are in Engaddi, that is, in the fountain of the kid, because with a fountain of tears they wash away the stinking kids of their crimes.

Tropologically, in Engaddi, that is, in the fountain of temptation, is found the cluster of cyprus, that is, Christ, because in temptation and tribulation the grace and consolation of Christ flowers and abounds, by whose fragrance and strength the soul afflicted with tribulations is wonderfully refreshed and strengthened, according to that word of the Psalmist: "According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your consolations have gladdened my soul," Psalm 93:19. So Theodoret: "Set in temptations," he says, "and assailed by many, she says: I feel your sweetness." Where, then, we are tempted by the enemy, there we shall be gladdened by Christ; where there is divine temptation, there is divine consolation; where the cross, there refreshment. For this Christ promised and merited for his followers. Whence Paul: "As," he says, "the sufferings of Christ abound in us: so also through Christ our consolation abounds," 2 Corinthians 1:5. Hence "we glory in tribulations," says the same, Romans 5:3, and we seek and desire them, because we know that hidden manna lies within them, more of divine honey than of human gall.

The Third and Principal Sense: Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin.

Christ on the cross was to the Blessed Virgin a bundle of myrrh; but in the resurrection a cluster of cyprus, when, appearing to her first, he wiped away all the sorrow of the passion, and turned it into the joy of exultation. So Rupert: "Therefore," he says, "my beloved is to me both a bundle of myrrh, because he was to die; and he was a cluster of cyprus, because he was to rise again, and dies no more. A cluster, I say, of cyprus, namely of a land or island bearing most sweet clusters and the best wine; because the wine of the resurrection is not just any wine, but the best, and this in the vineyards of Engaddi, that is, of the fountain of the kid: for this is what Engaddi means." He subjoins the reason: "Why, then, have I said this? Because, no doubt, this my beloved came to call not the righteous, but sinners, that they who had been dead through sin might rise again in the first resurrection; and this in the fountain of the kid, in the fountain of baptism, in the laver of regeneration, by which those regenerated become sheep, who had been kids; they become holy, who had been subject to sins."