Cornelius a Lapide

THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE. VERSE 3. AS THE APPLE TREE AMONG THE TREES OF THE FOREST, SO IS MY BELOVED AMONG THE SONS.

AS THE APPLE TREE AMONG THE TREES OF THE FOREST. —

The Arabic: as the pomegranate in the tree of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons; Vatablus: among the young men, as if to say: By as much as the apple tree shines forth, stands out, and excels beyond the other trees of the forest; by as much as it imparts a more useful and wholesome air than they, where it casts its shade; by as much as its fruits are better than acorns; by as much as the man who feeds on these excels all the other living creatures that feed on those: by so much, and indeed by much more, does my heavenly bridegroom excel all other men and the beloved, that is, both those who are loved and those who love. Further, the Chaldean renders it: behold, as the beautiful and praiseworthy citron-tree among the fruitless trees, and the whole world knows it: so was the Ruler of the age praiseworthy among the angels at the time when he was revealed on Mount Sinai, when he gave the law to his people. In Greek mallon, in Latin malus or melum, or literally melum (as Origen's translator has it, whence also the Italians call fruits mele), it is a fruit-tree bearing fruit. Now fruits in general are all those growths that have a soft rind; as nuts have a hard one: wherefore figs, pears, grapes, peaches, cherries, plums, sorb-apples, medlars, olives, dates, etc., are reckoned as fruits.

Dionysius the Carthusian adds here: "Although," he says, "there have been many holy virgins, yet in comparison with the most blessed Virgin they seem to have been as thorns, insofar as they had something of fault in them; and although they were pure in themselves, yet the tinder was not entirely extinguished in them: they were thorns also to others, who were pricked by concupiscence at the sight of them. But the Virgin Mother of God was utterly immune from all fault, the tinder was fully extinguished in her; and yet she was filled with intense charity: wherefore she so pierced the hearts of those who beheld her with her inestimable virginal chastity, that she could be desired by no one; rather, she even extinguished their lust for the hour."

Again, as the lily avails against serpents and poisons, so the invocation of the Blessed Virgin is a singular remedy in every temptation of vice, and especially of lust, as experience confirms. Hear Pliny, book XXI, chapter xix: "The roots of the lily," he says, "have this, that they bear fruit against the strikes of serpents when drunk in wine, and against the poisons of mushrooms." Dioscorides indeed, book III, chapter xc, where he treats of the lily: "The leaves of the herb," he says, "applied, help against the bites of serpents; the same, boiled in water, help burns of fire, and, prepared with vinegar, wounds." The same Dioscorides, book XV, chapter i, teaches that the root of another kind of lily, which in Latin is called iris, but in Italian lilium coeleste, drunk with vinegar, cures the bites of venomous animals. And Peter Matthiolus, in his Commentary, adds that the same root, pounded into powder and drunk with vinegar, is universally beneficial against all poisons.

First, then, the Church compares Christ the bridegroom to the apple, that is, to the fruit-tree, because as the apple tree is fruitful and excels the other trees of the forest, which are barren and unfruitful, so Christ excels all angels and men: for all of these are of themselves like unfruitful trees, but by the grace of Christ and of God they have in many ways ennobled their blossom against the strikes of serpents, and have this, that they bear the fruits of the virtues of grace and glory. So Origen, Cassiodorus, Bede, and others. Further, St. Bernard, sermon 48, maintains that Christ is here compared and preferred to men only, not to angels, and this is strictly true, as Nyssen, Aponius, Philo Carpathius, Rupert, and others also hold.

Second, as fruits breathe out a sweet fragrance, so too Christ draws all to himself by his fragrance and fame. Hence the fruit is called in Hebrew תפוח tappuach, from the root פוח puach, that is, "he breathed out, exhaled," because fruits exhale a sweet fragrance. Hear St. Ambrose, sermon 5 on Psalm 118, verse 1: "As the apple among the trees of the forest. A fruit of this kind has a pleasing fragrance, such that it surpasses the fragrance of other fruits. Christ, then, fastened to the wood, like an apple hanging on a tree, poured forth the good fragrance of worldly redemption, which wiped away the heavy stench of sin, and poured out the ointment of the living draught."

Third, the apple, or fruit-tree, has under it various species of trees, which accordingly produce fruits and produce of different kinds, and these of excellent flavor, color, and fragrance, such as golden apples, Median apples, pomegranates, peaches, quinces, apricots, and citron apples: so too Christ brings forth all the species of virtues and graces, as virginity in virgins, martyrdom in martyrs, contemplation in contemplatives, etc.

Fourth, Christ is truly for us a fruit and an apple, that is, food by which we are fed and nourished, both in the doctrine of the Gospel, as Theodoret, St. Ambrose, Bede, Aponius, and St. Bernard hold; and properly, as Philo Carpathius, Origen, Nyssen, and Anselm judge, in the Eucharist. A fruit, says Nyssen, delights your senses — sight by its color, smell by its fragrance, and taste by its flavor. Christ does the same. Philo Carpathius adds that the fruit gives food, and gives drink also: so too Christ, he says, in the Eucharist gives his flesh for food, his blood for drink. Whence Aponius and Psellus understand by the apple here the pomegranate, from which a red and watery juice is pressed out, just as from the side of Christ on the cross flowed blood and water. Hear St. Gregory: "Rightly, then, by the apple is Christ figured, and by the trees of the forest the rest of men: because in Christ alone, as often as we seek the food of salvation, we find it; in his words and examples we refresh our souls with sweet and wholesome fruit. He himself is indeed the tree of life, which he grants to us. He it is who, while he breathes himself into us, feeds the soul. But in the rest, if we find any refreshment, it is not theirs, but Christ's, that we take from them, because whatever is in them apart from God, we find without doubt to be deadly to us."

Fifth, Nyssen, homily 4, teaches that Christ descended into the forest of this life, that he might make the wild trees fruitful — namely, that he might make the unfaithful faithful, the impious pious, the unchaste chaste, the proud humble: just as a branch of the apple tree, grafted onto a beech, or another forest tree, in it and from it produces its own fruits and apples.

All these things, with the name changed, apply to the holy soul and to the Blessed Virgin.

Finally, "the apple among the trees of the forest" is the cross, and Christ crucified in the midst of thieves, say Aponius, Psellus, Theodoret, Rupert, and St. Bernard. And this, first, because, as Adam sinned in an apple, by eating the fruit forbidden by God, so Christ made satisfaction in an apple, hanging on the cross, so that where the fault had been committed, there satisfaction too might be made; and that he who "was conquering by the tree, might also be conquered by the tree." Second, because the apple tree has the shape of a cross (just as also the mast in a ship, with its yardarms and sails): for the trunk has the shape of the beam, and the branches, of the crosspiece on the cross: for on the spread branches of the apple tree, just as on the crosspiece, the outstretched arms of the crucified can be fastened with nails. Third, because this very thing is confirmed by what follows: "Under his shadow, whom I had desired, I sat: and his fruit was sweet to my throat," as if to say: under the apple, that is, under the cross of Christ, I sat, and tasted his fruit. Fourth, because it is the opinion of many that the cross of Christ was made from the palm: and the palm is an apple tree, because it bears dates, which, since they have a sweet and soft rind, are called fruits. Fifth, because this is signified, chapter 8, verse 5, when it is said: "Under the apple tree I raised thee up," where more is said on this matter.

Whence, alluding to this, Fortunatus, and after him the Church in the Office of the Passion and of the Cross, sings thus: Faithful cross, above all others, one and only noble tree: no forest bears such a one in leaf, flower, bud: sweet the wood, sweet the nails, sweet the burden it sustains.

The bride says therefore: "As the apple among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons," as if to say, with St. Ignatius: "My love is crucified"; I love none, save Christ crucified. And with St. Paul: "Far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world," Galatians 6:14. Hear St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, sermon 5, verse 1: "These are the dwellings of the cross of Christ and of the burial, in which the Church was wounded, but with the wound of charity. For it is a wound, which Christ received; but it is an ointment, which he poured out; it is an apple, which hung. This apple the Church tasted, and said: And his fruit is sweet in my throat. And that you may know that the Lord is the apple, you have read above: As the apple among the trees of the forest, so is my kinsman."

UNDER HIS SHADOW, WHOM I HAD DESIRED, I SAT: AND HIS FRUIT WAS SWEET TO MY THROAT.

The Septuagint: in (Symmachus: under) his shadow I desired and I sat, that is, I ardently desired his shadow, and having desired it I enjoyed it, and sat most pleasantly under it; Vatablus: whose shadow I sought, and under it I will sit; the Arabic: I desired to be overshadowed by his shadow, and I sat.

She persists in the comparison of the apple tree: for the apple tree gives a better shade than the plane tree, whose shade nevertheless is reckoned most pleasant, on the testimony of Pliny, and of Plato in the Phaedrus, where he brings in Socrates disputing under a plane tree: "For this plane tree," he says, "is spread quite wide with spreading branches, and tall, and its height and shade are exceedingly beautiful and pleasant," etc.

For fruit-bearing trees, such as the apple tree, as they are in themselves more temperate and sweeter than the unfruitful and wild ones, so too they give off a more temperate and sweeter shade than those: add also the fruit, by which they relieve the hunger, heat, and thirst of travelers resting beneath them.

Note: under the shadow signifies the bride's betrothal: for the bride of old was accustomed to be covered by the bridegroom with a canopy, or covering, or cloak, by which it was signified that she, as a bride, was under the bridegroom's care and protection. Whence Ruth, chapter 3:9, seeking marriage with Boaz, who as the nearest kinsman was bound by the old law to take her, says to him: "Spread thy cloak over thy handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman," that is: take me into thy shadow, namely into thy family, house, care, and protection; take me to wife, betroth me to thyself, and, as a sign of betrothal, join me to thyself under the shadow and covering of thy cloak. And God says to the Synagogue, Ezekiel 16:8: "Behold, thy time," he says, "the time of lovers: and I spread my mantle over thee." The same was the rite of the gentiles. Whence Euripides, in Stobaeus, brings in a father thus instructing his daughter: "When thou hast come under the cloak of an excellent man, leave the rest of the concerns to thy husband." Finally, Gabriel said to the Blessed Virgin, Luke 1:35: "The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee," as if to say: the Holy Spirit, as a bridegroom, shall receive thee with his shadow, and shall accomplish in thee the hidden incarnation of the Word. The Chaldean, taking these things according to the custom of the law given by Moses to the Synagogue and the Jews, renders it thus: for a time I desired to dwell in the shadow of his majesty; and the words of his law were sweet to my throat; and the rewards of his precepts are kept for me in the age to come.

FIRST, ADEQUATE SENSE. Concerning Christ and the Church.

You will ask: what is that shadow of Christ, which the Church, and the holy soul, embraces, and under which she joyfully sits and rests?

They answer, first, some that it is the Incarnation, or the Word incarnate: for this, as the sole remedy for her thousand ills, the Church awaited most eagerly through so many thousands of years. For the Word is light, and immense radiance, whose shadow is the body and the humanity assumed by him; for this, like a shadow, hides and veils the deity and majesty of the Word. The humanity, therefore, is the shadow of the divinity, which through its thin veil shines and gleams dimly.

Second, properly and genuinely, the shadow of Christ is the providence, care, and protection of the Church and of the holy soul, as of his bride, according to that word of Isaiah, chapter 51:16: "In the shadow of my hand I have protected thee, that thou mayest plant the heavens, and found the earth." So Origen, Nyssen, Cassiodorus, Ambrose, Philo, St. Anselm, and others. From this power of Christ, as though animated, the shadow of St. Peter healed whatever sick it touched, Acts 5:15. Hence Jeremiah says of Christ: "In thy shadow we shall live among the nations," Lamentations 4:20, and Hosea 14:8. The Septuagint render it: unto our couch, shadowy — namely, the bridegroom Christ. And the Psalmist: "And in the shadow of thy wings I will hope," Psalm 56, verse 2.

Third, the shadow of Christ is the Holy Spirit: for as a body casts a shadow, and by it is veiled and overshadowed, so Christ, as God, breathes forth the Holy Spirit, and by him is, as it were, veiled and covered. Hence the Holy Spirit, overshadowing the Blessed Virgin, formed in her womb the body of Christ, as he is man, organized it, animated it, and joined it hypostatically to the Word of God, Luke 1:31; just as a hen, brooding over her eggs with the shadow of her wings, forms the chick by her warmth, animates it, gives it life, and hatches it, says Theophylact on Luke 1. Hear St. Gregory: "The shadow of Christ is the protection of the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit overshadows the mind which he fills, because he tempers every heat of temptations; and while the breath of his inspiration gently touches the mind, whatever harmful heat it was enduring, he drives away; and the mind which the excessive heat of vices had perhaps already made withered, the shadow of the Holy Spirit, protecting, restores, so that, while it rests sitting in his inspiration, it gathers strength, by which it may run more vigorously to eternal life."

Fourth, Origen, Theodoret, Philo Carpathius, and St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, sermon 5, understand by the shadow the old law, under which the Church says she sat before Christ, while she still dwelt in the Synagogue of Moses: for the law was the shadow of the Gospel, as Moses was of Christ, and the Synagogue of the Church.

Fifth, fittingly St. Bernard, sermon 48, understands by the shadow faith, which is shadowy and obscure: for we walk by faith and not by sight, but faith leads us to clear vision in the heavens.

SECOND, PARTIAL SENSE. Concerning Christ and the holy soul.

The holy soul under the shadow of Christ crucified does not stand, but sits, that is, is continually engaged through meditation, prayer, and contemplation, especially while she is tormented and pressed by some temptation or tribulation, as by the heat of the sun: for Christ crucified, as he shares with her his cross, so too he shares with her a participation in his strength; indeed he often soothes her with great and wondrous consolations from heaven, so that she would rather be on the cross with Christ than in delights with the world. Whence also Blessed Francis Xavier, in his labors and hardships in the Indies, so overflowed with heavenly sweetness that he cried out: "It is enough, Lord, it is enough; for my mind cannot bear so great a weight of joys in this life." So St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, sermon 5. This is what the Psalmist sings: "But the children of men shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure," Psalm 35:8. Theodoret notes, in the Philotheus, or History of the Holy Fathers, chapter 9, that the soul devoted to Christ crucified looks up to, loves, and venerates not only Christ himself, but also his garment, his house, his shoes, and whatever, however slight, bears some shadow of him.

Second, the shadow of Christ is the sacrament of the Eucharist, for in it, under the appearances of bread, the deity and humanity of Christ are hidden: which the faithful accordingly eagerly desire, and under it they rest securely: so St. Bernard, sermon 48.

Third, the shadow of Christ are the saints: for as a shadow is an image of the body, but slight and inadequate, so the life of the saints is an image of the life of Christ, but only a shadowy one, not equaling it: wherefore the pious soul, while she dwells in the company or congregation of the faithful and the saints, is protected by it as by a shadow, and is cherished by its holy examples and counsels. So three Fathers, in Theodoret.

Fourth, Origen thinks that by the shadow is signified progress in virtue: for as the shadow grows from midday into the evening, so too the virtue of the holy soul grows and advances day by day. Again, the shadow leads to the body. "Make it, then," says Origen, "so that, when thou art worthy of the shadow, thou mayest be able to grasp his shadow, and when this is accomplished, his body — if I may so speak — from which the shadow is born, will come to thee, and then thou shalt feel the sweetness of his fruit, and shalt say: And his fruit was sweet to my throat."

THIRD, PRINCIPAL SENSE. Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin.

The shadow signifies the betrothal of the Blessed Virgin, as I said a little before, according to that word, Luke 1:35: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." This overshadowing, then, as it were betrothed her to the Holy Spirit, who accordingly formed in her Christ, the Holy of Holies, and then filled her with the most sweet fruit of consolation and contemplation.

Again, the shadow of the Blessed Virgin was not only the Holy Spirit, but also Christ: for here he is called her beloved, that is, her bridegroom. For the Blessed Virgin supremely desired his coming and incarnation: wherefore before his coming she sat under his shadow, both because from faith in Christ's being incarnated in her she drew all her grace, even in advance of the incarnation itself; and because her whole hope, desire, consolation, protection, and every good was to hope for Christ who was to be born, to see and love him as he was being born, and to enjoy him now born.

AND HIS FRUIT WAS SWEET TO MY THROAT.

The Septuagint: to my jaws; Vatablus: and his fruit is most sweet to my palate. You will ask: what here is the fruit of Christ?

I answer, the first fruit of Christ is the remission of sins, justification, grace, and the virtues. Likewise the preaching of the apostles, and the conversion of the nations: so St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, sermon 5.

The second fruit of Christ are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which St. Paul enumerates, Galatians 5:22, saying: "The fruit of the Spirit is: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness," etc. For Christ, sending the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the faithful at Pentecost, sent together with him these his gifts and fruits likewise. So three Fathers, in Theodoret.

The third fruit, real and bodily, sweet to the throat, both of body and of soul, is the Eucharist, by which Christ feeds us, and with whose sweetness, as of heavenly manna, he inebriates the mind. So Aponius, Rupert, and St. Bernard, sermon 48. For the love of Christ and his benefits, such as the Eucharist, are represented here under various figures and schemes.

The fourth fruit of Christ is his speech and heavenly doctrine, and therefore most wholesome and most sweet: whence also it is called the Gospel, that is, the good and happy tidings, because it announces the kingdom of heaven, and the way of arriving there. So Nyssen, homily 4, and St. Ambrose, note on chapter 16 of Exodus.

The fifth fruit is continual meditation on the law of the Lord, says Origen; and still more the contemplation of Christ, and of his deity, and of his incarnation, passion, etc. So St. Gregory; hear him: "Christ himself exists as a fruit-bearing tree, planted in our heart through faith; and if our mind worthily loves it, and constantly cultivates it, it undoubtedly brings forth beautiful and useful fruits within. Which, while the mind receives and eagerly eats them, it sets aside all the pleasures of the world for the sake of its sweetness. For it is very sweet for it to think on heavenly things, to fix its inmost eye on eternity, so that at times the mind, kindled, is even pierced with weeping, and, lifted up amid tears by the food of angels, is fed on wisdom itself the more eagerly, the more sweetly. Hence it is that what follows is added: He brought me into the wine cellar." So St. Magdalene, sitting at the feet of Jesus, was fed by the contemplation of Christ as by heavenly manna; whence she deserved to hear from him, Luke 10:42: "Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her forever." And St. Augustine, in the Soliloquies, chapter 22: "I beseech thee," he says, "that all things may grow bitter to me, that thou alone mayest appear sweet to my soul." The same, in the Manual, chapter 20: "The loving soul," he says, "is drawn by vows, is borne by desires, hides its merits, closes its eyes to majesty, opens them to delight, placing itself in salvation, and acting confidently therein. By love the soul withdraws and departs from the bodily senses, so that she does not feel herself, who feels God. This happens when the mind, enticed by the ineffable sweetness of God, in a certain way steals itself from itself, indeed is carried away and slips from itself, that it may enjoy God unto delight. Nothing is so delightful — were it not so brief. Love gives familiarity, familiarity with God gives boldness, boldness gives taste, taste gives hunger. The soul which the love of God touches can think of nothing else, desire nothing else, but often sighs, saying: As the hart desireth the fountains of water, so my soul desireth thee, my God." And after some things: "A safe and firm rest for the weak and for sinners is in the wounds of the Savior. There I dwell secure: through the wounds his inmost parts lie open to me: whatever is lacking to me from myself, I take for myself from the inmost parts of my Lord, since they overflow with mercy, nor are there wanting openings through which it may flow out. Through the openings of the body, the secrets of the heart lie open to me, the great sacrament of piety lies open. The inmost parts of the mercy of our God lie open, in which the dayspring from on high hath visited us. The wounds of Jesus Christ are full of mercy, full of piety, full of sweetness and charity." So St. Bonaventure, when visited by St. Thomas Aquinas, and asked from what book he drew such wise, such pious and sweet thoughts and words as he poured forth in teaching and writing, showed him the image of Christ crucified, and said: "This is the book, my father, that suggests to me all that I teach and write. For at the feet of this crucified one my soul draws greater light from heaven than from all reading, disputation, and study." So our Father Ribadeneira, in the Life of St. Bonaventure, from the Chronicles of St. Francis.

Anagogically, St. Bernard, sermon 48: "She says," he says, "And his fruit was sweet to my throat. Rightly had she desired his shadow, from whom she was to receive both refreshment and nourishment alike. For the rest of the trees of the forest, even though they have the shade of comfort, yet have not the nourishment of life, not the perpetual fruits of salvation. For there is one author of life, one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who says to his bride: I am thy salvation. Not Moses, he says, gave you this bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven, John 6:32. Therefore she had desired above all the shadow of Christ, because he alone is the one who not only cools the heat of vices, but also fills with the delight of the virtues."