But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.

“And, looking to the grace of Christ, they despised all the torments of this world, redeeming themselves from eternal punishment by [the suffering of] a single hour. For this reason the fire of their savage executioners appeared cool to them. For they kept before their view escape from that fire which is eternal and never shall be quenched, and looked forward with the eyes of their heart to those good things which are laid up for such as endure; things "which ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, neither have entered into the heart of man," but were revealed by the Lord to them, inasmuch as they were no longer men, but had already become angels.”

“John, therefore, did distinctly foresee the first "resurrection of the just," [Luke 14:14] and the inheritance in the kingdom of the earth; and what the prophets have prophesied concerning it harmonize [with his vision]. For the Lord also taught these things, when He promised that He would have the mixed cup new with His disciples in the kingdom. The apostle, too, has confessed that the creation shall be free from the bondage of corruption, [so as to pass] into the liberty of the sons of God. [Romans 8:21] And in all these things, and by them all, the same God the Father is manifested, who fashioned man, and gave promise of the inheritance of the earth to the fathers, who brought it (the creature) forth [from bondage] at the resurrection of the just, and fulfils the promises for the kingdom of His Son; subsequently bestowing in a paternal manner those things which neither the eye has seen, nor the ear has heard, nor has [thought concerning them] arisen within the heart of man. For there is the one Son, who accomplished His Father's will; and one human race also in which the mysteries of God are wrought, "which the angels desire to look into;" and they are not able to search out the wisdom of God, by means of which His handiwork, confirmed and incorporated with His Son, is brought to perfection; that His offspring, the First-begotten Word, should descend to the creature, that is, to what had been moulded, and that it should be contained by Him; and, on the other hand, the creature should contain the Word, and ascend to Him, passing beyond the angels, and be made after the image and likeness of God.”

“Nor could there be any better ornament for the ears than true instruction, which finds its way naturally into the passages of hearing. And eyes anointed by the Word, and ears pierced for perception, make a man a hearer and contemplator of divine and sacred things, the Word truly exhibiting the true beauty "which eye hath not seen nor ear heard before."”

“If indeed it will be thought that both these passages were pronounced simply of the element earth, how can it be consistent that it should shake and melt at the presence of the Lord, at whose royal dignity it before exulted? So again in Isaiah, "Ye shall eat the good of the land," the expression means the blessings which await the flesh when in the kingdom of God it shall be renewed, and made like the angels, and waiting to obtain the things "which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man." Otherwise, how vain that God should invite men to obedience by the fruits of the field and the elements of this life, when He dispenses these to even irreligious men and blasphemers; on a general condition once for all made to man, "sending rain on the good and on the evil, and making His sun to shine on the just and on the unjust!" Happy, no doubt, is faith, if it is to obtain gifts which the enemies of God and Christ not only use, but even abuse, "worshipping the creature itself in opposition to the Creator!" You will reckon, (I suppose) onions and truffles among earth's bounties, since the Lord declares that "man shall not live on bread alone!" In this way the Jews lose heavenly blessings, by confining their hopes to earthly ones, being ignorant of the promise of heavenly bread, and of the oil of God's unction, and the wine of the Spirit, and of that water of life which has its vigour from the vine of Christ.”

“But the righteous will remember only the righteous deeds by which they reached the heavenly kingdom, in which there is neither sleep, nor pain, nor corruption, nor care, nor night, nor day measured by time; nor sun traversing in necessary course the circle of heaven, which marks the limits of seasons, or the points measured out for the life of man so easily read; nor moon waning or waxing, or inducing the changes of seasons, or moistening the earth; no burning sun, no changeful Bear, no Orion coming forth, no numerous wandering of stars, no painfully-trodden earth, no abode of paradise hard to find; no furious roaring of the sea, forbidding one to touch or traverse it; but this too will be readily passable for the righteous, although it lacks no water. There will be no heaven inaccessible to men, nor will the way of its ascent be one impossible to find; and there will be no earth unwrought, or toilsome for men, but one producing fruit spontaneously in beauty and order; nor will there be generation of wild beasts again, nor the bursting substance of other creatures. Neither with man will there be generation again, but the number of the righteous remains indefectible with the righteous angels and spirits. Ye who believe these words, O men, will be partakers with the righteous, and will have part in these future blessings, which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." To Him be the glory and the power, for ever and ever. Amen.”

“For, having left God, the parent and founder of all things, men began to worship the senseless works of their own hands. And what were the effects of this corruption, or what evils it introduced, the subject itself sufficiently declares. For, turning away from the chief good, which is blessed and everlasting on this account, because it cannot be seen, or touched, or comprehended, and from the virtues which are in agreement with that good, and which are equally immortal, gliding down to these corrupt and frail gods, and devoting themselves to those things by which the body only is adorned, and nourished, and delighted, they sought eternal death for themselves, together with their gods and goods relating to the body, because all bodies are subject to death.”

“Wherefore I do not think that he is to be reckoned amongst the pious who presumes to inquire into anything beyond these things, not listening to this saying: "Seek not out the things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength." For if the knowledge of many other things that are incomparably inferior to this, are hidden from human comprehension, such as in the apostle Paul, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." As also God said to Abraham, that "he could not number the stars;" and that passage, "Who can number the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain?" How shall any one be able to investigate too curiously the subsistence of the divine Word, unless he be smitten with frenzy?”

“For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.”

“Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we shall be righteous; but if we do not serve Him, because we believe not the promise of God, we shall be miserable. For the prophetic word also declares, "Wretched are those of a double mind, and who doubt in their heart, who say, All these things have we heard even in the times of our fathers; but though we have waited day by day, we have seen none of them accomplished. Ye fools! compare yourselves to a tree; take, for instance, the vine. First of all it sheds its leaves, then the bud appears; after that the sour grape, and then the fully-ripened fruit. So, likewise, my people have borne disturbances and afflictions, but afterwards shall they receive their good things." Wherefore, my brethren, let us not be of a double mind, but let us hope and endure, that we also may obtain the reward. For He is faithful who has promised that He will bestow on every one a reward according to his works. If, therefore, we shall do righteousness in the sight of God, we shall enter into His kingdom, and shall receive the promises, "which ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, neither have entered into the heart of man." [1 Corinthians 2:9]”

“"But as it is written, Things which eye saw not and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love Him." Where are these words written? Why, it is said to have been "written," then also, when it is set down, not in words, but in actual events, as in the historical books; or when the same meaning is expressed, but not in the very same words, as in this place: for the words, "They to whom it was not told about Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand," are the same with "the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard." Either then this is his meaning, or probably it was actually written in some books, and the copies have perished. For indeed many books were destroyed, and few were preserved entire even in the first captivity. And this is plain, in those which remain to us. For the Apostle saith "From Samuel and the Prophets which follow after they have all spoken concerning Him:" and these their words are not entirely extant. Paul, however, as being learned in the law and speaking by the Spirit, would of course know all with accuracy. And why speak I of the captivity? Even before the captivity many books had disappeared; the Jews having rushed headlong to the last degree of impiety: and this is plain from the end of the fourth book of Kings, for the book of Deuteronomy could hardly be found, having been buried somewhere in a dunghill. And besides, there are in many places double prophecies, easy to be apprehended by the wiser sort; from which we may find out many of the things which are obscure. What then, hath "eye not seen what God prepared?" No. For who among men saw the things which were about to be dispensed? Neither then hath "the ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man." How is this? For if the Prophets spoke of it, how saith he, "Ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man?" It did not enter; for not of himself alone is he speaking, but of the whole human race. What then? The Prophets, did not they hear? Yes, they heard; but the prophetic ear was not the ear "of man:" for not as men heard they, but as Prophets. Wherefore he said, "He hath added unto me an ear to hear," meaning by "addition" that which was from the Spirit. From whence it was plain that before hearing it had not entered into the heart of man. For after the gift of the Spirit the heart of the Prophets was not the heart of man, but a spiritual heart; as also he saith himself, "We have the mind of Christ" as if he would say, "Before we had the blessing of the Spirit and learnt the things which no man can speak, no one of us nor yet of the Prophets conceived them in his mind. How should we? since not even angels know them. For what need is there to speak," saith he, "concerning 'the rulers of this world,' seeing that no man knew them, nor yet the powers above?"”

“Whosoever receiveth not the teaching of Christ and groweth not in virtues, his loss is the kingdom of heaven, and the happiness and delight which are sealed and preserved for the chosen of God, and that which the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, and which hath not gone up in the heart of man, and that intercourse which the perfect will have with Christ, and for the sake of which Christ Himself even came down from heaven to earth, and in the end this man's loss is his own person, together with the good things which are above nature.”

“Having set forth the exposition concerning the wisdom of which the Apostle speaks among the perfect, here he assigns the reason for the aforesaid exposition, and first as to this, that he had described it by comparison to unbelievers; second, as to this, that he had described it by comparison to believers, at *but to us God has revealed*. Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets forth what he intends; second he proves the proposition, at *for if they had known*. He says therefore first: it was said that the wisdom which we speak is not of the princes of this age, for this is the wisdom which none of the princes of this age has known, which is true, of whatever princes it be understood. For secular princes have not known this wisdom, because it exceeds the reason of human governance. Job 12: *who changes the heart of the princes of the people of the earth, and deceives them, that they may walk in vain where there is no way*. Philosophers also have not known it, because it exceeds human reason. Whence it is said Bar. 3:23: *the seekers of prudence and of knowledge have not known the way of wisdom*. Demons also do not know it, because it exceeds all created wisdom. Whence it is said Job 28:21: *the birds of the heaven also are hidden from it. Destruction and death have said: with our ears we have heard the report of it*. Then when he says *for if they had known*, etc., he proves what he had said, and first indeed he proves by a sign that the princes did not know the wisdom of God, according as it is hidden in itself. Second he proves by authority that they did not know it, according as it is prepared unto our glory, at *as it is written*. He says therefore first: rightly do I say that the princes of this age have not known the wisdom of God, for if they had known the wisdom of God, they would surely have known Christ to be God, who is contained in this wisdom, which being known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory, that is, Christ the Lord himself giving glory to his own, according to that Ps. 23:10: *the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory*; and Heb. 2:10: *who had brought many sons into glory*. For since glory is naturally desirable to a rational creature, it cannot fall into human will that one should slay the author of glory. But that the princes crucified Jesus Christ is certain, if it be understood of the princes who have power among men. For it is said in Ps. 2:2: *the kings of the earth stood up, and the princes gathered together as one against the Lord, and against his Christ*, which Acts 4:27 expounds of Herod and Pilate, and the princes of the Jews who consented to the death of Christ. But demons too worked toward the death of Christ, by persuading, according to that Jn. 13:2: *when the devil had now put into the heart that he should betray him*, et cetera. But also the Pharisees, and the Scribes learned in the law, who devoted their study to wisdom, worked toward the death of Christ by instigating and approving. But concerning this a twofold doubt arises, of which the first is concerning this, that he says the Lord of glory was crucified. For the divinity of Christ could not suffer anything, according to which Christ is called Lord of glory. But it must be said that Christ is one person and hypostasis subsisting in each nature, namely divine and human. Whence he can be designated by the name of either nature, and by whatever name he is signified, that which belongs to either nature can be predicated of him, because to each there is not supposed except one hypostasis. And in this way we can say that a man created the stars, and that the Lord of glory was crucified, and yet he did not create the stars according as he is man, but according as he is God, nor was he crucified according as he is God, but inasmuch as he is man. Whence by this word the error of Nestorius is destroyed, who had said that there was one nature in Christ, of God and of man, because according to this it could in no way be verified that the Lord of glory was crucified. The second doubt is concerning this, that he seems to suppose that the princes of the Jews or the demons did not know Christ to be God. And indeed, as to the princes of the Jews, this seems to be established by this, that Peter says, Acts 3:17: *I know that through ignorance you did this, as did also your princes*. But it seems to be contrary what is said Matt. 21:38: *the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves: this is the heir, come, let us kill him*; which Chrysostom, expounding, says: *the Lord manifestly proves by these words that the princes of the Jews crucified the Son of God not through ignorance, but through envy*. It is resolved in the Gloss that the princes of the Jews knew him to be the one who was promised in the law, yet not the mystery of him, that he was the Son of God, nor did they know the sacrament of the incarnation and redemption. But against this seems to be what Chrysostom says, that they knew him to be the Son of God. It must be said therefore that the princes of the Jews knew for certain that he was the Christ promised in the law, which the people did not know. But that he was truly the Son of God they did not know for certain, but conjectured it in some way; but this conjectural knowledge was obscured in them by envy and by desire of their own glory, which they saw diminished by the excellence of Christ. Likewise also there seems to be a doubt concerning the demons. For it is said Mk. 1:23 ff. and Lk. 4:34, that the demon cried out, saying: *I know that you are the Holy One of God*. And lest this be ascribed to the presumption of the demons, who boasted of knowing what they did not know, their knowledge which they had of Christ is asserted by the Evangelists themselves. In Mark indeed it is thus written: *he did not allow them to speak*, namely the demons, *because they knew him to be the Christ*. And Luke says: *rebuking them he did not allow them to speak because they knew him to be the Christ*. And to this it is answered in the book of Questions of the New and Old Testament, that the demons knew him to be the one who was promised through the law, because they saw in him all the signs which the prophets had said, but they were ignorant of the mystery of his divinity. But against this seems to be what Athanasius says, that the demons called Christ the Holy One of God, as it were singularly holy: for he alone is naturally holy, by participation in whom all others are called holy. But it must be said that, as Chrysostom says, they did not have firm and certain knowledge of the coming of God, but certain conjectures. Whence Augustine says in Bk. 9 of the City of God that he became known to the demons, not through that which is eternal life, but through certain temporal things wrought by his power. Then when he says *but as it is written*, he proves by authority that the princes of this age did not know the wisdom of God, as to this, that it was predestined unto the glory of the faithful, saying: *but as it is written*, Is. 64:4, where our text has: *eye has not seen, O God, besides you, what you have prepared for those who love you*. Now that glory of vision is shown to be plainly unknown to men in two ways. First indeed, that it is not subject to human senses, from which all human knowledge takes its beginning. And he sets down two senses. First the sense of sight, which serves discovery, when he says that *eye has not seen*, Job 28:7: *the path of it the bird has not known, nor has the eye of the vulture looked upon it*. And this because it is not something colored and visible. Second he sets down the sense of hearing, which serves instruction, saying *nor has ear heard*, namely that glory itself, because it is not sound or sensible voice. Jn. 5:37: *neither have you seen his shape, nor have you heard his voice*. Then he excludes intellectual knowledge of it, when he says *neither has it ascended into the heart of man*. This indeed can be understood: in one way, that whatever is known by man in any way whatsoever is said to ascend into the heart of man, according to that Jer. 2:50: *let Jerusalem ascend upon your heart*: and thus it must be that the heart of man is taken for the heart of the carnal man, according to that which is said below in ch. 3:3: *since there is among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to man?* The sense therefore is that that glory is not only not perceived by sense, but not even by the heart of the carnal man, according to that Jn. 14:17: *whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him, nor know him*. In another way it can be expounded according as that is properly said to ascend into the heart of man which comes from below to man's intellect, namely from things sensible, of which he had made mention before. For things are in the intellect according to its mode; therefore lower things are in a higher intellect in a higher mode than in themselves. And therefore when they are grasped by the intellect, they in a certain way ascend into the heart. Whence it is said Is. 65:17: *the former things shall not be in memory, nor shall they ascend upon the heart*. But those things which are in the intellect and are themselves higher, are in themselves in a higher mode than in the intellect. And therefore when they are grasped by the intellect, they in a certain way descend. James 1:17: *every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights*. Because therefore the knowledge of that glory is not received from things sensible, but from divine revelation, therefore he says pointedly *neither has it ascended into the heart of man*, but it descends, namely that which *God has prepared*, that is, predestined, *for those who love him*, because the essential reward of eternal glory is owed to charity, according to that Jn. 14:21: *if anyone loves me, he will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him*, in which the perfection of eternal glory consists; and Job 36:33: *he declares concerning it*, that is, concerning the light of glory, *to his friend, that it is his possession*. But the other virtues receive the efficacy of meriting eternal life, inasmuch as they are informed by charity. Then when he says *but to us*, etc., he proves the aforesaid exposition concerning divine wisdom by comparison to believers. And first he sets forth what he intends; second he proves the proposition, at *for the Spirit*. He says therefore first: it was said that no one of the princes of this age knew the wisdom of God, *but to us God has revealed* it *through his Spirit*, namely whom he has sent to us, according to that Jn. 14:26: *but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things*, Job 32:8: *the inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding*. For because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, as proceeding from the Son, who is the truth of the Father, he inspires truth into those to whom he is sent, just as the Son, sent by the Father, makes known the Father, according to that Matt. 11:27: *no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him*. Then when he says *for the Spirit*, he proves what he had said, namely that through the Holy Spirit wisdom was revealed to believers. And first he shows that the Holy Spirit is efficacious for this; second he proves that this he had done in the disciples of Christ, at *but we*. Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets forth what he intends; second he manifests the proposition, at *for who of men knows*, et cetera. He says therefore first: it was said that through the Holy Spirit God has revealed to us his wisdom, and this could come about: for *the Spirit searches all things*. This is not to be understood as though by inquiring how things come to be, but because he knows perfectly and even the inmost things of whatsoever matters, just as a man sometimes diligently searches. Whence it is said Wis. 7:22f. that *the spirit of understanding is holy, watching over all things, and taking in all spirits that are intelligible, pure, subtle*, and he knows perfectly not only created things, but also the deep things of God. Now those things are called deep which lie hidden in him, and not those things which are known of him through creatures, which are seen as it were only on the surface, according to that Wis. 13:5: *from the greatness of the beauty and of the creature the creator of them can knowably be seen*. Then, when he says *for who of men knows*, he proves what he had said concerning the Spirit of God by a likeness of the human spirit, saying *for who of men knows the things that are of man*, that is, the things that lie hidden in the heart, *except the spirit of man which is in him*, that is, the intellect? And therefore the things that lie hidden within cannot be seen. He says pointedly, however, *who of men*, lest even God should seem to be excluded from knowledge of these things; for it is said Jer. 17:9: *perverse is the heart of man, and who shall know it? I, God, proving hearts and searching reins*, because indeed of the secrets of the heart God alone is the knower. Now the reason is manifest why man cannot know the things that lie hidden in another's heart, because man's knowledge is received from sense, and therefore the things that are in another's heart, man cannot know, except insofar as they are made manifest through sensible signs, according to that 1 Kg. 16:7: *man sees the things that appear outwardly, but God beholds the heart*. But neither can a good angel nor a bad one know the things that lie hidden in man's heart, except insofar as they are made manifest through certain effects, the reason for which can be taken from the very word of the Apostle, who says the spirit of man knows the things that lie hidden in man's heart for this reason, that it is in the man himself; but an angel, whether good or bad, does not glide into the human mind so as to be in man's very heart and operate within it, but this belongs to God alone. Whence God alone is conscious of the secrets of man's heart, according to that Job 16:20: *behold, my witness is in heaven, and my knower is on high*. Second he adapts the likeness to the Spirit of God, saying *so too the things that are of God*, that is, the things that lie hidden in God himself, *no one knows, except the Spirit of God*, according to that Job 36:26: *behold, God is great, surpassing our knowledge*. But just as the things that are in one man's heart are made manifest to another through sensible signs, so the things that are of God can be known to man through sensible effects, according to that Wis. 13:5: *from the greatness of the beauty and of the creature*, et cetera. But the Holy Spirit, who is in God himself, as consubstantial with the Father and the Son, sees the secrets of the divinity through himself, according to that Wis. 7:22: *for in her*, namely the wisdom of God, *is the spirit of understanding, holy, having all power, watching over all things*. Then, when he says *but we*, etc., he shows how the knowledge of the Holy Spirit is received, saying: although no man of himself can know the things that are of God, *but we*, namely filled with the Holy Spirit, *have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God*. Now by the name "spirit" is understood a certain vital and cognitive and motive force. The spirit of this world, then, can be called the wisdom of this world, and the love of the world, by which man is driven to do the things that are of the world; but this spirit the holy apostles did not receive, casting off and despising the world, but they received the Holy Spirit, by whom their hearts were illumined and enkindled to the love of God, according to that Jn. 14:26: *but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name*, etc., and Num. 14:24: *my servant Caleb, who is full of another spirit, and has followed me, I will bring into this land*. But the spirit of this world causes error, according to that Is. 19:3: *the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the midst thereof, and I will cast down its counsel*. From the divine spirit, however, we have obtained *that we may know the things that are given to us by God*, that we may know concerning divine matters as much as God has granted to each; because, as is said Eph. 4:7, *to each one grace is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ*. Or it can be understood that the Spirit of God is given to the saints, that they may know spiritual gifts, which, not having, they are ignorant of that same Spirit, according to that Apoc. 2:17: *to him who overcomes I will give hidden manna, which no one knows except he who receives it*. From this, however, it can be gathered that just as *no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him*, as is said Matt. 11:27: so no one knows the things that are of God the Father and the Son, except the Holy Spirit and those who have received him: and this because just as the Son is consubstantial with the Father, so the Holy Spirit is with the Father and the Son.”

“But, as it is written , eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him . After “ but ” there is an ecthlipsis, and we must supply, “this wisdom and the glory which was its end were hidden from them,” as it is written, &c. He then quotes Isaiah Ixiv. 4. 1. Isaiah, in the passage quoted, is speaking of the Incarnation of Christ and of this present life. And hence Chrysostom, Ambrose, Theophylact, CEcumenius take this verse of the miracles of Christ, and of the wisdom, virtues, and grace which Christ by living here on earth has imparted to us. 2. It is more agreeable to the context to say that Isaiah seems to fly away in admiration from the Incarnation and manhood of Christ to the celestial glory, which is the fruit and end of the Incarnation THE BLISS OF HEAVEN 35 of Christ; for such flights and sudden changes are common with the Prophets, because of the sublime and ample light of prophecy which they enjoyed. This appears from the words used ; as, e.g., “ Him that waiteth for him,” and “ Thou meetest him that worketh righteousness .” He is speaking then of the fruit of the works of the just, viz., the eternal life which we wait for; for the fruit of the Incarnation and faith does not meet them that work righteousness, but those that are sitting in darkness and sin. So says S. Jerome (in Isa. lxiv.), S. Dionysius (He Ccelest Hierarch. 12), and Vasquez, in the passage above quoted. Hence S. Bernard ( Serm . 4 on the Vigil of the Nativity) says : “ Eye hath not seen that unapproachable light ear hath not heard that incomprehensible peace . ... And why is it that it Teas not ascended into the heart of man f Surely because it is a spring and cannot ascend. For we know that the nature of springs is to seek the rivers in the valleys , and to shun the tops of the mountains ; for God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble .” S. Augustine, inhis “Meditations,” ch. 22 etseqq., and “Soliloquies,” ch. 35 and 36, discourses most beautifully about the greatness of this bliss. The author too of the book on “The Spirit and the Soul” (which is found in vol. iii. ch. 36 of S. Augustine’s works), very appropriately says on this passage of the Apostle: “As the outward man is affected by temporal things through his five senses , so the inward man , in the life of bliss , is affected by the five ineffable attributes of God through his ineffable love for Him. For when he shall love his God He will know him as a certain light a voice , a sweet odour , a food and an inward embrace. For there shines the light which no place can contain ; there sounds the music which no time steals away ; there is the sweet odour which no wind can scatter; there is the food which is eaten and yet undiminished ; there clings to us the good which knows no satiety ; there is God seen without intermission^ known without error , loved without disgust , and praised without wearying .” These words of the Apostle were once the occasion of the conversion of S. Adrian, and made him a martyr. He was a soldier 36 iFIRST EPISTLE TO THE and in the flower of his age, viz., twenty eight years old, and when he beheld the constancy of the Christian martyrs in the tortures that they had to endure for the faith of Christ, he asked them what they expected in return for such sufferings, what enabled them to overcome such tortures. They replied, “ We hope for those good things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for them that love Him. 1 By these words Adrian was touched and converted, and he hastened to get himself enrolled in the list of martyrs, and eagerly bore a cruel death at Nicomedia, with his wife Natalia looking on and encouraging him. This was a.d. 306, under Diocletian. 3. The meaning of this passage will be complete if you combine the two interpretations given above thus : Those good things which Thou, God, through Christ, hast prepared for them that wait for Thee, surpass all our senses, experience, natural understanding, and all human desire, not only in this life in the case of those who have already caught some sounds of Thee, but also chiefly and most properly in future glory. There will God, who is Himself all that good is, give Himself to the blessed, and will be as all in all, a a Anselm says. For by these words of Isaiah, the Apostle proves what he had said, viz., that the wisdom as well as the glory of Christ was secret and hidden, as we saw above. Neither have entered into the heart qf masK Has not come into the mind of man : no man can by nature think of or understand them. The heart with the Hebrews stands for the mind For what the heart fa to the body — its chief and noblest part, the source and principle of life — that fa the mind to the souL Moreover, the heart supplies the brain with its vigour, and so fa a kind of handmaid to the imagination and consequently the understanding. Hence Aristotle, though against Galen and all other physicians* placed the apprehension of external objects not in the brain but in the heart He distinguished the vital organs of man by their functions in these verses : “ The heart gives wisdom, the lung speech, and anger comes from the bile. The spleen is the cause of laughter, and love comes from the liver.' 9 THE DEEP THINGS OF COD 37 Where Isaiah has “them that wait for Thee,” S Paul has "them that love thee* The sense is the same, for love is one cause of expectation. Ver. ia — But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. S. Paul here anticipates an objection. It might be said," If eye hath not seen, neither have entered into the heart of man, the wisdom and the glory that Christ has prepared for His friends, how is it that yon boast yourself of its possession ? 99 Paul replies that he knows them not by sight, sensation, or by the understanding, but by the inspiration and revelation of God. Hence, Clement of Alexandria ( Peedag . lib. Lc.6) interprets the phrase, " ear hath not heard, * by adding, “except that ear which was taken up into the third heaven,* vis., Paul’s, who heard with the ear in Paradise mystic words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Paul means, then, that God has revealed these things to us His Apostles and Prophets filled with His Spirit, in order that we may teach you and others. It appears from this that not only is our longing for bliss and glory supernatural, but that our knowledge of them is also, whether that knowledge be of them in their essence, or merely the obscure and fragmentary knowledge of the Apostles and of all others who are still "in the way.* Consequently there is not naturally in man any perfect and effectual desire, or appetite, for this bliss. The Spirit searcheth all things , yea, the deep things of God. That is, penetrates into and perceives everything. For when men want to learn something of which they are ignorant, they are wont to search and inquire about it But God, without any such searching, knows everything at a glance, and as it were by a single application of Hit mind. (S. Thomas, Theodoret, Theophylact.) The deep things of God are all the most secret and inward counsels of God. Amongst them the chiefest is this mystery of man’s glory and redemption by Christ. All these the Holy Spirit penetrates into and clearly views, because He is of one essence and knowledge with God, and therefore He so "searches the deep things of God,* that nothing in God remains unknown to Him. His knowledge and sight equal their object, and He knows God as He 38 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE can be known ; the Holy Spirit, because He is God, comprehends God and His Divinity as completely as He comprehends Himself. (Molina part i. qu. 14, a. 3, Theodoret, S. Thomas.) From this passage Ambrose and other Fathers prove the Godhead of the Holy Ghost against the Macedonians. To sura up S. Paul’s meaning : The Holy Spirit has revealed to us these mysteries and secrets of God : He knows all the secrets of God, and therefore He searches and clearly views the deep things of God”

“But God hath revealed them unto us,.... Should it be said, that since this wisdom is so hidden and mysterious, the doctrines of the Gospel are so unknown, so much out of the sight and understanding of men, how come any to be acquainted with them? The answer is ready, God has made a revelation of them, not only in his word, which is common to men, nor only to his ministers, but to private Christians and believers, by his Spirit; which designs not the external revelation made in the Scriptures, though that also is by the Spirit; but the internal revelation and application of the truths of the Gospel to the souls of men, which is sometimes ascribed to the Father of Christ. Mat 16:17 sometimes to Christ himself, Gal 1:12 and sometimes to the Spirit of Christ, Eph 1:17 and who guides into all truth, Joh 16:13, and here to the Father by the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God; which does not suppose any ignorance of these things in the Spirit, antecedent to his searching of them; but his complete and perfect knowledge of them; even as God's searching of the hearts of men expresses his omniscience, and through knowledge of all that is in them: the "all things" the Spirit searches into, and has a perfect knowledge of, do not design in the utmost extent everything which comes within the compass of his infinite understanding; but every thing that is in, or belongs to the Gospel of Christ, even the more mysterious and sublime, as well as the more plain and easy doctrines: for the "deep things of God" intend not the perfections of his nature, which are past finding out unto perfection by men; nor the depths of his wise and righteous providence; but the mysterious doctrines of the Gospel, the fellowship of the mystery which was hid in God, his wise counsels of old concerning man's salvation, the scheme of things drawn in his eternal mind, and revealed in the word.”

“But, as it is written - The quotation is taken from Isa 64:4. The sense is continued here from verse seven, and λαλουμεν, we speak, is understood - We do not speak or preach the wisdom of this world; but that mysterious wisdom of God, of which the prophet said: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. These words have been applied to the state of glory in a future world; but they certainly belong to the present state, and express merely the wondrous light, life, and liberty which the Gospel communicates to them that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in that way which the Gospel itself requires. To this the prophet himself refers; and it is evident, from the following verse, that the apostle also refers to the same thing. Such a scheme of salvation, in which God's glory and man's felicity should be equally secured, had never been seen, never heard of, nor could any mind but that of God have conceived the idea of so vast a project; nor could any power but his own have brought it to effect.”

“Isaiah Ixiv. 4. " From the beginning of the world they have not heard, nor perceived with the ears: the eye hath not seen, 0 God, besides Thee, what things Thou hast prepared for them that wait for thee." The apostle applies to the revealed mysteries and blessings of the Gospel what the prophet said of tem- poral favours, the types of better things.”

“But--(it has happened) as it is written. Eye hath not seen, &c.--ALFORD translates, "The things which eye saw not . . . the things which God prepared . . . to us God revealed through His Spirit." Thus, however, the "but" of Co1 2:10 is ignored. Rather construe, as ESTIUS, "('We speak,' supplied from Co1 2:8), things which eye saw not (heretofore), . . . things which God prepared . . . But God revealed them to us," &c. The quotation is not a verbatim one, but an inspired exposition of the "wisdom" (Co1 2:6, from Isa 64:4). The exceptive words, "O God, beside (that is, except) Thee," are not quoted directly, but are virtually expressed in the exposition of them (Co1 2:10), "None but thou, O God, seest these mysteries, and God hath revealed them to us by His Spirit." entered--literally, "come up into the heart." A Hebraism (compare, Jer 3:16, Margin). In Isa 64:4 it is "Prepared (literally, 'will do') for him that waiteth for Him"; here, "for them that love Him." For Isaiah spake to them who waited for Messiah's appearance as future; Paul, to them who love Him as having actually appeared (Jo1 4:19); compare Co1 2:12, "the things that are freely given to us of God"”