Chapter X.

[41] _Glossa ordinaria, Lib. Regum_, ii. cap. xi. (Migne 113, col. 571, 572).

[42] _Comment. in Matthaeum_ (Migne 107, col. 734).

[43] Migne 114, col. 67.

[44] It was the way of Bede in his commentaries to speak briefly of the literal or historic meaning of the text, and then give the usual symbolical interpretations, paying special attention to the significance of the Old Testament narratives as types of the career of Christ (see _e.g._ the beginning of the Commentary on Exodus, Migne 92, col. 285 _sqq._; and Prologue to the allegorical Commentary on Samuel, Migne 92, col. 501, 502). For example, in the opening of the First Book of Samuel, Elkanah is a type of Christ, and his two wives Peninnah and Hannah represent the Synagogue and the Church. When Samuel is born to Hannah he also is a type of Christ; and Bede says it need not astonish one that Hannah’s spouse and Hannah’s son should both be types of Christ, since the Mediator between God and man is at once the spouse and son of Holy Church: He is her spouse as He aids her with His confidence and hope and love, and her son when by grace He enters the hearts of those who believe and hope and love. In _Samuelam_, cap. iii. (Migne 91, col. 508). Bede’s monastic mind balked at the literal statement that Elkanah had two wives (see the Prologue, Migne 91, col. 499).

[45] _Com. in Exodum_, Praefatio (Migne 108, col. 9).

[46] Migne 112, col. 849-1088. A number of these dictionaries were compiled, the earliest being the _De formulis spiritalis intellegentiae_ of Eucherius, Bishop of Lyons, who died in 450, ed. by Pauly 1884. In the later Middle Ages Alanus de Insulis (_post_, Chapter XXIX.) compiled one.

[47] These distinctions, not commonly observed, are frequently reiterated. Says Hugo of St. Victor (see _post_, Chapter XXVIII.) in the Prologue to his _De sacramentis_: “Divine Scripture, with threefold meaning, considers its matter historically, allegorically, and tropologically. History is the narrative of facts, and follows the primary meaning of words; we have allegory when the fact which is told signifies some other fact in the past, present, or future; and tropology when the narrated fact signifies that something should be done.” Cf. Hugo’s _Didascalicon_, v. cap. 2, where Hugo illustrates his meaning, and points out that this threefold significance is not to be found in every passage of Scripture. In _ibid._ v. cap. 4, he gives seven curious rules of interpretation (Migne 176, col. 789-793). In his _De Scripturis, etc., praenotatiunculae_, cap. 3 (Migne 175, col. 11 _sqq._), Hugo speaks of the anagogical significance in the place of the tropological.

[48] Raban’s Latin is “Ligabit earn ancillis suis”--the verse in Job xl. 24 reads “Ligabis earn ancillis tuis?” In the English version the verse is Job xli. 5, “Wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?”

[49] “Per fidem me cognoverunt”; I surmise a _non_ is omitted.

[50] The Scriptural citations are omitted. Rabanus wrote an allegorical _De laudibus sanctae crucis_ (Migne 107, col. 133-294), composed in metre with prose explanations, which explain very little. The metrical portion is a puzzle consisting of twenty-eight “figures,” or lineal delineations interwoven in hexameter verses; the words and letters contained within each figure “make sense” when read by themselves, and form verses in metres other than hexameters. The whole is as incomprehensible in meaning as it is indescribable in form. Angels, cherubim and seraphim, tetragons, the virtues, months, winds, elements, signs of the Zodiac, and other twelvefold mysteries, the days of the year, the number seven, the five books of Moses, the four evangelists, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the eight beatitudes, the mystery of the number forty, the sacrament shown by the number fifty,--all these and much besides contribute to the glory of the Cross, and are delineated and arranged in cruciform manner, so as to be included within the scope of the cross’s symbolical significance.

[51] Since allegory and the spirit of symbolism pervaded all mediaeval thought, the present and two following chapters aim only at setting forth the elements (with pertinent examples) of this quite limitless subject.

[52] See prefatory epistle to _Speculum ecclesiae_, Migne 172, col. 813. Compare the prefatory epistle to the _Gemma animae_, _ibid._ col. 541, and the Preface to the _Elucidarium_, _ibid._ col. 1109. Probably Honorius died about 1130.

[53] We have these sermons only in Latin. Presumably a preacher using them, gave them in that language or rendered them in the vernacular as he thought fit.

[54] “Ommia legalia Christus nobis convertit in sacramenta spiritualia” is Honorius’s apt phrase (which may be borrowed!), Migne 172, col. 842. His special reference is to circumcision.

[55] Ps. xxxi. Vulgate; Ps. xxxii. 2, Authorized Version.

[56] _Speculum ecclesiae_, “Dominica XI.” (Migne 172, col. 1053 _sqq._).

[57] Yet, curiously enough, near the time when I was making the following translation, I heard an elderly country clergyman preach substantially this sermon of Honorius--wherever he may have culled it, perhaps from some useful “Homiletical” Commentary.

[58] _Speculum ecclesiae_, “Dominica XIII.” (Migne 172, col. 1059-1061).

[59] _Speculum ecclesiae_, “Dominica in Septuagesima” (Migne 172, col. 855-857). Honorius may have forgotten the weariness of his supposed audience; for his sermon goes on with further admonition as to how the victory is to be won.

The allegorical interpretation of Scripture is exemplified in the whole limitless mass of mediaeval sermons. Illustrations from St. Bernard’s sermons on Canticles are given in Chapter XVII., also _post_, in Chapter XXXVI., II.

[60] For the Eucharist in the Carolingian period see _ante_, Chapter X. Berengar of Tours is spoken of in Chapter XII., IV.

[61] Many members in one body, one body in Christ (Rom. xii. 4, 5).

[62] Cf. _post_, Chapter XXXIII., V.

[63] The works of Hugo of Saint-Victor are contained in Migne’s _Patrologia Latina_, 175-177 (Paris, 1854; the reprint of 1882 is full of misprints). The Prolegomena (in French) of Mgr. Hugonin are elaborate and valuable. Mignon, _Les Origines de la scholastique et Hugues de Saint-Victor_ (2 vols., Paris, 1895), follows Hugonin’s writing and adds little of value. An exposition of Hugo’s philosophy is to be found in Stöckl, _Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters_, Band I. pp. 305-355 (Mainz, 1864). On the authenticity of the writings ascribed to him see Hauréau, _Les Œuvres de Hugues de Saint-Victor_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1886). For Hugo’s position in the history of scholasticism and mysticism see _post_, Chapter XXXVI., II.

[64] _Post_, Chapter XXXI., I.

[65] Hildebert’s letter is given _post_, Chapter XXX., III.

[66] On the neighbouring schools of Notre-Dame and St. Genevieve see _post_, Chapter XXXVII.

[67] At the opening of his _Expositio in regulam beati Augustini_, Migne 176, col. 881, Hugo explains that the precepts under which a monastic community lives are called the _regula_, and what we call a _regula_ is called a _canon_ by the Greeks; and those are called _canonici_ or _regulares_, who “juxta regularia praecepta sanctorum Patrum canonice atque apostolice vivunt.” Thus the “regular canons” of St. Augustine were monks who lived according to the rule ascribed to that saint. In the case of the Victorines the rule was drawn up chiefly by Abbot Gilduin. See Prolegomena to the works of _Hugo_, Migne 175, col. xxiv. _sqq._

[68] See the Prolegomena to the works of _Hugo de Saint-Victor_, by Hugonin, Migne 175, col. xl. _sqq._

[69] _Didascalicon_, vi. 3 (Migne 176, col. 799). Other contents of this work are given _post_, Chapter XXXVI., I.

[70] His death is touchingly described in a letter of Osbert, the canon in charge of the infirmary. See Migne 175, col. xlvii and clxi.

[71] Hugo, _De arrha animae_, Migne 176, col. 954. Yet Hugo sometimes was stung with an irrelevant pang for the German fatherland, which he had left: “I have been an exile since my boyhood, and I know how the mind grieves to forsake some poor hut’s narrow hearth, and how easily it may then despise the marble hall and fretted roof” (_Didascalicon_, iii. 20; Migne 176, col. 778). Compare the single letter of Hugo that has a personal note, _Ep._ i. (Migne 176, col. 1011).

[72] The _De sacramentis Christianae fidei_ is printed in Migne 176, col. 174-618. It is thus a lengthy work.

[73] Hugo evidently refers to his _De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris praenotatiunculae_, and his various _Adnotationes elucidatoriae_, which will be found printed in vol. 175 of Migne’s _Patrologia Latina_. In chap. v. of the work first mentioned (Migne 175, col. 13) he speaks sensibly of the folly of those who profess not to care for the literal historical meaning of the sacred text, but, in ignorance, spring at once to very inept allegorical interpretations.

[74] _De sacramentis_, Prologus (Migne 176, col. 183-185). A more elementary statement may be found in _De Scripturis, etc._, cap. xiii. (Migne 175, col. 20).

[75] God is perfect and utterly good. His beatitude cannot be increased or diminished, but it can be imparted. Therefore the primal cause for creating rational creatures was God’s wish that there should be partakers of His beatitude. This reasoning may be Christian; but it is also close to the doctrine of Plato’s _Timaeus_, which Hugo had read.

[76] Hugo also takes a wider view of the “place” of mankind’s restoration, and finds that it includes (1) heaven, where the good are confirmed and made perfect; (2) hell, where the bad receive their deserts; (3) the fire of purgatory, where there is correction and perfecting; (4) paradise the place of good beginnings; and (5) the world, the place of pilgrimage for those who need restoring.

[77] “Sacramentum est corporale vel materiale elementum foris sensibiliter propositum ex similitudine repraesentans, et ex institutione significans, et ex sanctificatione continens aliquam invisibilem et spiritalem gratiam” (pars ix. 2; Migne 176, col. 317). In spite of Hugo the old definition held its ground, being adopted by Peter Lombard and others after him.

[78] Here we see clearly that the works of the Creation have the sacramental quality of similitude and, in a way, the quality of institution, since their similitude to spiritual things was intended by the Creator for the instruction of man. They lack, however, the third quality of sanctification, which enables the material _signum_ to convey its spiritual _res_.

[79] _e.g._ the material of the sacrament, which may consist in things, as in bread and wine, or in actions (as in making the sign of the cross), or in words, as in the invocation of the Trinity. He also shows how faith itself may be regarded as a sacrament, inasmuch as it is that whereby we now see in a glass darkly and behold but an image. But we shall hereafter see clearly through contemplation. Faith then is the image, _i.e._ the sacrament, of the future contemplation which is the sacrament’s real verity, the _res_.

[80] _De sacr._ lib. i. pars xi. cap. 1. The sacraments of the natural law included tithes, oblations, and sacrifices. Hugo also considers the good works which the natural law prescribed. This period ceases with the written law given implicitly through Abraham and explicitly through Moses. See _De sacr._ lib. i. pars xii. cap. i. Hugo appears to me to vary his point of view regarding the natural law and its time, for sometimes he regards it as the law prevailing till the time of Abraham or Moses, and again as the law under which pagan peoples lived, who did not know the Mosaic law.

[81] _De sacr._ lib. i. pars xi. cap. 6 (Migne 176, col. 346).

[82] Whoever should wish for further illustration of Hugo’s allegorical methods may examine his treatises entitled _De arca Noë morali_ and _De arca Noë mystica_ (Migne 176, col. 618-702), where every detail of the Ark, which signifies the Church, is allegorically applied to the Christian scheme of life and salvation. With these treatises, Hugo’s _De vanitate mundi_ (Migne 176, col. 703-740) is connected. They will be referred to when considering Hugo’s position in mediaeval philosophy, _post_, Chapter XXXVI., II.

[83] See Duchesne, _Origines du culte chrétien_.

[84] See the epitaph from his tomb in S. Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, given by Savigny, _Geschichte des Römischen Rechts_, v. 571 _sqq._, who also gives a sketch of his life. With the work of Durandus, the _Gemma animae_ of Honorius of Autun (Books I. II. III.; Migne 172, col. 541 _sqq._) should be compared, as marking a somewhat earlier stage in the interpretation of the Liturgy. It also gives the symbolism of the church and its parts, its ministers, and services.

[85] Every article worn or borne by the bishop (or celebrating priest) has symbolic significance.

[86] All this (which is taken from Book IV. of the _Rationale_) is but the first part of the Mass. The maze of symbolism increases in vastness and intricacy as the office proceeds.

[87] Neh. iv.

[88] Matt. xix. 17.

[89] Many parts of the church have more than one significance. The windows were said before to represent hospitality and pity.

[90] _Post_, Chapter XXXV., I.

[91] The application of Vincent’s work to the sculpture and painting of a Gothic cathedral is due to Didron, _Iconographie chrétienne, histoire de Dieu_, Introduction (1843). Other writers have followed him, like Émile Male in his _L’Art religieux du XIII{e} siècle en France_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1902), to which the present writer is much indebted. It goes without saying, that the sources from which Vincent drew (_e.g._ the works of Albertus Magnus) likewise form a commentary upon the subjects of Gothic glass and sculpture, and may even have suggested the manner of their presentation.

[92] The opening verses of John’s Gospel account for this. Christ, or God in the person of Christ, is shown in Old Testament scenes as early as the fourth century upon sarcophagi in the Lateran at Rome.

[93] These subjects illustrated the series of events celebrated in the calendar of church services.

[94] _Post_, pp. 86 _sqq._

[95] _Ante_, Chapter XXVII.

[96] So the composition and the arrangement of topics in the cathedral sculpture and glass have scarcely the excellence of natural grouping. The arrangement is intended to illustrate the series of successive acts making up God’s own artist-composition, itself symbolical of His purpose in the creation and redemption of man.

[97] Adam’s hymns are edited with notes and an introductory essay by L. Gautier, _Œuvres poétiques d’Adam de S.-Victor_ (3rd ed., Paris, 1894). A number of his hymns will be found in Migne 196, col. 1422 _sqq._; and also in Clement’s _Carmina e poetis christianis excerpta_. On Adam’s verse see _post_, Chapter XXXII., III.

[98] Dante draws much from Richard of St. Victor.

[99] See _post_, Chapter XXXII., III.

[100] Gautier, _o.c._ p. 46 (Migne 196, col. 1437).

[101] The Hebrews in bondage to the Egyptians are the symbol of all men in the bonds of sin.

[102] As Christ expires the cherubim at the gate of Eden lower the flaming sword, so that the men bathed with His blood may pass in.

[103] Isaac was always a type of Christ; his name was interpreted laughter (_risus_) from Gen. xxi. 6: “And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”

[104] Joseph another type of Christ.

[105] This serpent, _i.e._ Christ the rod of Aaron, safe from the devil’s spite, consumes the false idols.

[106] The Brazen Serpent, a type of Christ. Cf. John iii. 14.

[107] Cf. Job xli. 1. The hook (_hamus_) is Christ’s divinity, whereby He pierces the devil’s jaw.

[108] Cf. Isa. xi. 8. The guiltless child is Christ, and the cockatrice is the devil.

[109] The children who mocked Elisha represent the Jews mocking Christ as He ascended Calvary; the bear is Vespasian and Titus who destroy Jerusalem.

[110] These again are types of Christ: David feigning madness among the Philistines, 1 Sam. xxi. 12-15; the goat cast forth for the people’s sins, Lev. xvi. 21, 22; and the sparrow in the rite of cleansing from leprosy, Lev. xiv. 2-7.

[111] Samson a type of Christ, will not wed a woman of his tribe (Judges xiv. 1-3) as Christ chooses the Gentiles; Samson bursts open Gaza’s gates as Christ the gates of death and hell.

[112] The allusion here is to the statement of mediaeval Bestiaries that the lion cub, when born, lies lifeless for three days, till awakened by his father’s roar. The supernal mother is the Church triumphant.

[113] The body of Christ, _i.e._ the Church.

[114] A topic everywhere represented in church windows and cathedral sculpture.

[115] Printed at the end of his _Paedagogus_; see Taylor, _Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages_, pp. 253-255, where it is translated.

[116] Although the dogmas of Christianity were formulated by reason, they were cradled in love and hate. Nowadays, in a time when dogmas are apt to be thought useless clogs to the spirit, it is well for the historically-minded to remember the power of emotional devotion which they have inspired in other times.

[117] Gautier, _Œuvres d’Adam_ (1st ed., vol. i. p. 11); Gautier (3rd ed., p. 269) doubts whether this hymn is Adam’s. But for the purpose of illustrating the symbolism of the twelfth-century hymn, the question of authorship is not important.

[118] _Ante_, Chapter XXVII.

[119] In these closing lines the “salubre sacramentum” is in apposition to “Ille de Samaria”--_i.e._ the “sacramentum” is the Saviour, who is also typified by the Good Samaritan. In another hymn for Christmas, Adam speaks of the concurrence in one _persona_ of Word, flesh, and spirit, and then uses the phrase “Tantae rei sacramentum” (Gautier, _o.c._ p. 5). Here the _sacramentum_ designates the visible human person of Christ, which was the life-giving _signum_ or symbol of so great a marvel (_tantae rei_) as the Incarnation. Adam has Hugo’s teaching in mind, and the full significance of his phrase will appear by taking it in connection with Hugo’s definition of the Sacrament, _ante_, Chapter XXVIII.

[120] Gautier, _o.c._ p. 10.

[121] The reference is to Aaron’s rod in Numbers xvii.

[122] The reference is to Gideon’s fleece, Judges vi. 37, which is a type of the Virgin Mary.

[123] Gautier, _o.c._ 1st ed., i. 155 (Migne 196, col. 1464). In his third edition, Gautier is doubtful of Adam’s authorship of this hymn because of its irregular rhyme.

[124] Cf. Gautier’s notes to this hymn, Gautier, _o.c._ 1st ed., i. 159-167.

[125] Gautier, _o.c._ i. 168.

[126] Gautier, _o.c._ ii. 127.

[127] Gautier, 3rd ed., p. 186. This is in Migne 196, col. 1502.

[128] A charlatan in Salimbene’s Chronicle, _ante_, Chapter XXI., uses a like phrase.

[129] For the data as to Alanus see the Prolegomena to Migne, _Pat. Lat._ 210, which volume contains his works. See also Hauréau, _Mém. de l’acad. des inscriptions et des belles lettres_, tome 32 (1886), p. 1, etc.; also _Hist. lit. de France_, tome 16, p. 396, etc. On Alanus and his place in scholastic philosophy, see _post_, Chapter XXXVI., III.

[130] Migne 210, col. 686-1012.

[131] Migne 210, col. 431-481. See _post_, Chapter XXXII., I.

[132] The significance of the title is not quite clear. The poem is written in hexametre, and is not far from 4700 lines in length. It is printed in Migne 210, col. 486-576; also edited by Thos. Wright, Master of the Rolls Series, vol. 59, ii. (1872).

[133] The poem is highly imaginative in the delineation of its allegorical figures.

[134] These curious lines are as follows:

“O nova picturae miracula, transit ad esse Quod nihil esse potest! picturaque simia veri, Arte nova ludens, in res umbracula rerum Vertit, et in verum mendacia singula mutat.” _Anticlaudianus_, i. cap. iv. (Migne 196, col. 491.)

[135] The allusion here is to the fate of Hippolytus, whose chariot-horses, maddened by the wiles of Venus, dashed the chariot to pieces and caused their lord’s death.

[136] i. cap. vi. Her garb and attributes are elaborately told. In the latter part of the poem she is usually called Phronesis.

[137] A favourite commonplace; Heloïse uses it.

[138] The functions of these virgins, the Seven Liberal Arts, are poetically told. The _Anticlaudianus_ is no text-book. But the poet apparently is following the _De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii_ of Martianus Capella, _ante_, Chapter IV.

[139] Compare the succession of Heavens in Dante’s _Paradiso_.

[140] One may recall Raphael’s painting of Theology on the ceiling of the Stanza del Segnatura in the Vatican. It is impossible not to compare the rôles of Alan’s Reason and Theology with those of Virgil and Beatrice in the _Commedia_.

[141] Here we are back in the _Celestial Hierarchy_ of Dionysius the Areopagite.

[142] As in Dante’s _Paradiso_.

[143] Most of these epithets of the Virgin come from allegorical interpretations of the text of the Vulgate.

[144] Compare the final vision of Dante in _Paradiso_, xxxiii.

[145] The reader will notice the Platonism and Neo-Platonism of all this.

[146] Notice that the Arts are here equipping and perfecting the man for his fight against sin;--which corresponds with the common mediaeval view of the function of education.

[147] The poem gives a full description of Fortune and her house, and unstable splendid gifts.

[148] But the different names of Alanus’s Virtues and Vices, and their novel antagonisms, indicate an original view of morality with him. On the _Psychomachia_ see Taylor, _Classical Heritage_, pp. 278 _sqq._ and 379. Allegorical combats and _débats_ (both in Latin and in the vernacular tongues) are frequent in mediaeval literature. Cf. _e.g._ _post_, Chapter XXX. Again, in certain _parabolae_ ascribed to St. Bernard (Migne 183, col. 757 _sqq._) the various virtues, Prudentia, Fortitude, Discretio, Temperantia, Spes, Timor, Sapientia, are so naturally made to act and speak, that one feels they had become personalities proper for poetry and art. Compare Hildegard’s characterizations of the Vices, _ante_, Chapter XIX.

[149] The English reader will derive much pleasure from F. S. Ellis’s admirable verse translation: _The Romance of the Rose_ (Dent and Co., London, 1900). Each of the three little volumes of this translation has a convenient synopsis of the contents. Those who would know what is known of the tale and its authors should read Langlois’s chapter on it, in _Histoire de la langue et de la littérature française_, edited by Petit de Julleville. It may be said here, for those whose memories need refreshing, that William de Lorris wrote the first part, some forty-two hundred lines, about the year 1237, and died leaving it unfinished; John de Meun took up the poem some thirty years afterwards, and added his sequel of more than eighteen thousand lines.

[150] The names are Englished after Ellis’s translation.

[151] See _ante_, Chapter XXIII.; De Meun took much from the _De planctu naturae_ of Alanus.

[152] _Post_, Chapter XXXIII.

[153] _Ante_, Vol. I. p. 213.

[154] Migne, _Pat. Lat._ 172, col. 1056.

[155] _Ante_, Chapter XII., I.

[156] _Ante_, Chapter XIII., I.

[157] _Ante_, Chapter XXVIII.

[158] _Didascalicon_, iii. 4 (Migne 176, col. 768-769).

[159] _De vanitate mundi_, i. (Migne 176, col. 709, 710).

[160] _Ep._ 169 (Migne, _Pat. Lat._ 100, col. 441).

[161] _Opusc._ xiii.; _De perfectione monachi_, cap. xi. (Migne 144, col. 306). See _ante_, Chapter XVI.

[162] _Speculum ecclesiae_ (Migne 172, col. 1085).

[163] Sonnet 56.

[164] _Ep._ i. (Migne 119, col. 433).

[165] John approved of reading the _auctores_, for educational purposes, and not confining the pupil to the _artes_. See _Metalogicus_, i. 23, 24 (Migne, _Pat. Lat._ 199, col. 453). On John, cf. _post_, Chapter XXXI. and XXXVI., III.

[166] _Polycraticus_, Prologus (Migne, _Pat. Lat._ 199, col. 385).

[167] _Post_, Chapter XXXVI., III.

[168] I draw upon the extracts given in the thesis of M. Demimuid, _De Bernardo Carnotensi grammatico professore et interprete Virgilii_ (Paris, 1873), who, as appears by his title, confuses the two Bernards.

[169] The author of a bastard epitome on the Trojan War, see _post_,