Mind of the Church

The mind of the Church, faithfully rendered into English

Library / Commentaries and Disputations on Genesis, Volume I

Book Six — the temptation and fall

QUESTION I. Whether what is said of the Cherubim, and of the flaming and turning sword, is to be taken historically, or only figuratively and mystically

LatineEnglish

QUESTION I. Whether what is said of the Cherubim, and of the flaming and turning sword, is to be taken historically, or only figuratively and mystically.1

QUAESTIO I. An quod dicitur Cherubim, & gladio flammeo, & versatili, historice, an tantum figurate ac mystice sit accipiendum.

Quidam putant, hanc Mosis orationem non esse historicam, nec ut verba proprie significant interpretandam, sed esse figuratam ac metaphoricam, eaque significari, firmissimo Deum praesidio aditum paradisi munivisse, ne quis eum in locum posset intrare, id est, facultatem & spem omnem ademisse homini, foelicem atque immortalem vitam in terris agendi.
Some think that this speech of Moses is not historical, nor to be interpreted as the words properly signify, but is figurative and metaphorical; and that by it is signified that God fortified the approach of paradise with a most firm garrison, lest anyone could enter into that place — that is, that he took away from man all faculty and hope of leading a happy and immortal life on earth.2
Verum non placet, quae hoc loco, similiter ut superiora omnia, historice narrantur a Mose, ea unam tantum ad interpretationem allegoricam contrahere. Nam si iuvaret allegoricas sequi commentationes, possemus dicere, ut a nonnullis, quibus curae fuit talia consectari, proditum est, Mosem his verbis significasse magna impedimenta, quibus homines post peccatum ab ingressu in paradisum coelestem retardantur. Quorum impedimentorum duplex est genus: Unum est invisibile, ex ipsis daemonibus hic significatis per Cherubim, profectum. Nam ut Paulus inquit, Non est nobis colluctatio adversus carnem & sanguinem, sed adversus principes & potestates, adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum, contra spiritualia nequitiae in coelestibus. Alterum est visibile tam bonorum, quam malorum corporalium, quibus homines vel deliniti, vel deterriti, fractique, a consecutione bonorum coelestium retrahuntur: quod adumbratum est a Mose per flammeum gladium & versatilem. Quanquam & illud ea re insinuari potuit, non sine perpetua dimicatione patere nobis in coelum posse aditum, Regnum enim coelorum vim patitur, & violenti rapiunt illud: & verum esse quod dixit Iob, Militiam esse vitam hominis super terram.
But it does not please me to contract to one allegorical interpretation only those things which in this place, similarly to all the preceding, are narrated historically by Moses. For if it helped to follow allegorical commentaries, we could say, as has been handed down by some who took care to pursue such things, that Moses by these words signified the great impediments by which men after sin are held back from entering the heavenly paradise. Of which impediments there is a twofold kind: One is invisible, proceeding from the demons themselves here signified by the Cherubim. For as Paul says, 'Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickednesses in the high places.' The other is visible, both of bodily goods and of evils, by which men, either allured, or deterred and broken, are drawn back from the attainment of heavenly goods: which was shadowed forth by Moses through the flaming and turning sword. Although this too could be insinuated by that thing — that the approach to heaven cannot lie open to us without perpetual struggle, for 'the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away'; and that what Job said is true, that 'the life of man on earth is a warfare.'3
Illud praeterea ad eiusmodi mystologias addi potest, denotari tria genera rerum quae magno sunt hominibus ad consequendam aeternam vitam impedimento. Etenim vocabulum Cherubim, significat plenitudinem scientiae: curiosum autem scientiae studium, mentisque superbia recusantis humiliter subiici disciplinae, ac fidei Christianae, multos ingressu coeli prohibet. Per gladium vero flammeum significantur omnes cupiditates & vitia, quae oriuntur ex appetitu sensitivo. hic autem duplex est, Concupiscibilis, qui significatus est per flammam, & Irascibilis per gladium. Volubilitas autem eius gladii, instabilitatem denotat, atque inconstantiam rerum humanarum, ipsorumque hominum, quorum plerique, si quando bene agere incipiunt, mox tamen defatigati deficiunt, nec in bonis studiis, propositis, coeptisque perseverant. Haec igitur & alia horum similia super his verbis Mosis allegorice a nobis disputari possent. Quae ut acute, docte, pieque cogitata, & tradita non inficior; sic alium sententiae Mosis sensum historicum, & litteralem quaerendum esse contendo.
This besides can be added to such mystologies: that three kinds of things are denoted which are a great impediment to men for attaining eternal life. For the word 'Cherubim' signifies fullness of knowledge; but the curious study of knowledge, and the pride of a mind refusing to be humbly subjected to discipline and to the Christian faith, prohibits many from entering heaven. But by the flaming sword are signified all the desires and vices which arise from the sensitive appetite; and this is twofold — the Concupiscible, signified by the flame, and the Irascible, by the sword. But the turning of that sword denotes the instability and inconstancy of human affairs, and of men themselves, most of whom, if ever they begin to do well, yet soon, wearied, fail, and do not persevere in good pursuits, purposes, and undertakings. These things, therefore, and others like them, could be disputed by us allegorically upon these words of Moses. Which, as acutely, learnedly, and piously thought out and handed down, I do not deny; so I contend that another, historical and literal sense of Moses's meaning is to be sought.4

Translator’s notes

  1. Heading of Question I of the disputation. Catchword 'QUIDAM' (the answer begins on the next page). ↩
  2. The first view answering Question I: the passage is only figurative/metaphorical — signifying that God cut off man's every faculty and hope of an immortal life on earth. Marginal gloss: 'Mystica huius loci interpretatio.' Running head '702'; true printed page 712. ↩
  3. Pererius: one should not reduce to allegory alone what Moses narrates historically. Yet he grants the allegories that COULD be made: the impediments to the heavenly paradise are twofold — invisible (the demons signified by the Cherubim; Eph 6:12 'our wrestling is not against flesh and blood') and visible (bodily goods and evils, signified by the flaming sword); heaven requires perpetual struggle (Matt 11:12 'the kingdom of heaven suffers violence'; Job 7:1 'the life of man is a warfare'). Marginal glosses: 'Impedimentorum ad aeternam vitam genus duplex'; 'Ephes. ulti.'; 'Matth. 11.'; 'Iob. 7.' ↩
  4. A further allegory: three impediments to eternal life — Cherubim ('fullness of knowledge') = curiosity and intellectual pride refusing the faith; the flaming sword = the sensitive appetite's desires and vices (concupiscible = flame, irascible = sword); the sword's turning = the inconstancy of men who begin well but fail to persevere. Pererius grants these allegories are pious but insists on seeking the literal, historical sense. Marginal gloss: 'Tria rerum genera, quae magno sunt hominibus ad consequendam vitam beatam impedimento.' Catchword: 'QUAE' (QUAESTIO II, on the next page). ↩