TWELFTH DISPUTATION. How the Ark of Noah, according to Allegory, was a figure of the Church of Christ — Commentaries and Disputations on Genesis, Volume II

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TWELFTH DISPUTATION. How the Ark of Noah, according to Allegory, was a figure of the Church of Christ.

DUODECIMA DISPUTATIO. Quomodo Arca Noë secundum Allegoriam figura fuerit Ecclesiae Christi.

ALLEGORICAM interpretationem arcae Noë, prout ea fuit umbra quaedam et imago Ecclesiae Christi, ex probatissimorum auctorum, Origenis, Augustini, Gregorii, Ruperti aliorumque sententiis contextam, hic brevissimis verbis apponam. Noë figura fuit Christi tam nomine quam factis. Nomen enim Noë Requiem significat, vera autem requies nostra Christus fuit. Ipse enim dixit: Tollite iugum meum super vos, et discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris; et proxime ante dixerat: Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos.

I shall here, in the briefest words, set forth the allegorical interpretation of the Ark of Noah — inasmuch as it was a certain shadow and image of the Church of Christ — woven together from the opinions of the most approved authors: Origen, Augustine, Gregory, Rupert, and others. Noah was a figure of Christ both in name and in deeds. For the name “Noah” means “Rest,” and our true rest was Christ. For he himself said: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11); and just before he had said: “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.”¹

Non igitur absque divino praesagio Lamech filium suum appellavit Noë, dicens: Iste consolabitur nos, vel requiescere nos faciet ab operibus et laboribus manuum nostrarum in terra cui maledixit Dominus. Non videtur autem secundum historiam id convenire admodum in Noë: quippe eius tempore maiorem Deus quam unquam irae suae vim ostendit, adeo ut diceret: Paenitet me fecisse hominem, et delebo omnem substantiam quam feci de superficie terrae. Denique maximae Dei offensae, irae atque vindictae indicium fuit destructio per diluvium orbis terrae, et animalium atque hominum interitus.

Not without divine presage, therefore, did Lamech call his son Noah, saying: “This same shall comfort us, or shall make us rest, from the works and labors of our hands, in the land which the Lord hath cursed” (Gen. 5). But according to the history this does not seem to fit Noah very well: for in his time God showed the force of his anger more than ever, so much so that he said: “It repenteth me that I have made man, and I will destroy every substance that I have made from the face of the earth” (Gen. 6). In short, the destruction of the world by the flood, and the perishing of animals and men, was a token of God's greatest offense, anger, and vengeance.²

At vero secundum allegoriam, pulcherrime quadrat in Christum Dominum: vera enim requies et consolatio nostra fuit remissio peccatorum nostrorum, quam ipse nobis tribuit per Baptismum suum, cuius figura fuit illud diluvium: nam ut in illo peccatores perierunt, sic peccata in hoc delentur. Duplicem igitur noster Noë requiem nobis praestitit, unam ab operibus manuum nostrarum, id est, a peccatis, ne conscientiam nostram perturbent, inquietent ac devexent; alteram a miseriis et aerumnis, quibus propter peccata iuste subiecti sumus in terra cui maledixit Deus: Homo, inquit Iob, natus de muliere, brevi vivens tempore, repletur multis miseriis. Qui quasi flos egreditur et conteritur, et fugit velut umbra, et nunquam in eodem statu permanet.

But according to allegory, it squares most beautifully with Christ the Lord: for our true rest and consolation was the remission of our sins, which he bestowed on us through his Baptism, of which that flood was a figure: for as in that [flood] the sinners perished, so in this [baptism] sins are blotted out. Our Noah, therefore, granted us a twofold rest: one from the works of our hands — that is, from sins — lest they disturb, disquiet, and harass our conscience; the other from the miseries and hardships to which, on account of sins, we are justly subjected in the land which God cursed: “Man,” says Job, “born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries. Who cometh forth like a flower and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never continueth in the same state” (Job 14).³

Sunt quidem etiam iustificati per Christum nihilominus quam ceteri malis huius vitae subiecti, sed sunt tamen ad breve tempus, et cum spe certissima consequendi sempiternam impassibilitatem, atque interim mala quae perferunt multum conducunt illis ad incrementa virtutum materiemque amplissimorum meritorum atque praemiorum. Quemadmodum autem per unum Noë servatus est orbis, sic per unum Christum servantur omnes: Non enim est aliud nomen sub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri. Et ut Noë per…

Those justified through Christ are indeed, no less than the rest, subject to the evils of this life; yet they are so for a short time only, and with the most certain hope of attaining everlasting impassibility; and meanwhile the evils which they endure contribute much to their increase of virtues, and furnish matter for the amplest merits and rewards. And as through one Noah the world was saved, so through one Christ are all saved: “For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4). And as Noah, by…⁴

…lignum conservavit reliquias humani generis, ita Christus per lignum Crucis et passionem suam humanum genus a morte redemit. Salutiferum igitur fuit hoc Christi diluvium, a tempore Christi coeptum et inundans universum orbem, in quo plures submersi sunt peccatores ad eorum tamen salutem, quam in illo demersi sunt ad ipsorum perditionem et interitum.

…wood preserved the remnants of the human race, so Christ, by the wood of the Cross and his passion, redeemed the human race from death. Salutary, therefore, was this flood of Christ, begun from the time of Christ and inundating the whole world, in which more sinners have been submerged — yet unto their salvation — than were drowned in that [flood of Noah] unto their perdition and ruin.

QUEMADMODUM porro Deus dixit ad Noë: Fac tibi arcam, ita dixit nostro Noë, qui vere iustus et perfectus fuit placens Deo, ut fabricaret sibi Ecclesiam ex firmissimis lignis, id est, ex omnibus gentibus in aeternum victuris, et mensuras ei daret caelestibus sacramentis repletas. Haec autem arca Ecclesiae non uno anno aedificata est, sed centum annis, id est, ab exordio mundi aedificari coepta est Ecclesia, nec usque ad finem mundi aedificatio eius cessabit; unde Paulus dixit: Deum dedisse Apostolos, Prophetas, Evangelistas, pastores et doctores, ad consummationem sanctorum, in aedificationem corporis Christi. Arca in fluctibus natabat; sic Ecclesia in persecutionibus et tentationibus versatur: Per multas enim tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei. Arca non ex uno, sed ex multis lignis bitumine coniunctis facta est: sic Ecclesia ex multis hominibus collecta est, vinculo charitatis in unitate fidei conglutinatis.

Moreover, just as God said to Noah, “Make thee an ark,” so he said to our Noah — who was truly just and perfect and pleasing to God — that he should build for himself a Church out of the firmest timbers, that is, out of all the nations that shall live forever, and should give it measurements filled with heavenly sacraments. But this ark of the Church was not built in one year, but in a hundred years — that is, the Church began to be built from the beginning of the world, nor will its building cease until the end of the world; whence Paul said that God “gave some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, unto the edification of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4). The ark floated upon the waves; so the Church is engaged amid persecutions and temptations: “For through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14). The ark was made not of one, but of many timbers joined with bitumen; so the Church has been gathered out of many men, glued together by the bond of charity in unity of faith.⁵

ERANT autem ligna ex quibus constructa erat arca secundum aliquos incorruptibilia, secundum alios fortia, secundum nostram translationem levigata, secundum editionem Septuaginta quadrata, et haec omnia in Ecclesiam recte conveniunt. Siquidem Ecclesia requirit homines incorruptos peccatis et Deo semper viventes; exigit quoque homines fortes ad ferendas iniurias, et ad quaecumque adversa ingruerint toleranda animosos et constantes; desiderat quoque homines levigatos, id est, non asperos, non acerbos, non intractabiles, sed mansuetos, affabiles, nullam cuique dantes offensionem, et in quibus sint viscera charitatis. Quadrata ligna sunt in Ecclesia doctores et magistri. Quadratum enim est, inquit Origenes, quod nulla vacillat ex parte, sed quocumque verteris, fida et solida stabilitate consistit. Et haec quadrata ligna fuerunt, quae omne pondus arcae, tam animalium intrinsecus quam fluctuum extrinsecus, sustinebant.

Now the timbers of which the ark was constructed were, according to some, incorruptible; according to others, strong; according to our translation, planed smooth (levigata); according to the edition of the Septuagint, squared (quadrata) — and all these fit the Church rightly. For the Church requires men uncorrupted by sins and ever living to God; it demands also men strong to bear injuries, and spirited and constant in enduring whatever adversities may assail; it desires also men “planed smooth,” that is, not rough, not harsh, not intractable, but gentle, affable, giving offense to no one, and in whom are the bowels of charity. The squared timbers are, in the Church, the doctors and teachers. “For that is squared,” says Origen, “which wavers on no side, but, whichever way you turn it, stands with sure and solid stability.” And these were the squared timbers which bore the whole weight of the ark, both of the animals within and of the waves without.⁶

Et sancti Doctores Ecclesiae tam intrinsecus fideles verbo commonitionis et doctrinae gratia consolantur, quam extrinsecus infidelibus impugnantibus, et quaestionum fluctus ac procellas disputationum commoventibus, virtute verbi, sapientia rationis obsistunt, et velut murus quidam et defensio sunt iis qui intrinsecus sunt; obstaculum autem et impugnatio iis qui extrinsecus superveniunt. Quia igitur undique stabilis est sanctorum vita doctorum, et ad omne bonum opus parata, ideo de lignis quadratis Ecclesia Christi fabricatur. Haec ligna intrinsecus et extrinsecus bitumine liniuntur, vult enim te architectus Ecclesiae Christus non esse talem quales sunt multi, qui deforis apparent hominibus iusti, intus autem sunt sepul[chra]…

And the holy Doctors of the Church both, within, console the faithful by the word of admonition and the grace of doctrine, and, without, withstand by the power of the word and the wisdom of reason the unbelievers who assail and stir up floods of questions and storms of disputations; and they are, as it were, a wall and a defense to those who are within, but an obstacle and a repulse to those who come upon them from without. Since, therefore, the life of the holy doctors is stable on every side and ready for every good work, the Church of Christ is built of squared timbers. These timbers are smeared with bitumen within and without; for Christ, the architect of the Church, wishes you not to be such as many are, who outwardly appear to men just, but within are sepul[chres]…⁷

…chra mortuorum, sed vult te corpore sanctum esse exterius, et corde intrinsecus purum, cautumque undique et castitatis atque innocentiae virtute munitum: hoc enim est intrinsecus et extrinsecus bitumine esse oblitum. Vel significatur in compage unitatis tolerantia charitatis, ne scandalis Ecclesiam tentantibus, sive ab iis qui intus sive ab iis qui foris sunt, cedat fraterna iunctura, et solvatur vinculum pacis. Est enim bitumen ferventissimum et violentissimum gluten, significans dilectionis ardorem in magna fortitudine ad tenendam societatem spiritalem omnia tolerantem.

…sepulchres of the dead, but he wishes you to be holy in body outwardly, and pure in heart within, and on every side wary and fortified by the virtue of chastity and innocence: for this is to be smeared with bitumen within and without. Or there is signified, in the framework of unity, the forbearance of charity, lest, when scandals assail the Church — whether from those who are within or from those who are without — the fraternal joint give way and the bond of peace be dissolved. For bitumen is a most fervent and most powerful glue, signifying the ardor of love in great fortitude for maintaining the spiritual fellowship that endures all things.⁸

VERUM quia non omnium unum est meritum, nec idem in fide profectus: idcirco et arca illa non unam omnibus praebebat mansionem, sed in ea bicamerata erant inferiora, et tricamerata superiora, multique nidi seu mansiunculae: sic in Ecclesia, licet omnes intra unam fidem contineantur et uno Baptismo abluantur, non tamen unus omnibus atque idem profectus est, sed unusquisque stat in ordine suo. Et alii quidem per rationabilem scientiam viventes, et idonei non modo seipsos regere, verum etiam alios docere ac gubernare, qui perpauci sunt, cum ipso Noë versantur, et proxima ei propinquitate iunguntur, et in sublimitate arcae collocantur. At vero multitudo irrationalium animalium, vel etiam bestiarum, in inferioribus arcae ponitur, et eorum maxime quorum feritatis saevitiam nec dum fidei dulcedo molliuit.

But because the merit of all is not one, nor the progress in faith the same: therefore that ark too did not provide one [single] dwelling for all, but in it the lower parts had two stories and the upper parts three, and there were many nests or little dwellings: so in the Church, although all are contained within one faith and washed by one Baptism, yet the progress is not one and the same for all, but each one stands in his own order. And some indeed, living by rational knowledge and fit not only to rule themselves but also to teach and govern others — who are very few — dwell with Noah himself, and are joined to him in closest nearness, and are placed in the upper part (sublimitas) of the ark. But the multitude of irrational animals, or even of beasts, is placed in the lower parts of the ark — and especially of those whose savage ferocity the sweetness of faith has not yet softened.⁹

Superiores vero aliquantulo ab his sunt qui, licet minus rationis habeant, plurimum tamen simplicitatis et innocentiae custodiunt. Et sic per singulos habitationum gradus ascendendo, pervenitur ad ipsum Noë, id est, Christum, qui est caput totius Ecclesiae super omnes sanctos, et gratia gloriaque et merito atque praemio exaltatus. Quod item inferiora arcae bicamerata et tricamerata construuntur, significat bipartitam multitudinem hominum ex Iudaeis et Gentibus in Ecclesia congregatam, vel tripertitam propter tres filios Noë, quorum progenie repletus est orbis.

A little above these are those who, though they have less reason, yet keep very much simplicity and innocence. And thus, ascending through the several grades of dwellings, one arrives at Noah himself — that is, at Christ, who is the head of the whole Church above all the saints, exalted in grace and glory and in merit and reward. And that the lower parts of the ark are built with two and three stories signifies the twofold multitude of men gathered in the Church from Jews and Gentiles, or the threefold [multitude] on account of the three sons of Noah, by whose progeny the world was filled.

ARCA ad unum cubitum collecta desuper consummatur, sicut Ecclesia, quae est corpus Christi, in unitatem collecta sublimatur et perficitur. Unde dixit Dominus: Qui mecum non colligit, spargit. Aditus porro arcae fit in latere eius. Nemo quippe intrat in Ecclesiam nisi per sacramentum remissionis peccatorum, hoc autem de Christi latere aperto manavit. Et ostium quidem arcae unum erat, quia unus est Christus, una fides, unum verbum Dei, per quod tantummodo in Ecclesiam intrari et ad participationem aeternae salutis perveniri potest. Arca parum luminis externi habebat, una enim tantum fenestra, et ea quidem parva, parum ei luminis exhibere potuit. Sic Ecclesia non multum curat sapientiam secularem, habet enim lumen suum in se: magis autem curat et laborat ut probitate vitae et sanctitate morum luceat et splendeat, et quod de Ecclesia caelesti scriptum est in Apocalypsi, id etiam quodam modo quadrat ad Ecclesiam mili[tantem]…

The ark, gathered to one cubit, is finished from above, just as the Church, which is the body of Christ, gathered into unity, is raised on high and perfected. Whence the Lord said: “He that gathereth not with me, scattereth” (Luke 11). And the entrance of the ark is made in its side. For no one enters the Church except through the sacrament of the remission of sins, and this flowed from the opened side of Christ. And the door of the ark was one, because Christ is one, the faith is one, the word of God is one, through which alone the Church can be entered and the participation of eternal salvation attained. The ark had little external light, for one window only — and that a small one — could afford it little light. So the Church does not much care for secular wisdom, for it has its own light within itself; rather it cares and labors that it may shine and be resplendent by uprightness of life and holiness of morals; and what is written of the heavenly Church in the Apocalypse also in a certain way fits the Church mili[tant]…¹⁰

…tantem: Et civitas, inquit, non eget Sole neque Luna ut luceant in ea, nam claritas Dei illuminabit eam, et Lucerna eius est Agnus. Et ambulabunt Gentes in lumine eius.

…militant: “And the city,” he says, “hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof. And the nations shall walk in the light of it” (Apoc. 21).¹¹

ERANT in arca omnis generis animalia, tam munda quam immunda; sic Ecclesia omnes recepit, tam ex Gentibus quam ex Iudaeis, semperque in ea sunt tam boni quam mali. Et sicut plura fuerunt in arca animalia quam homines, ita plures sunt in Ecclesia mali et imperfecti quam boni et perfecti. De immundis fuerunt bina, de mundis septena. Nam licet mundi et boni pauciores sint quam immundi et mali, boni tamen servant unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis. Sanctum autem Spiritum Scriptura in septiformi operatione commendat, et septiformis Spiritus Sancti gratia est quae vere mundos efficit: mali autem binario numero signantur, quod recedant ab unitate pacis, et ad schismata faciles et prompti, et ad dissidia et discordias procliues sint.

There were in the ark animals of every kind, both clean and unclean; so the Church received all, both from the Gentiles and from the Jews, and there are always in it both good and bad. And just as there were more animals than men in the ark, so there are more bad and imperfect men in the Church than good and perfect. Of the unclean there were two each, of the clean seven each. For although the clean and good are fewer than the unclean and bad, yet the good keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Now Scripture commends the Holy Spirit in a sevenfold operation, and it is the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit that truly makes [men] clean; but the bad are signified by the number two, because they depart from the unity of peace, and are easy and prompt to schisms, and prone to dissensions and discords.¹²

Continebat arca escas omnis generis ad cibatum omnium animalium et hominum. Sic Ecclesia maximam habet copiam spiritualium ciborum, quibus omnes, ut eis expedit, nutriri possint, praebetque cibaria tam bonis quam malis: bonis, promissiones caelestium bonorum; malis, comminationes aeternorum gehennae suppliciorum. Nec vero Noë tantum arcam condidit, sed in eam ipse intravit et in ea mansit: ita Christus non tantum ut Deus Ecclesiam aedificavit, sed etiam ut homo in ea conversatus est, et in ea manebit omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi.

The ark contained foods of every kind for the feeding of all the animals and men. So the Church has the greatest abundance of spiritual foods, by which all may be nourished as is expedient for them, and it furnishes provisions both to the good and to the bad: to the good, the promises of heavenly goods; to the bad, the threats of the eternal punishments of Gehenna. Nor did Noah only build the ark, but he himself entered into it and remained in it: so Christ not only as God built the Church, but also as man dwelt in it, and will remain in it “all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matt. 28).¹³

LONGITUDO arcae trecentorum cubitorum sexcupla erat ad latitudinem eius quinquaginta cubitorum, et decupla ad altitudinem eiusdem triginta cubitorum: similis autem est mensura corporis humani, ut supra ostendimus. Ecclesia vero et fidelium congregatio corpus Christi appellatur, cuius multo maior est longitudo quam latitudo, et latitudo quam altitudo. Longitudo enim denotat fidem, latitudo charitatem, altitudo celsitudinem sapientiae et contemplationis rerum caelestium, et sublimitatem perfectionis Evangelicae. Inter fideles autem pauciores sunt boni et charitate praediti; plures autem mali, solam fidem habentes. Et inter bonos paucissimi sunt perfecti, et rerum sublimium ac divinarum meditationi et amori, ceteris omnibus rebus posthabitis et contemptis, dediti.

The length of the ark, three hundred cubits, was sixfold its breadth of fifty cubits, and tenfold its height of thirty cubits; and similar is the measure of the human body, as we showed above. Now the Church and the congregation of the faithful is called the body of Christ, whose length is much greater than its breadth, and breadth than height. For the length denotes faith, the breadth charity, the height the loftiness of wisdom and of the contemplation of heavenly things, and the sublimity of evangelical perfection. But among the faithful fewer are good and endowed with charity; more are bad, having faith alone. And among the good, very few are perfect and devoted to the meditation and love of sublime and divine things, all other things being set aside and despised.¹⁴

Significatur etiam humanum corpus, quod nostra causa induit filius Dei, scilicet ut per eius in Cruce oblationem, iram Dei placans, eum nobis reconciliaret ac propitiaret; et Ecclesiam sanguine suo lavans et mundans, exhiberet sibi eam gloriosam non habentem maculam aut rugam aut aliquid huiusmodi, sed ut esset sancta et immaculata, et redimens nos ab omni iniquitate mundaret sibi populum acceptabilem, sectatorem bonorum operum. Quapropter ingrediens ipse mundum dixit Deo Patri: Hostiam et oblationem noluisti, corpus autem aptasti mihi; holocaustomata pro peccato tibi non [placuerunt]…

There is also signified the human body, which the Son of God put on for our sake — namely, that by his offering on the Cross, appeasing the wrath of God, he might reconcile and propitiate him to us; and, washing and cleansing the Church by his blood, might present it to himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it might be holy and immaculate (Eph. 5); and, redeeming us from all iniquity, might cleanse for himself an acceptable people, a follower of good works (Tit. 2). Wherefore, entering into the world, he himself said to God the Father: “Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not, but a body thou hast fitted to me; holocausts for sin did not [please thee]…” (Heb. 10; Ps. 39)¹⁵

…tibi placuerunt. Tunc dixi: Ecce venio, in capite libri scriptum est de me, ut faciam, Deus, voluntatem tuam.

…did not please thee. Then said I: Behold I come: in the head of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will, O God.”¹⁶

ARCA porro secundum imaginationem et descriptionem Origenis, quam plerique Doctorum secuti sunt, in imo ampla erat: sed quo altius surgebat, eo magis arcta et angusta efficiebatur, donec in angustissimum unius duntaxat cubiti fastigium et culmen desineret. Hoc secundum allegoriam praeclare interpretatur Sanctus Gregorius homilia 16 in Ezechielem: Quid per arcam, inquit, Noë nisi sancta Ecclesia figuratur, quae inferius ampla est, superius angusta? Recte enim per hoc Ecclesia designatur, quae adhuc in multis suis carnalibus lata est, in paucis spiritualibus angusta. Et quia ad unum hominem qui est sine peccato colligitur, quasi in uno cubito consummatur. Videmus etenim multos intra eiusdem sanctae Ecclesiae sinum in superbia erigi, in carnis voluptate dissolui, acquirendis terrenis rebus inhiare, imperante avaritia mare transire, deservire iracundiae, iurgiis vacare, proximos quos praevalent laedere. Sed quia eos adhuc sancta Ecclesia tolerat ut convertat, quasi in arca latitudine deorsum bestiae morantur.

The ark, moreover, according to the conception and description of Origen — which most of the Doctors have followed — was wide at the bottom; but the higher it rose, the more narrow and strait it became, until it ended in the very narrow peak and ridge of just one cubit. St. Gregory beautifully interprets this according to allegory, in his sixteenth homily on Ezekiel: “What is figured by the ark of Noah,” he says, “but the holy Church, which is wide below and narrow above? For rightly is the Church designated by this — the Church which is still broad in its many carnal members, and narrow in its few spiritual ones. And because it is gathered to one man who is without sin, it is, as it were, finished in one cubit. For we see many within the bosom of the same holy Church puffed up in pride, dissolved in the pleasure of the flesh, gaping after the acquisition of earthly things, crossing the sea at the command of avarice, enslaved to wrath, given to quarrels, harming the neighbors they have power to harm. But because the holy Church still tolerates them in order to convert them, they dwell, as it were, like beasts in the lower breadth of the ark.¹⁷

Videmus alios iam aliena non quaerere, illatas iniurias aequanimiter portare, rebus propriis esse contentos, humiliter vivere. Sed quia isti iam pauci sunt, angustatur arca. Alios autem conspicimus etiam possessa relinquere, nullum terrenis rebus studium dare, inimicos diligere, carnem a cunctis voluptatibus domare, motus omnes sub rationis iudicio premere, per caeleste desiderium contemplationis pennas sublevare. Sed quia tales quique valde rari sunt, in arca iuxta cubitum ducantur, ubi homines et volatilia continentur. Quaeratur tamen si quis in eis esse valeat sine peccato, at nullus invenitur. Quis itaque homo sine peccato est, nisi ille qui in peccato natus non est? In uno ergo cubito consummatur arca, quia unus est auctor et redemptor sanctae Ecclesiae sine peccato, ad quem omnes proficiunt, qui se esse peccatores noverunt. Hactenus Gregorius.

We see others who now do not seek what belongs to another, who bear injuries inflicted on them with equanimity, who are content with their own goods, who live humbly. But because these are now few, the ark is narrowed. And we behold others who even leave behind their possessions, give no zeal to earthly things, love their enemies, tame the flesh from all pleasures, press down all impulses under the judgment of reason, and lift themselves on the wings of contemplation through heavenly desire. But because such persons are very rare, let them be assigned in the ark near the cubit, where men and birds are contained. Yet let it be asked whether any among them can be without sin — but none is found. Who, then, is a man without sin, save he who was not born in sin? In one cubit, therefore, the ark is finished, because there is one author and redeemer of the holy Church who is without sin, toward whom all make progress who have known themselves to be sinners.” Thus far Gregory.¹⁸

Translator’s notes

§84. Margins: Origen, hom. 2 on Gen. 6; Augustine, Against Faustus, bk. 12, ch. 14; Gregory, hom. 12 on Ezekiel; Rupert, Commentary on Genesis, bk. 4, ch. 71 and following; Matt. 11. ↩
Margins: Gen. 5; Gen. 6; below, Gen. 7. The name-etymology (Noah = “rest/comfort”) fits Christ allegorically, not Noah historically. ↩
§85. Margin: Job. ↩
Margin: Acts 4. Sentence continues on p. 231. ↩
§86. Margin: “The ark a figure of the Church.” Margins: Eph. 4; Acts. ↩
§87. Margin: “What ‘squared’ means.” The four readings of the timber (incorruptible / strong / planed / squared) reflect different versions. ↩
§88 begins. Sentence continues on p. 232. ↩
Conclusion of §88: bitumen = the ardor of charity binding the Church. ↩
§89. The decks/nests = the ranks and degrees of progress among the faithful. ↩
§90. The cubit-peak = unity; side-door = the wound of Christ / sacrament; one window = the Church's inner light. Margin: Eph. 4. Sentence continues on p. 233. ↩
Completes §90 (Apocalypse 21 on the heavenly city's light). ↩
§91. Clean/unclean animals = good/bad in the Church; the sevens and twos read as the sevenfold Spirit and the divisiveness of the wicked. Margin: Eph. 4. ↩
Margin: Matt., last [chapter]. ↩
§92. The three dimensions = faith, charity, contemplative height. ↩
Margins: Eph. 5; Tit. 2; Heb. 10; Ps. 39. Sentence continues on p. 234. ↩
Completes §92 (the Heb. 10 / Ps. 39 quotation begun on p. 233). ↩
§93. Origen's tapering ark, allegorized by Gregory the Great, hom. 16 on Ezekiel (still under the Twelfth/allegorical Disputation). Margins: Origen; Gregory. ↩
Conclusion of the Gregory quotation: the single cubit = the one sinless Christ at the apex of the Church. ↩