LETTER XIX. [A.D.385.]

VIGILIUS, to whom this letter is addressed, is supposed by the Benedictine Editors to have been the Bishop of Trent, (Tridentum,) who is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. He had written to S. Ambrose, on his consecration as Bishop, to ask his guidance and instruction, and S. Ambrose replies, first with brief general directions, somewhat resembling those of Letter 11, and then dwells at length on the duty of preventing intermarriage between Christians and heathens, and recounts at full length, in support of this, the history of Samson. At the time when heathenism was rapidly dying out, it is clear how important a point this would seem, and we do not wonder at the stress which S. Ambrose lays on it.

AMBROSE TO VIGILIUS.

1. BEING newly consecrated to the sacred office, you have requested me to furnish you with the outlines of your teaching. Having built up yourself as was fitting, seeing you have been thought worthy of so high an office, you have now to be informed how to build up others also.

2. And in the first place remember that it is the Church of God that is committed to you, and be therefore always on your guard against the intrusion of any scandal, lest the body thereof become as it were common by any admixture of heathen. It is on this account that Scripture says to you  Thou shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, but go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel (that is the house of Wisdom)  and take thee a wife from thence.   02-84  84. Gen. xxviii. 1, 2. Mesopotamia is a country in the East, surrounded by the two greatest rivers in those parts, the Tigris and Euphrates, which take their rise in Armenia, falling, each by a different channel, into the Red sea; and so the Church is signified under the name of Mesopotamia, for she fertilizes the minds of the faithful by the mighty streams of wisdom and justice, pouring into them the grace of Baptism, the type of which was foreshewn in the Red sea, and washing away sin. Wherefore you must instruct the people that they should contract marriage not with strange-born but with Christian families.

3. Let no man defraud his hired servant of his due wages, for we too are the servants of our God, and look for the reward of our labour from Him. You then, (you must say) O merchant, whoever you be, refuse your servant his wages of money, that is, of what is vile and worthless, but to you will be denied the reward of heavenly promises: therefore  thou shalt not defraud thy hired servant of his reward, as the Law saith.  02-85  85. Deut. xxiv. 14.

4. Thou shalt not give thy money upon usury, for it is written that  he who hath not given his money upon usury shall dwell in the tabernacle of God,   02-86  86. Ps. xv. 1. 6. for he is  cast down, who seeks for usurious gains.  02-87  87. Ps. xvii. 13. Therefore let the Christian, if he have it, give money as though he were not to receive it again, or at all events only the principal which he has given. By so doing he receives no small increase of grace. Otherwise to lend would be to deceive not to succour. For what can be more cruel than to give money to one that hath not, and then to exact double? He that can not pay the simple sum how can he pay double the amount?

5. Let Tobit be an example to us, who never required again the money he had lent, till the end of his life; and that rather that he might not defraud his heir, than in order to levy and recover the money he had lent out.  02-88  88. Tobit iv. 21. Nations have often been ruined by usury, and this has been the cause of public destruction. Wherefore it must be the principal care of us Bishops, to extirpate those vices which we find to prevail most extensively.

6. Teach them that they ought to exercise hospitality willingly rather than of necessity, so that in shewing this favour they may not betray a churlish disposition of mind, and thus in the very reception of their guest the kindness be spoilt by wrong, but rather let it be fostered by the practice of social duties, and by the offices of kindness. It is not rich gifts that are required of thee, but willing services, full of peace and accordant harmony.  Better is a dinner of herbs   02-89  89. Prov. xv 17. with grace and friendship than that the banquet should be adorned with exquisite viands, while the sentiment of kindness is lacking. We read of a people perishing by a grievous destruction on account of the violation of the laws of hospitality. Through lust also fierce wars have been kindled.  02-90  90. Judges xx. 44. Gen. xxxiv. 25.

7. But there is scarce any thing more pernicious than marriage with a foreigner; already the passions both of lust and disorder, and the evils of sacrilege are inflamed. For seeing that the marriage ceremony itself ought to be sanctified by the priestly veil and benediction, how can that be called a marriage when there is not agreement in faith? Since their prayers ought to be in common, how can there be the love of a common wedlock between those whose religion it different. Often have men ensnared by the love of women betrayed their faith, as did the Jews at Baal-phegor. For which cause Phineas took a sword, and slew the Hebrew and the Midianitish woman, and appeased the Divine vengeance, that the whole people might not be destroyed.  02-91  91. Num. xxv. 8.

8. And why should I bring forward more examples? I will produce one out of many, from the mention of which will appear what an evil thing it is to marry a strange woman. Who ever was mightier or more richly endowed from his very cradle with God's Spirit than Samson the Nazarite? Yet was he betrayed by a woman, and by her means failed to retain God's favour. We will now narrate his birth and the course of his whole life arranged in the style of history, following the contents of the sacred Book, which in substance not in form is as follows.

9. The Philistines for many years kept the Hebrew people in subjection; for they had lost the prerogative of faith, whereby their fathers had gained victories. Yet had not their Maker wholly blotted out the mark of their election nor the lot of their inheritance; but as they were often puffed up by success, He for the most part delivered them into the hand of their enemies, that thus, after the manner of men, they might be led to seek for themselves the remedy of their evils from heaven. For it is when any adversity oppresses us, that we submit ourselves to God; good fortune is wont to puff up the mind. This is proved by experience, as in other instances, so particularly in that change of fortune whereby success returned again from the Philistines to the Hebrews.

10. After the spirit of the Hebrews had been so subdued by the pressure of a long subjection that no one dared with a manly spirit to rouse them to liberty, Samson, fore-ordained by the Divine oracle, was raised up to them. A great man he was, not one of the multitude, but first among the few, and beyond controversy far excelling all in bodily strength. And he is to be regarded by us with great admiration from the beginning, not because in his early abstinence from vice he gave signal proofs of temperance and sobriety, nor on account of his long preserving as a Nazarite his locks unshorn, but because from his very youth, which in others is an age of softness, he achieved illustrious deeds of virtue, perfect beyond the measure of human nature. By these he gained credence to the Divine prophecy, that it was not for nothing that such grace had gone before upon him, that an Angel came down by whom his birth beyond their hopes was announced to his parents, to be the leader and protector of his countrymen, now for a length of years harassed by the tyranny of the Philistines.

11. His father was of the tribe of Dan, a man fearing God, born of no mean rank, and eminent above others, his mother was barren of body, but in virtues of the mind not unfruitful; seeing that in the sanctuary of her soul she was counted worthy to receive the visit of an Angel, obeyed his command and fulfilled his prophecy. Not enduring however to know the secrets even of God apart from her husband she mentioned to him that she had seen a man of God, of beautiful form, bringing her the Divine promise of future offspring, and that she, confiding in this promise, was led to share with her husband her faith in the heavenly promises. But he, informed of this, devoutly offered his prayers to God, that the grace of this vision might be conferred on him also, saying,  To me, Lord, let Thine Angel come.   02-92  92. Judges xiii. 8.

12. I am of opinion therefore that it was not from jealousy of his wife, because she was remarkable for her beauty that he acted thus, as one writer  02-93  93. 1 He here refers to Josephus Antiq. v. ch. iv. has supposed, but rather that he was filled with desire of the Divine grace, and sought to participate in the benefit of the heavenly vision. For one whose mind was depraved could not have found such favour with the Lord, as that an Angel should return to his house, who, having given those monitions which the Divine announcement made requisite, was suddenly carried away in the form of a smoking flame. This sight, which terrified the man, the woman interpreted more auspiciously, and so removed his solicitude, in that to see God is a sign of good not evil.

13. Now Samson, approved by such signal tokens from above, turned his thoughts as soon as he grew up, to marriage; whether this was that he abhorred those vague and licentious desires in which young men are wont to indulge, or that he was seeking an occasion of releasing the necks of his countrymen from the power of the hard yoke of the Philistines. Wherefore going down to Timnath, (this is the name of a city situated in those parts where the Philistines then dwelt,) he beheld a maiden of a pleasing form and beautiful countenance, and he besought his parents, by whoso company he was supported in his journey, to ask her for him in marriage. But they, not knowing that his intention, either, if the Philistine refused her to him, to be more fierce against them, or, if they assented, to remove their disposition to injure their subjects; and since from such a connexion a certain equality and kindliness of intercourse would naturally grow, or, on the other hand, if any offence were given, this desire of revenge would be more vehement, deemed that this maiden ought to be avoided as a foreigner. But after they had vainly attempted to change the purpose of their son by urging upon him these lawful objections, they of their own accord acquiesced in his desire.

14. This request was granted; and Samson on his return to visit his promised bride, turned a little way out of the road, and straightway there met him a lion from the wood, fierce in its savage freedom. Samson had no companion, nor any weapon in his hand; but he felt ashamed to fly, and conscious power gave him courage. He caught the lion as it rushed upon him in his arms, and strangled it by the tightness of his embrace, leaving it near the wayside lying upon the underwood, for the spot was clothed with luxuriant herbage, and planted with vineyards. The skin of the beast he thought would be little esteemed by his beloved bride, for seasons such as these derive their grace not from savage trophies, but rather from gentle joys and festal garlands. On his returning by the same road he found an honeycomb in the belly of the lion, and carried it off as a gift to the maiden and her parents; for such gifts befit a bride. And having first tasted the honey, he gave them the comb to eat, but was silent as to whence it came.

15. But it happened on a certain day that a nuptial feast was held, and that the young men inspirited by the banquet provoked each other to sport by question and answer, and as they assailed each other with wanton jests, as is the wont on such occasions, the contest of pleasure waxed hot. And then Samson put forth this riddle to his comrades,  Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness,   02-94  94. Judg.xiv, 14. promising them as a reward of their sagacity if they guessed it, thirty sheets and as many changes of garments according to the number of the company, while they on their part, if they could not solve the riddle, were to pay a like penalty.

16. But they, unable to untie the knot and to expound the riddle, induced his wife, partly by intimidation, partly by importunate entreaties, to require from her husband the solution of the riddle to be a token of conjugal affection in return for her love. And she, either terrified, and won over as women are wont to be, as if complaining tenderly of her husband's aversion, began to profess grief that she, the consort and intimate of his whole life, had not learnt this, but that she was treated like the others as one to whom her own husband's secret should not be confided.  Thou dost but hate me, she said,  and lovest me not, thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people and hast not told it me.   02-95  95. Judg.xiv. 16.

17. Samson's mind, otherwise inflexible, was softened by these and the like blandishments of his wife, and discovered to her his riddle, and she told it to her countrymen. And they, having thus but just learned it on the seventh day, which was the term prescribed for its solution, answered after this manner,  What is sweeter than honey, or what is stronger than a lion? To which he replied. Nor is ought more treacherous than a woman;  If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle, and he straightway went down to Ascalon, and slew thirty men, and taking their spoils, bestowed on the men who had expounded the riddle their promised reward.  02-96  96. ib. 18.

18. But the perfidy of the maiden being thus discovered, he abstained from intercourse with her, and returned to his father's house. The damsel, disturbed in mind, and justly dreading that the wrath of this mighty man would be kindled into fury by this wrong, gave her hand to another man, one whom Samson, relying on his fidelity, had brought with him as his bridesman to his marriage. But neither by this expedient of a marriage did she avoid offence. For when the affair was disclosed, and he was forbidden to return to his wife, and her father said that she was married to another man, but that he might, if he chose, marry her sister, he was exasperated by the affront, and determined to take a public revenge for his domestic injury. Wherefore he took three hundred foxes, and in the heat of summer, when the corn was now ripe in the fields, he tied them together two and two by the tails, and fastened a burning firebrand between them, binding it with a firm knot, and by way of avenging his wrong turned them loose among the sheaves which the Philistines had cut. But the foxes, terrified by the fire, scattered flames whichever way they turned, and burnt the harvest. And the Philistines, incensed by the loss of all their corn in that region, told it to the princes of their land. And they sent men to Timnath, and burnt in the fire the woman who had been faithless to her husband, and her parents and all her house; saying that she had been the cause of this injury and devastation, and ought not to have provoked a man who could avenge himself by a public calamity.

19. But Samson did not forgive the Philistines their wrong, nor rest content with this measure of vengeance, but he slew them with a great slaughter, and many of them fell by the sword. And he retired to Etam, a torrent in the wilderness, where was a rock, a stronghold of the tribe of Judah. Now the Philistines, not daring to attack him, nor scale the steep heights on which this fortress stood, began to assail with threats of war the tribe of Judah: but when they saw that the plea of the men of Judah was a good one, that it was neither just nor fair nor expedient for them to destroy their own subjects and tributaries, especially for another man's fault, they took counsel, and required that the author of the outrage should be delivered up to them, in order that his countrymen might be exonerated from the consequences of it.

20. These terms being imposed upon them, the men of Judah gathered together three thousand of their tribe and went up to him, and premising that they were subject to the Philistines, and obliged to obey them, not willingly but by terror, they thus sought to turn away from themselves the odium of their act, throwing it upon those by whom they were constrained. Wherefore he thus replied, What kind of Justice is it, O children of Abraham, that the satisfaction 1 have taken for my bride first over-reached and then torn from me should be injurious to me, and that I may not safely avenge this private injury? Have ye so turned your minds to the low offices of slaves, as to become the ministers of the insolence of others, and to turn your arms against yourselves? If I must perish, because I gave free vent to my grief, I had rather perish by the hand of the Philistines. My home has been attempted, my wife tampered with, if I have not been allowed to live without harm from them, at least let my own countrymen be free from the guilt of my death. I did but requite the injury I had received, I did not inflict one. Judge ye whether it was an equal return. They complain of the loss of their home, I of the loss of my wife; compare the sheaves of corn, with a companion of the marriage bed. They have sanctioned my grief by avenging my injuries. Consider to what an office they have appointed you. They desire you to put to death that man, whom they themselves have judged worthy to be avenged on those who wronged him, and to whose vengeance they ministered. But if your necks are thus bowed down to these proud men, deliver me into the hand of the enemy, slay me not yourselves; I refuse not to die, but I shrink from implicating you in my death. If from fear ye comply with their insolence, bind my hands with chains: though unarmed they will break their bonds and find a weapon for themselves. They will assuredly consider that you have satisfied the imposed condition, if you deliver me alive into their hands.

21. When they heard this, though three thousand men had come up, they swore to him that they would make no attempt on his life, only he must submit to be bound, in order that they might formally surrender him, and so keep clear of the crime of which they were accused.

22. Their word being pledged he came out of the cave, and left his fastness on the rock, and was bound with two ropes. When he saw the mighty men of the Philistines drawing near to seize him, his spirit rose within him, and he brake all his bands, and taking up a jaw bone of an ass that lay near he slew a thousand men, and put to flight the rest by this exploit of valour, whole hosts of armed soldiers giving way to one unarmed man. Thus those who ventured to close with him hand to hand he slew without effort; the others saved themselves by flight. Wherefore to this day the place is called Agon  02-97  97. a The name given in the Hebrew is Ramath Lehi, which means, 'the hill or lifting up of the jaw-bone.' S. Ambrose interprets it below 'maxillae interfectionem.' He would seem to be here suggesting a Greek etymology. The Benedictine note suggests that the name Agon is a confusion on his part from the word σιαγὼν in Josephus. , because there Samson by his great valour achieved a glorious contest.

23. And I would that his moderation in victory had been equal to his courage against the enemy. But as is frequently the case, with mind unused to prosperity, he ascribed to himself the issue of the battle, which was due to the Divine favour and protection, saying,  With the jaw bone of an ass have I slain a thousand men.   02-98  98. Judges xv. 16. Nor did he build an altar to God, nor offer a victim, but neglecting sacrifice and assuming to himself the glory, to immortalize his triumph by a memorial name he called the place, The slaying of the jaw bone.

21. And now he began to burn with thirst, and there was no water, and yet he had great need of it. Wherefore perceiving that there is nothing so easy for human strength, as not to be rendered difficult by the absence of Divine aid, he besought God not to lay to his charge that he had ascribed ought to himself, giving Him all the glory of the victory, by the words,  Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of Thy servant,   02-99  99. Ib. 18. and now help me, for lo,  I   die of thirst , and thirst gives me over into the hand of those over whom Thou hast given me so great a triumph. Wherefore God in His mercy clave a hollow place in the jaw bone which Samson had cast aside, and a stream of water flowed from it, and Samson drank, and his spirit revived, and he called the place 'the invoking of the spring,' because by his suppliant prayers he made amends for his boast of victory, and thus two judgements were opportunely declared, the one that arrogance soon incurs offence, the other that without any offence humility gains reconciliation.

25. Having, in the course of events closed his war with the Philistines, and shunning the sloth of his countrymen, Samson now betook himself to Gaza, which was in the region of the Philistines, and lodged there. When the men of Gaza knew this they did not dissemble or pass it over, but beset his lodging in haste, and guarded all the doors of the house that he might not escape by night. But Samson knowing their design, in the middle of the night forestalling the snare which had been laid for him, took the pillars of the house in his arms, and carried the whole structure and the weight of the roof on his back, up to a high hill above Hebron, a city inhabited by the Hebrews.

26. But now his licence transgressed the limits not only of his paternal territory, but of good morals, such as ancient discipline had prescribed, and this brought upon him destruction in the end. For although he had experienced in his first marriage the treachery of a foreign wife, and ought to have avoided it in future, he did not shun connecting himself with the harlot Delilah, and by his passionate love of her opened a way for the craft of his enemies to assail him. For the Philistines came up to her, and promised each of them to give her eleven hundred pieces of silver if she would disclose to them wherein his assurance of strength lay, that by means of this knowledge they might entrap and take him.

27. But she having once prostituted herself for money, began during the banquet and the blandishments of love, cunningly and craftily to inquire of him in what respect his strength excelled that of others, and at the same time, as if solicitous and fearful for his safety, to entreat him to confide to his beloved by what means he could be bound and subdued into the power of others. But he, still self-possessed and unshaken, opposed craft to the allurements of the harlot, and told her that if he were bound with withs yet green and not dried, his strength would be like that of other men. When the Philistines learnt this from Delilah, they bound him while asleep with green withs, and then awoke him as though on a sudden, but found that he had not fallen off from his accustomed fortitude, but bursting its bonds his freed strength was able to resist and drive back a host of assailants.

28. This having failed, Delilah, as if she had been mocked began with complaints to renew her arts and to require a pledge of his love. Samson, still firm of purpose, intimated to her that, if he were bound by seven ropes which had never been used, he would fall into the hands of the enemy, but this also was in vain. The third time he disclosed part of the secret, and now drawing nearer to his fall, told her that, if the seven locks of his head were unfastened and woven  02-100  100. b The, words 'quasi in cubitum intexti' are probably from the Old Latin Version of the Bible. Field, on Origen's Hexapla in Ioe. (Judg. xvi. 13.) mentions that some MSS of LXX read ἐαν ὑφάνης ὡσει πῆχυν or ὡς ἐπὶ πῆχυν, which may very well have been translated by some such words as the above, in the Old Latin Version which S. Ambrose used. to about a cubit's length, his strength would depart from him. But herein also he deluded those who were plotting against his life.

29. But last of all the wanton woman complaining that she had been so often deceived, and grieving that her lover deemed her unworthy to be entrusted with his secret, and that under her pretext of succour her treacherous purpose was suspected, won his confidence by her tears. By this means, and because also it was ordained that this man of hitherto unshaken fortitude should fall into calamity, Samson was touched and opened to her his heart. He told her that he possessed within him the power of God, that he was sanctified to the Lord, and that by His command he let his hair grow, and that if it were shorn, he would cease to be a Nazarite, and lose the use of his strength. The Philistines having discoverd through her means the man's weakness, bring her the reward of her perfidy, thus binding her to the commission of the crime.

30. And she, having wearied him by the wanton blandishments of love, threw him into slumber, and then caused the seven locks of his hair to be cut by a razor, whereupon by his transgression of the commandment his strength was immediately lost. When he woke out of sleep, he said,  I   will go out as at other times, and shake myself   02-101  101. Judges xvi. 20. against mine adversaries, but he was no longer sensible of activity and strength, his vigour was gone, his grace was departed. Wherefore, considering within himself that he had incautiously trusted to women, and that, convicted of infirmity, it would be sheer folly for him to contend any longer, he gave up his eyes to blindness, and his hands to the fetters, and being bound with chains he entered the confinement from which he had been for a long season free.

31. But in process of time his hair began to grow again; and on the occasion of a great feast Samson is brought out of prison to the assembly of the Philistines, and set in sight of the people. There were nearly three thousand in number, men and women; and they insulted him with bitter reproaches, and carried him about in mockery, a trial harder to be borne than the very reality of captivity by a man conscious of innate power. For to live and die is natural, to be a laughing stock is counted a disgrace. Desirous therefore either of consoling himself by avenging so great an indignity, or of forestalling it for the future by death, he pretended that from the weakness of his limbs and the weight of his fetters he could not support himself, and desired the boy who guided his steps to bring him to the nearest pillars by which the whole house was supported. Being brought near, he grasped with both hands the props of the building, and while the Philistines were intent on the sacrificial feast which they were offering to Dagon their god, by whose help they deemed their adversary had been delivered into their power, reckoning a woman's perfidy as a gift from above, he called unto the Lord, and said,'  O Lord God, remember me I pray Thee this once, that I may be avenged of the heathen for my two eyes,   02-102  102. Judges xvi. 28. and that they give not glory to their gods as if by their help they had gotten me into their power. Let me die with the Philistines, that they may find my weakness to have been no less fatal to them than my strength.'

32. Then he shook the columns with great force, and broke them in pieces, whereon followed the downfall of the upper roof, crushing Samson himself and casting down all those who were looking on from above. Thus were a great number of men and women slain together, and by an end not unworthy or disgraceful, but excelling all his former victories, the dying Samson obtained a triumph. For although to that point and thenceforward he was invincible, and incomparable during life among men versed in war, yet in death he conquered himself, and shewed an unconquerable soul, so as to despise and count for nothing that end of life which all men fear.

33. Thus it was through his valour that the last day of his life was also the sum of his victories, and that he met not a captive but a triumphant end. But to have been entrapped by a woman is to be ascribed to nature rather than to the man, because it was by the condition of his humanity more than through his own fault that he fell; for this is wont to be overcome, and yield to the allurements of wickedness. Wherefore, since Scripture bears witness that he slew more in his death than while in the light of life, it would seem that his captivity happened rather for the destruction of his adversaries than for his own fall and humiliation. For he whose burial was more efficacious than his living strength cannot be said to have found himself inferior. Lastly, he was overwhelmed and buried not by the weapons but by the bodies of his enemies, and thus, covered by his own triumph, he left a glorious memorial to posterity. For he judged his countrymen, whom he found enslaved, twenty years, and buried in his native soil, left them inheritors of liberty.

34. By this example then it is plain that alliances with strangers should be avoided, lest through love for our wife the snares of treachery should be successful.

Farewell and love us, as we love you.

EPISTOLA XIX.

 0982C 

AMBROSIUS  a VIGILIO  ad episcopatum recens allecto, ut sibi formam institutionis traderet, obsecratus, admonet ne fideles cum infidelibus patiatur inire conjugia: deterreat populum a fraudibus atque fenoribus: ad hospitalitatem vero illum hortetur: sed potissimum ut memorata christianorum cum gentilibus matrimonia efficacius prohibeat, historiam Samsonis universam decurrit atque edisserit. 

AMBROSIUS VIGILIO.

1. Poposcisti a me institutionis tuae insignia, quoniam  0983A novus accitus es ad sacerdotium. Et quoniam te ipsum aedificasti, ut oportuit, qui dignus habitus es tanto munere; quomodo et alios aedifices, significandum videtur.

2. Primum omnium cognosce Ecclesiam Domini tibi commissam; ideoque vitandum semper, ne quid obrepat offensionis, et fiat velut commune corpus ejus gentilium admixtione. Unde Scriptura tibi dicit: Ne accipias uxorem de filiabus Chananaeorum, sed vade in Mesopotamiam, in domum Bathuel, id est, domum sapientiae; et ejus tibi acquire copulam (Gen. XXVIII, 1, 2). Mesopotamia autem regio est in partibus Orientis, quae duobus maximis per ea locorum Euphrate 843 et Tigri fluminibus circumvenitur, quibus origo est in Armeniae locis. Influunt  0983B autem diverso meatu in mare Rubrum; et ideo Mesopotamiae nomine signatur figura Ecclesiae, quae maximis fluentorum prudentiae irriguis atque justitiae fecundat mentes fidelium, quibus sacri baptismatis, cujus typus praecessit in Rubro mari infundit gratiam, culpamque abluit. Doce ergo plebem, ut non ex alienigenis, sed ex domibus christianis conjugii quaeratur copula.

3. Nemo fraudet mercenarium mercede debita; quia et nos mercenarii sumus Dei nostri, et ab eo mercedem laboris nostri exspectamus (Levit. XIX, 13). Et tu quidem, o quicumque es negotiator, mercenario tuo mercedem pecuniariam negas, id est, vilem, caducam: tibi autem negabitur merces promissorum coelestium:  Non fraudabis ergo, ut Lex  0983C dicit,  mercenarium mercede sua (Deut. XXIV, 14).

4. Non dabis pecuniam tuam ad usuram; quoniam scriptum est quod is qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram, habitabit in tabernaculo Dei (Ps. XIV, 5); nam ille supplantatur, qui usurarum captat  0984A emolumenta. Itaque vir christianus si habet, det pecuniam quasi non recepturus: aut certe sortem, quam dedit, recepturus. Habet in ea non mediocrem gratiae usuram. Alioquin decipere istud est, non subvenire. Quid enim durius, quam ut des pecuniam tuam non habenti, et ipse duplum exigas? Qui simplum non habuit unde solveret, quemadmodum duplum solvet?

5. Exemplo nobis sit Tobias, qui numquam requisivit pecuniam, quam dederat, nisi extremo vitae suae tempore (Tob. IV, 21); magis ne fraudaret haeredem, quam ut depositam pecuniam cogeret ac recuperaret. Populi saepe conciderunt fenore, et ea publici exitii causa exstitit. Unde nobis sacerdotibus id praecipue curae sit, ut ea vitia resecemus,  0984B quae in plurimos videntur serpere.

6. Hospitem doce voluntarium magis quam ex necessitate esse oportere; ne in hospitio deferendo inhospitalem affectum animi sui prodat, et in ipsa hospitis susceptione per injuriam violetur gratia: sed magis excolatur officiorum usu, et aliquo humanitatis ministerio. Non enim a te munera exiguntur ditia, sed 844 officia voluntaria, plena pacis, et convenientis concordiae; meliora sunt enim olera cum amicitia et gratia, quam si exquisitis dapibus adornetur convivium, si desit affectus gratiae (Prov. XV, 17). Legimus peremptos gravi populos excidio propter violata jura hospitii (Judic. XX, 44). Propter libidinem quoque commissa bella atrocia (Gen. XXXIV, 25).

 0984C 7. Sed prope nihil gravius quam copulari alienigenae, ubi et libidinis et discordiae incentiva, et sacrilegii flagitia conflantur. Nam cum ipsum conjugium velamine sacerdotali, et benedictione sanctificari oporteat; quomodo potest conjugium dici, ubi non  0985A est fidei concordia? Cum oratio communis esse debeat, quomodo inter dispares devotione potest esse conjugii communis charitas? Saepe plerique capti amore feminarum fidem suam prodiderunt; ut patrum populus in Beelphegor. Unde Phinees, arrepto gladio, interfecit Hebraeum et Madianiten feminam (Num. XXV, 8), et mitigavit indignationem divinam, ne totus populus exstingueretur.

8. Quid de pluribus exemplis loquar? Ex multis unum proferam, et ejus commemoratione liqueat, quam perniciosum sit alienigenae mulieris adscivisse copulam. Quis fortior, et ab incunabulis suis et munitior Dei spiritu, quam Nazaraeus Samson? Et ipse proditus est, et ipse per mulierem non potuit suam tenere gratiam (Judic. XVI, 18 et seq.). Cujus generationis  0985B et vitae totius seriem historico digestam stylo enarrabimus secundum sacri libri continentiam, quae in hunc est modum, non verborum serie, sed sensu.

9. Multos per annos Hebraeorum populum subditum Palaestini ac subjectum habebant; quoniam fidei praerogativam amiserat, qua victoriam patres adepti fuere. Non penitus tamen interciderat insigne electionis apud auctorem suum, et funiculus haereditatis: sed quia rerum secundarum insolentia saepe extollebantur, dabat eos plerumque in potestatem hostium, ut more ingenii humani remedium malorum de coelo sibi quaererent. Tunc enim Deo subditi sumus, cum adversis aliquibus urgemur: secundae res mentem extollunt. Quod cum alias usu probatum sit, tum  0985C maxime in ea rerum conversione, qua rursus ad Hebraeos a Palaestinis versa vice res mutatae.

10. Namque cum diuturna injuria longae subjectionis ita essent depressa Hebraeorum 845 pectora, ut nullus virili ingenio ad libertatem animos tollere auderet, ortus est illis Samson divino oraculo praedestinatus, magnus vir, nec in pluribus numerandus, sed in paucis praestantissimus, et quod sine ulla controversia sit, viribus corporis omnium facile primus. Eoque ingenti admiratione nobis spectandus a principio, non illa quae temperantiae et sobrietatis jam inde a pueritia vini abstentius praeclara insignia dedit, nec illa quae intonso capite Nazaraeus sacra diu servavit custodia: sed ab adolescentia, quae in aliis aetas mollior, in hoc egregia, atque supra  0985D humanum modum perfectae virtutis stupenda facinora effecit: quibus divini oraculi mox aperuit fidem, quod non perfunctorie tanta eum anteisset gratia; ut descenderet angelus, per quem ortus ejus praeter  0986A spem parentibus annuntiaretur, futurum regimen et praesidium suis; nam gravibus jamdiu Palaestinorum imperiis afflictabantur.

11. Pater illi erat de tribu Dan timens Deum (Judic. XIII, 2 et seq.), haud ignobili genitus loco, praestans caeteris: mater utero sterilis, sed animi virtutibus haud infecunda; quae propriae hospitio mentis recipere meruit visionem angeli, mandatum tenuit, oraculum implevit. Nec tamen passa sine viro scire vel divinitatis secretum, insinuavit marito visum sibi hominem Dei, praeclara specie, futurae sobolis ferentem oracula: qua pollicitatione sese fidentem cum conjuge fidem promissorum coelestium participare. Quod ubi comperit, pie Deum precatus oravit; ut sibi quoque visionis ejus gratia tribueretur, dicens:  0986B  Ad me, Domine, angelus veniat tuus. 

12. Unde ego arbitror, non zelo mulieris, quae esset spectabilis pulchritudinis, aliquid eum suspectum habuisse, ut quidam existimavit: sed magis divinae zelo gratiae provocatum, conspectus sacri voluisse participari munere. Neque enim vitiis animi prave affectus, tantam apud Dominum invenisset gratiam, ut angelus in ejus domum reverteretur: qui monitis iis quae usus oraculi postulavisset, subito flammae vehementis elevatus specie, sese recepit. Id formidolosum viro, mulier salubrius interpretata, in gaudium vertit, atque ademit sollicitudinem; eo quod prosperorum indicium, non adversantium sit visere Deum.

13. Talibus e coelo commendatus insignibus ubi  0986C primum adolevit, conjugio mentem intendit, sive quod vagam ac familiarem adolescentulis abhorreret animo lubricae libidinis consuetudinem: sive quia jam causa quaerebatur, quemadmodum a cervicibus plebis suae averteret Palaestinorum potentiam, duraque imperia. Pergens itaque (Judic. XIV, 1 et seq.) in Thamnatam (urbi hoc nomen est in illis positae locis, quae tunc temporis Palaestinorum incolis frequentabatur), virginem 846 aspexit, grata specie, et vultu decoro, et parentes proprios, quorum comitatu fultus gradiebatur, oravit ut eam in conjugium sibi poscerent. Verum illi ignorantes quod eo intentio vergeret, ut Palaestinis aut negantibus infestior foret, aut acquiescentibus, affectus inferendae in subditos injuriae demeretur; cum ex conjunctione  0986D aequalitas par, et gratia consortii jure accresceret, aut si quid offensum esset, longius ultionis studia procederent, quasi alienigenam declinandam arbitrabantur. Sed ubi flectere animum pignoris legitimorum  0987A objectu frustra experti, in arbitrium ejus volentes concessere.

14. Recepta itaque petitione, Samson cum sibi promissam reviseret, divertit, et paulisper de aggere deflexit; continuoque occurrit ei leo ferus de silva, agresti libertate saevior. Comes nullus, telum in manibus haudquaquam suppeditabat: cedere pudor, et conscia virtus fiduciam dare. Ruentem in se brachiis amplexus necat, et lacertorum nodo exanimatum, praeter aggerem supra silvestria germina projecit ac dereliquit. Locus erat laetus pabuli herboso gramine, vinetis consitus. Itaque apud dilectissimam sibi sponsam exuvias ferae credidit sine momento futuras; cum talium rerum tempora non terribilibus spoliis, sed mitibus gaudiis, et festa  0987B fronde fiant venustiora. Denique post eadem regrediens via, favum in utero leonis offendit, atque abstulit, donum parentibus ac puellae futurum; talia enim sponsam munera decent, ac degustato melle, favum praedictis edendum dedit, causam repressit.

15. Sed forte quadam die nuptialis festi celebrabatur convivium, laeta in epulis juventus mutuis se ad ludum invitabat sermonibus; cum alius alium salsiore dicacitate perstringeret, sicut se hujusmodi usus habet, certamen laetitiae accendebatur. Ibi tum quaestionem hujusmodi proposuit Samson juvenibus coepulantibus:  De manducante exivit esca, et de forti processit dulce; absolventibus pollicens praemium, quasi mercedem sapientiae, triginta sindones, et  0987C totidem stolas, secundum numerum virorum comessantium, aut mulctam ignorantibus.

16. Qui cum enodare implexa, et distinguere ambigua nequirent, mulierem ejus partim minis exagitando, partim fatigando precibus, eo impulere, ut a viro posceret quaestionis ejus absolutionem, insigne futurum conjugalis gratiae in mercedem amoris. Atque ea seu animi territa, seu muliebri ingenio inflexa, veluti pio questu maritalis odii dolorem praetexere hoc coepit, quod secretum viri consors totius vitae et conscia non comperisset, similisque caeteris habita foret, cui arcanum viri proprii 847 non crederetur:  Odisti me, inquit,  et non amasti, quam celasti usque adhuc. 

17. Hisque et caeteris talibus invictus ad caetera  0987D animus, muliebribus emollitus blanditiis, aperuit dilectae propositam quaestionem, et illa civibus. A quibus vix tandem septimo die, qui praescriptus absolvendae parabolae fuerat, ante occasum solis comperta soluta sunt, atque in hunc modum relata:  0988A  Quid fortius leone? Quid dulcius melle? Et ille respondit: nec muliere aliquid perfidiosius:  Nam si non domuissetis vitulam meam, numquam intelligeretis parabolam meam; et statim descendit in Ascalonem et triginta viros peremit, quorum exuvias auferens, eos qui propositam quaestionem solverant, promisso munere donavit.

18. Abstinuit autem conjugio puellae, cujus perfidiam deprehenderat, atque in patriam domum sese recepit. Turbataque animi juvencula, quae indignationem laesi, ferociam fortissimi fraudi sibi futuram justa formidine perhorresceret, in alterius viri concessit nuptias; quem tamen paranymphum sibi Samson quasi fidum sodalem, cum duceret eam uxorem, adsciverat. Nec sic tamen, praetento licet conjugio,  0988B offensionis periculum avertit. Namque (Judic. XV, 1 et seq.) ubi res prodita, volentique ad conjugem redire interclusa copia, quod pater eam alii viro nupsisse diceret, sororem sane ejus, si vellet, ducere liceret; stimulo injuriae exulceratus, publicam excogitavit ultionem capessere domesticae contumeliae indignatione: correptisque trecentis vulpibus, adulta aestate, cum jam matura essent in agris frumenta, binas sibi invicem caudam ad caudam ligavit, atque in medium earum ardentem inseruit facem, nodoque adstrinxit inexsolubili, et ultor injuriae super manipulos messis dimisit frumentariae, quam secuerant incolae Palaestinorum. At illae igni exterritae, quacumque praecipites convolvebantur, spargebant incendium, et exurebant spicas eorum. Quo dispendio  0988C commoti, quod omnes sibi locorum fructus interierant, factum principibus suis intimaverunt. Et illi miserunt viros in Thamnatam, qui mulierem quae variato fidem conjugio mutaverat, ac totam ejus domum parentesque igni involvere; quod ea causa suae vastitatis et injuriae foret: nec oportuisse laedi virum pronuntiantes, qui posset malo publico se ulcisci.

19. Nec tamen Samson populis Palaestinorum delicti gratiam fecit, atque eo vindictae fine contentus fuit: sed concidit eos strage maxima, plurimique eorum ferro interiere. Ipse autem concessit in Etam, ad torrentem in deserto. Petra illic erat munitio tribus Juda. Palaestini vero, ut qui eum non auderent lacessere, nec munitionis praerupta arduaque  0988D superare, tribum Juda denuntiato adorsi urgere praelio, cum justa referri cernerent, quod subditos 848 sibi et tributarios perditum iri nequaquam verum et aequum atque ex usu videretur publico, pro alieno praesertim facinore: consulentes in medium,  0989A tradi sibi designatorem tanti flagitii postulaverunt, atque ita illis quod ab eo commissum, futurum sine noxa esset.

20. Qua praescripta sibi conditione, viri de tribu Juda tria millia ex suis congregantes ascenderunt ad eum, et praefato quod essent subdititii Palaestinorum, quibus sibi necessitas obediendi non ex arbitrio, sed ex periculi formidine maneret; facti sui invidiam retorquebant in eos, qui jus cogendi habebant. Tum ille: Et quae, inquit, justitiae forma est, genus Abrahamidarum, ut circumscriptae primo conjugis, deinde abductae perniciosa mihi vindicta sit, et sine periculo domesticam injuriam non licuerit ulcisci? Tantumne inclinatis animos ad turpe vernularum obsequium; ut exsecutores vos alienae  0989B praebeatis insolentiae, atque in vosmet ipsos vertatis manus? Si pereundum est, quia dolorem habui liberum, juvat perire manibus Palaestinorum. Tentata domus, sollicitata uxor: si non licuit mihi vivere sine eorum fraude, saltem liceat mori sine meorum scelere. Retuli ego acceptam injuriam, non intuli? Vos aestimate an digna vicissitudo fuerit. Illi de damno fructuum queruntur, ego de conjugis amissione: conferte manipulos messis, et sociam thori. Dolorem meum ipsi probarunt, cujus injurias vindicaverunt. Videte quo vos ministerio dignos putant. A vobis eum in mortem affici volunt, quem ipsi ultione dignum de iis, qui laeserant, judicaverunt, et qui vindictae praebuere ministerium. Sed si adeo subdita superbis colla geritis, tradite me  0989C hostium manibus; vos nolite occidere. Non mortem abnuo, sed vestrum fugio contagium. Verum si formidine ceditis insolentibus, alligate vinculis manus: inermes licet, invenient sibi arma nodis solutae. Certe conditioni impositae satis futurum arbitrati sunt, si viventem in potestatem daretis.

21. Quibus illi auditis (Ibid., 13 et seq.), quamvis tria millia virorum ascenderant, sacramentum dederunt quod a se vitae ejus vis nulla irrogaretur; tantummodo patiens vinculorum esset, ut deditionem ejus patrarent, quo vacui fierent ejus, cujus arguebantur, facinoris.

22. Accepta itaque fide, spelaeo egressus, deseruit petrae munitionem: ac duobus innexus funibus, ubi appropinquare accitos ad suscipiendum Palaestinorum  0989D validos videt, infremuit spiritu, et universa dirupit vincula; atque arripiens maxillam asini  0990A jacentem, percussit mille viros, fugavit alios grandi virtutis spectaculo; cum inermi et uni cederent armatorum agmina. Et qui cominus ausi fuerant congredi, facili negotio, nullo labore obtruncati; aliis fuga exitium dempsit. Unde hodieque Agon loco 849 nomen est, quod ibi Samson gloriosum certamen virtute egregia consummaverit.

23. Sed utinam quam fortis in hostem, tam moderatus in victoria fuisset. Verum quod facile usu venit, insolens rerum secundarum animus, qui debuit eventum pugnae divino favori et praesidio deferre, sibi arrogavit, dicens:  In maxilla asinae  delevi mille viros. Nec aram statuit Deo nec hostiam immolavit: sed negligens sacrificii, assumptor gloriae, ut triumphum suum perpetuo consecraret nomine,  0990B vocavit locum Maxillae interfectionem.

24. Et mox siti graviter coepit inardescere, et potus deerat, nec jam ferre ac tolerare poterat. Unde intelligens quod nihil tam facile esset humanae opis, quod sine divino adjumento non difficile foret, exclamavit atque obsecravit, ne sibi Deus omnipotens in offensam verteret, quod imprudenter incauto sermone sibi aliquid assignavisset. Quinetiam illam victoriam Deo deputabat dicens:  Tu dedisti in manu servi tui salutem magnam hanc, et nunc subvenit; quia ecce morior siti, et in potestatem eorum de quibus tantum donasti triumphum, sitis necessitate adjudicor.  Quomodo Dei misericordia, cum projecisset ille maxillam, aperuit scissuram ejus, et fons erupit ex ea, et bibit Samson, et resumpsit spiritum,  0990C et vocavit locum invocationem fontis, eo quod victoriae jactantiam invocationis precibus emendasset: ita diversa judicia mature edita, quod et arrogantia cito offensam incurreret, et humilitas sine ulla offensione sese reconciliaret.

25. Verum ubi decursa serie bellum Palaestinorum composuit, et suorum declinans ignaviam, et hostilem despiciens manum, Gazam sese contulit: ea civitas erat in locis Palaestinorum, et habitabat illic in diversorio. Quod cognitum Gazei (Judic. XVI, 1 et seq.) haudquaquam dissimulatione praeteterierunt, sed festinantes circumdederunt diversorium ejus, et obsederunt universos aditus domus; ne fugam in nocte componeret. Itaque Samson cognito quid pararetur, compositas insidias noctis  0990D medio praevertens, columnas domus manibus amplexus, materiem totam et culminis molem cervice  0991A valida sustentans, in verticem montis altissimi transportavit, qui imminebat urbi Chebron, quae populis Hebraeis incolebatur.

26. Sed cum libero et vago motu transgrederetur non solum regionis paternae terminos, sed etiam morum limites, et majorum observatione praescriptos, eam sibi futurae mox cladis pestem invenit. Namque parum fida expertus alienigenae uxoris prima connubia, qui debuisset cavere vel postea, rursus Dalilae mulieris fornicariae copulam non declinavit; et cum eam diligeret impense, tentandi se causam dolis hostilibus praestitit. Ascendentes enim Palaestini 850 ad eam, polliciti sunt pecuniam viritim daturos mille et centum denarios, si proderet eis in quo ille fiduciam virtutis suae constitutam  0991B haberet: quo cognito, circumveniri et capi posset.

27. At illa quae semel se pecuniae prostituerat, (Ibid., 6 et seq.), astute satis et callide inter pocula et illecebras amoris quasi admirans fortitudinis ejus eminentiam, quaerere hoc coepit, quo tandem genere tantum praestaret reliquorum virtutibus; simul et quasi pavida atque sollicita orare, ut dilectae suae committeret, qui nexus astrictum alienae potestati substerneret. Ille autem adhuc sobrius et fortis animi adversus delinimenta meretricia dolum dolo retulit, dicens quia si vitibus virentibus adhuc et non aridis alligaretur, infirmitate corporis adaequaret aliorum similitudinem. «Quo Palaestini per Dalilam sibi comperto, cum vitea soporanti circumdedissent  0991C vincula, quasi de improviso excitum, haud degenerem offendere notae et solitae fortitudinis; cum solutis nexibus, virtus libera multis licet, resisteret ac repugnaret.

28. Sed ubi parum processit, rursus Dalila quasi derisa et conquerens repetere artes suas, et fidem amoris poscere non praetermittebat. Cui Samson validus adhuc consilii, dolum ridens, significavit ligatum se septem funibus, qui adhuc sine usu forent, venturum in potestatem hostium: sed et hoc frustra fuit. Tertio quoque tamquam de mysterio deprompsit, et jam lapsuro propior, si dissoluti essent crines septem capitis sui, et quasi in cubitum intexti, discederet ab eo virtus sua. Et hoc quoque lusit insidiarum fabricatores.

 0991D 29. At postremum cum illusum sibi toties procax  0992A mulier deploravisset, indignam se habitam dolens, cui comitteretur arcanum dilecti; et id quod pro reremedio quaereret, ad proditionem suspectari videret, lacrymis fidem coegit: simul quia debebatur invictae ad id tempus fortitudinis viro, ut aerumnam incideret, saucius animi secretum aperit: praetendere in se virtutem Dei, et esse Domino sanctificatum, secundum ejus praeceptum comam pascere, quae si attonderetur, desineret Nazaraeus esse, et propriae virtutis usum amitteret. Palaestini per mulierem comperta infirmitate viri, sceleris mercedem afferunt, ut pretio obnoxia, dolum patraret.

30. At illa meretriciis delinimentis fessum amoris in soporem compulit, et tonsore adhibito, septem crines capitis ejus admota novacula abscidit,  0992B continuoque interdicti praevaricatione vires minutae. Denique ex somno expergitus:  Faciam, inquit,  sicut soleo: et excutiam me super adversarios; sed nec animi sui alacritatem, nec virtutem agnovit: nec vigor erat, 851 nec gratia manebat. Itaque reputans secum quod improvide se mulieribus credidisset, et calvi ratus tentare ulterius aliquid damnatum infirmitatis caecitati oculos, vinculis manus praebuit, et compedibus innexus carcerem intravit multis sibi incognitum tempestatibus.

31. Et jam processu temporis (Judic., XVI, 22 et seq.) crescere ei coma coeperat itaque cum esset celebre convivium, Palaestinorum conventui producitur de carcere Samson, ac statuitur in populi conspectu. Erant tria millia ferme hominum virilis ac muliebris  0992C sexus; et gravibus eum insultabant conviciis, circumagebant ludibriis, quod durius et ultra ipsam captivitatis speciem viro ingenitae virtutis conscio tolerabatur. Nam vivere et mori naturae functio, ludibrio esse probro ducitur. Cupiens igitur tantam contumeliam vel ultione solari, vel morte in reliquum praevertere, simulato quod propter infirmitatem corporis et nodos compedum sustentare sese nequiret; poposcit a puero, qui dirigebat vias ejus, ut admoveret eum ad columnas proximas, quibus domus omnis suffulciebatur. Et admotus, utraque manu fulcra totius comprehendit aedificii, atque intentis ad festa sacrificii Palaestinis, quod Dagoni deo suo deferebant, per quem sibi adversarium suum datum in potestatem arbitrabantur, muliebris perfidiae dolos  0992D beneficiis annumerantes coelestibus, exclamavit ad  0993A Dominum dicens: Domine, adhuc semel memor pueri tui esto, ut pro duobus oculis meis vindictam tribuas de nationibus; ne dent gloriam suis diis, quod ipsis juvantibus, me in potestatem acceperint: nec vitam meam pluris facio.  Moriatur anima mea cum Palaestinis, ut agnoscant sibi infirmitatem meam non minus quam virtutem exitialem fuisse.

32. Concussit itaque columnas magna vi, ac dissolvit et comminuit eas: quas secuta ruina superioris culminis, et ipsum involvit, et universos, qui desuper aspectabant, praecipitavit. Ibi magna vis marium feminarumque promiscue exanimata, et triumphus quaesitus perempto et supra omnes superiores victorias haud quaquam degenere et decoloro exitu. Nam etsi inviolabilis ad id locorum et deinceps, atque incomparabilis in hac vita expertis belli  0993B fuerit viris, tamen in morte se ipsum vicit, et insuperabilem gessit animum, ut contemneret, et 852 quasi pro nihilo haberet vitae finem omnibus formidolosum.

33. Virtutis igitur fuit quod victoriarum numero diem clausit, nec captivum exitum, sed triumphalem invenit. Circumscriptum autem fuisse a muliere, naturae potius quam personae ascribendum; quia humana conditio, quam culpa inferior; premitur enim et cedit illecebris flagitiorum. Itaque cum Scriptura ei testificetur quod plures in morte, quam in lumine vitae istius positus occiderit, videtur ad adversariorum magis exitium captus, quam quo ipse dejectior fieret, aut minor esset: non est enim se expertus inferiorem, cujus sepultura praestantior, quam potentia  0993C fuit. Denique non telis, sed cadaveribus hostium pressus et humatus est, proprio tectus triumpho, clarum insigne relinquens posteris; eo quod populum suum, quem captivum invenerat, viginti annis in libertate judicio suo rexit, et sepultus in patrio solo libertatis haeredem dimisit.

 0994A 34. Hoc ergo exemplo liquet alienigenarum consortia refugienda; ne pro charitate conjugii proditionis insidiae succedant. Vale, et nos dilige, quia nos te diligimus.