Commentarium in evangelium matthaei

 Angels of god may gather up the evil doctrines attached to the soul and hand them over for consumption, overturning them with what is called burning f

 He did not speak to them», and not to the crowds when he came «into the house» does he speak, but to the disciples who came to him in it, it is clear

 They have sold their possessions, so that, by having sold and given those things away and in exchange for them having received from god a good purpose

 In the strait, not in the pinnae, which is a kind of pearl-bearing shell, but in those called mussels. and for these, i mean those of the bosphorus, t

 Of christ” one might be able to attain, having been first exercised in the, so to speak, knowledges which are surpassed by the knowledge of christ. bu

 Of bad kinds, as among fish, to the fine ones, or from the better to the worse, but among men, the just or the wicked can always be seen either reachi

 The calling from every kind of nation. and those who served the net cast into the sea are the lord of the net, jesus christ, and the angels who came a

 You will know that i the lord have poured out my wrath upon you.” 10.14 have you understood all these things? they say, yes (13, 51[52]). christ jesus

 Of the heavens is within you, and especially through the repentance from the letter to the spirit, because whenever someone turns to the lord, th

 Might make him like himself, until the disciple becomes as the teacher, imitating first the imitator of christ, and after this one, also <τὸν> chris

 He was doing greater things than those in the time of elijah and elisha, and even before, in the time of moses and joshua son of nun. but those who ma

 For they consider judea their homeland and that israel their kinsmen, and perhaps the body their house for all were dishonored in judea by the israel

 Paying attention, if on account of living very intensely and reproving those who sin he should be hated and plotted against, as one persecuted and rev

 Baptist (14, 1. 2[-11]). and thus in mark and thus in luke. the jews held different opinions concerning these matters, some false, such as the sadduce

 He passed over in silence in his histories. 10.21 the text of matthew has it thus: for herod, having seized john, bound him in prison. concerning thes

 Free among the dead.” “for though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of god.” furthermore, behold the people among whom clea

 Into the desert, was in it, because his word and teaching were peculiar compared to what was customary and established among the gentiles. and the cro

 To give the loaves of the blessing to the disciples, so that they might set them before the crowds, he healed the sick, so that having been made wel

 The disciples say they have five loaves and the two fish in matthew and mark and luke, without noting whether they were of wheat or of barley but joh

 “all flesh is grass,” that is, to make the flesh subject and to subordinate “the mind of the flesh,” so that in this way one might be able to partake

 Of those who come to the name of jesus, those who know “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” might be called disciples but those to whom such a th

 Jesus [compelled] the disciples to get in, or perhaps the struggle of temptations and circumstances, into which one is compelled by the word and, as i

 To lead us to the other side. for it is not possible to reach the other side without having endured the trials of waves and a contrary wind. then, whe

 Having sent them, since they were not able, on account of being very ill, to approach on their own, and they did not themselves touch the fringe, as t

 Jesus does not accuse them concerning a tradition of the jewish elders, but concerning two of the most necessary commandments of god, of which the one

 By the name of the treasury wishes to give to the poor rather than to the relatives of the givers, if they happen to be in need of necessities and the

 The hidden things. and all these words will be to you like the words of the sealed book, which if they give it to a man who knows letters, saying, ‘re

 For which things the carnal jews and the ebionites who differ little from them accuse us of breaking the law, for not thinking that the obvious meanin

 Drink” and the rest, teaching us that the things according to the letter are a shadow, but the true meanings of the law underlying these are good thin

 Guides of the blind. who then? the pharisees, whose 'minds the god of this age has blinded,' being 'unbelievers' because they had not believed in jesu

 What enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is cast out into the latrine, and the food that is sanctified through the word of god and prayer

 And jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of tyre and sidon, and behold a canaanite woman (15, 21. 22 [-28]). from where there? or fr

 To see the difference of those who approach, who approach him, as it were, as the one who was made “of the seed of david according to the flesh,” and

 He answered and said: it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. one might inquire into the meaning of this saying,

 Blind in soul and not seeing the true light, and others lame and not able to walk according to reason, and others maimed and not able to work accord

 Of the loaves (jesus) went out and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. and when it was evening, the

 To her “o woman, great is your faith let it be to you as you desire,” he healed her daughter “from that hour,” yet it is not written that he sent he

to see the difference of those who approach, who approach Him, as it were, as the one who was made “of the seed of David according to the flesh,” and who to the one who was declared the Son of God “in power according to the spirit of holiness,” and of these, who do so truly, and who without this. Then, notice that the Canaanite woman does not plead concerning a son, whom she does not appear to have borne in the first place, but concerning a daughter who is terribly demon-possessed, while another mother receives back alive her son who was being carried out dead. And again, the ruler of the synagogue asks concerning his twelve-year-old daughter as one who had died, while the nobleman asks concerning his son as one who was still sick and about to die. A demon-possessed daughter and a dead son, therefore, belonged to two mothers, and a dead daughter and a son sick unto death to two fathers, of whom the one was a ruler of the synagogue, and the other a nobleman. And I am persuaded that these things contain accounts concerning different kinds of souls, which Jesus heals by giving them life. And everything that he heals among the people, especially those things recorded by the evangelists, happened then, so that those who would not otherwise believe, unless they see “signs and wonders,” might believe; but the things that happened then were symbols of the things that are always being accomplished by the power of Jesus. For there is no time when each of the things written is not accomplished by the power of Jesus according to the worthiness of each person. On account of her race, therefore, the Canaanite woman was not worthy even to receive a response from Jesus, as he confessed that he had not been sent by the Father for any other purpose than to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, a race of discerning souls that had been lost. But on account of her choice and of having worshipped Jesus as the Son of God, she receives a response, which convicts her of her low birth and points out her worthiness, that as a little dog she was worthy of crumbs and not of loaves. But as she intensified her choice and, accepting the word of Jesus, makes her claim, even as a little dog to receive crumbs, and acknowledges those of nobler birth as masters, then she receives a second response testifying to her faith as great and promising that what she wants will be done for her. And I think it will be necessary to understand the Canaanite woman as analogous to the “Jerusalem above,” which is free, the mother of Paul and those like him, the mother of the one terribly demon-possessed, being a symbol of a mother of such a soul. And consider if it is not reasonable for there to be both many fathers and many mothers, analogous to the fathers of Abraham, to whom the patriarch went away, and to Jerusalem the mother, as Paul says concerning himself and those like him. And it is likely that this one, of whom the Canaanite woman is a symbol, having come out from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, of which the places on earth were types, having approached the Savior, asked him and even now asks, saying: Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is terribly demon-possessed. Then he who answers both those outside and the disciples, when it is necessary, said the “I was not sent,” teaching that there are certain preeminent intellectual and discerning souls that are lost, figuratively called the sheep of the house of Israel, which, I think, the more simple-minded, believing this was said of the Israel “according to the flesh,” will of necessity hold that our Savior was sent by the Father to no others than to those lost Jews. But we who pray to say in truth, “Even though we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer,” know that the primary work of the Word is to save the more intelligent; for these are more akin to him than the duller. But since the lost sheep of the house of Israel, apart from the “remnant according to the election of grace,” disobeyed the Word, for this reason “he chose the foolish things of the world,” the non-Israelite and non-discerning, “to shame the wise” of Israel, and called “the things that are not” an intelligent nation, handing over to them what they were able to receive, “the foolishness of preaching,” and was pleased “to save” those “who believe” in this, in order to convict “the things that are,” having prepared for himself “praise from the mouth of infants and nursing babies,” since it has become hostile to the truth. And the Canaanite woman came and worshipped Jesus as God, saying: Lord, help me. And he

πρὸς τὸ ἰδεῖν τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν προσιόντων, τίνες μὲν οἱονεὶ τῷ γενομένῳ «ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα» προσίασι, τίνες δὲ τῷ ὁρισθέντι υἱῷ θεοῦ «ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης», καὶ τούτων τίνες μὲν μετὰ τοῦ ἀληθῶς, τίνες δὲ χωρὶς τούτου. Εἶτα πρόσχες ὅτι ἡ Χαναναία μὲν οὐ περὶ υἱοῦ, ὃν οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν γεγεννηκέναι φαίνεται, ἀλλὰ περὶ θυγατρὸς παρακαλεῖ δεινῶς δαιμονιζομένης, ἄλλη δὲ μήτηρ υἱὸν ἐκκομιζόμενον νεκρὸν ἀπολαμβάνει ζῶντα. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ μὲν ἀρχισυνάγωγος περὶ δωδεκαετοῦς θυγατρὸς ἀξιοῖ ὡς ἀποτεθνηκυίας, ὁ δὲ βασιλικὸς περὶ υἱοῦ ὡς ἔτι νοσοῦντος καὶ ἀποθνῄσκειν μέλλοντος. ∆αιμονῶσα τοίνυν θυγάτηρ καὶ υἱὸς νεκρὸς δύο ἦσαν μητέρων, καὶ τεθνηκυῖα θυγάτηρ καὶ υἱὸς πρὸς θάνατον ἀσθενῶν τῶν δύο πατέρων, ὧν ὁ μὲν ἀρχισυνάγωγος, ὁ δὲ βασιλικὸς ἦν. Ἔχειν δὲ ταῦτα πείθομαι λόγους περὶ γενῶν ἐν ψυχαῖς διαφόρων, ἅστινας ὁ Ἰησοῦς ζωοποιῶν ἰᾶται. Καὶ πάντα δέ, ὅσα θεραπεύει ἐν τῷ λαῷ, μάλιστα ὑπὸ τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν ἀναγεγραμμένα γέγονε μὲν τότε, ἵνα οἱ μὴ ἄλλως πιστεύοντες, ἐὰν μὴ ἴδωσι «σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα», πιστεύσωσι· σύμβολα δὲ ἦν τὰ τότε τῶν ἀεὶ ὑπὸ τῆς δυνάμεως Ἰησοῦ ἐπιτελουμένων. Οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ ὅτε ἕκαστον τῶν γεγραμμένων ὑπὸ τῆς δυνάμεως Ἰησοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου ἀξίαν οὐ γίνεται. Γένους μὲν οὖν χάριν ἡ Χαναναία οὐδὲ ἀποκρίσεως ἀξία ἦν τῆς ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ τυχεῖν, ὁμολογοῦντος οὐκ ἐπ' ἄλλο τι ἀπεστάλθαι παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἢ πρὸς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολω λότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ, γένος ψυχῶν διορατικῶν ἀπολωλός. Προαιρέσεως δὲ ἕνεκα καὶ τοῦ προσκεκυνηκέναι Ἰησοῦ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀποκρίσεως τυγχάνει, ἐλεγχούσης αὐτῆς τὴν δυσγένειαν καὶ τὴν ἀξίαν αὐτῆς παριστάσης, ὅτι ψιχίων ὡς κυνίδιον καὶ οὐκ ἄρτων ἦν ἀξία. Ὡς δὲ ἐπιτείνασα τὴν προαίρεσιν καὶ παραδεξαμένη τὸν Ἰησοῦ λόγον ἐπιδικάζεται, κἂν ὡς κυνίδιον τυχεῖν ψιχίων, καὶ ὁμολογεῖ κυρίους τοὺς εὐγενεστέρους, τότε τυγχάνει ἀποκρίσεως δευτέρας μαρτυ ρούσης αὐτῆς τῇ πίστει ὡς μεγάλῃ καὶ ἐπαγγελλομένης ἔσεσθαι αὐτῇ ὃ βούλεται. Ἀνάλογον δ' οἶμαι τῇ «ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ» ἐλευθέρᾳ, μητρὶ Παύλου καὶ τῶν παρα πλησίων αὐτῷ, δεήσει νοῆσαι τὴν Χαναναίαν, μητέρα τῆς δεινῶς δαιμονιζομένης, σύμβολον τυγχάνουσαν μητρὸς τοιᾶσδε ψυχῆς. Καὶ ἐπίστησον εἰ μὴ εὔλογόν ἐστιν εἶναι καὶ πολλοὺς πατέρας καὶ πολλὰς μητέρας, ἀνάλογον τοῖς πατράσιν Ἀβραάμ, πρὸς οὓς ἀπῄει ὁ πατριάρχης, καὶ τῇ Ἱερουσαλὴμ μητρί, ὡς Παῦλός φησι περὶ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων αὐτῷ. Εἰκὸς δὲ ἐξεληλυθυῖαν ταύτην, ἧς σύμβολον ἡ Χαναναία, ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων Τύρου καὶ Σιδῶνος, ὧν τύποι ἦσαν οἱ ἐπὶ γῆς τόποι, προσεληλυθυῖαν τῷ σωτῆρι ἠξιωκέναι αὐτὸν καὶ ἔτι νῦν ἀξιοῦν λέγουσαν· ἐλέησόν με, κύριε υἱὲ ∆αυίδ· ἡ θυγάτηρ μου δεινῶς δαιμονίζεται. Εἶτα ὁ καὶ τοῖς ἔξωθεν καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς, ὅτε δεῖ, ἀποκρινόμενος εἶπε τὸ οὐκ ἀπεστάλην, διδάσκων ὅτι εἰσί τινες προηγούμεναι ψυχαὶ νοεραὶ καὶ διορατικαὶ ἀπολωλυῖαι, τροπικῶς λεγόμεναι πρόβατα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ, ἅπερ, οἶμαι, οἱ ἁπλούστεροι ἐπὶ τοῦ «κατὰ σάρκα» Ἰσραὴλ νομίζοντες λελέχθαι, ἀναγκαίως προσήσονται ὅτι ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν ἀπεστάλη ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς οὐχὶ πρὸς ἄλλους ἢ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἐκείνους ἀπολωλότας. Ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ εὐχόμενοι ἐξ ἀληθείας λέγειν· «Εἰ καὶ Χριστόν ποτε κατὰ σάρκα ἐγνώκαμεν, ἀλλὰ νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν», ἴσμεν τοῦ λόγου προηγούμενον εἶναι ἔργον σῴζειν τοὺς συνετωτέρους· οἰκειότεροι γὰρ οὗτοι παρὰ τοὺς ἀμβλυτέρους αὐτῷ τυγχάνουσιν. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ τὰ ἀπολωλότα πρόβατα οἴκου Ἰσραὴλ παρὰ τὸ «κατ' ἐκλογὴν χάριτος λεῖμμα» ἠπείθησαν τῷ λόγῳ, διὰ τοῦτο «ἐξελέξατο τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου, τὸν μὴ Ἰσραὴλ μηδὲ διορατικόν, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφοὺς» τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐκάλεσε «τὰ μὴ ὄντα» συνετὸν ἔθνος, παραδοὺς αὐτοῖς ὃ ἠδύναντο χωρῆσαι, «τὴν μωρίαν τοῦ κηρύγματος», καὶ εὐδοκήσας «σῶσαι» τοὺς εἰς τοῦτο «πιστεύοντας», ἵνα διελέγξῃ «τὰ ὄντα», «ἐκ τοῦ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων» καταρ τισάμενος αὐτῷ «αἶνον», ἐπεὶ γέγονεν ἐχθρὰ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Ἐλθοῦσα δὲ ἡ Χαναναία προσεκύνει ὡς θεῷ τῷ Ἰησοῦ λέγουσα· κύριε, βοήθησόν μοι. Ὁ δὲ