Chapter V.

The Holy Spirit, as well as the Father and the Son, is pointed out in holy Scripture as Creator, and the same truth was shadowed forth even by heathen writers, but it was shown most plainly in the Mystery of the Incarnation, after touching upon which, the writer maintains his argument from the fact that worship which is due to the Creator alone is paid to the Holy Spirit.

32. But who can doubt that the Holy Spirit gives life to all things; since both He, as the Father and the Son, is the Creator of all things; and the Almighty Father is understood to have done nothing without the Holy Spirit; and since also in the beginning of the creation the Spirit moved upon the water.

33. So when the Spirit was moving upon the water, the creation was without grace; but after this world being created underwent the operation of the Spirit, it gained all the beauty of that grace, wherewith the world is illuminated. And that the grace of the universe cannot abide without the Holy Spirit the prophet declared when he said: “Thou wilt take away Thy Spirit, and they will fail and be turned again into their dust. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be made, and Thou wilt renew all the face of the earth.”264    Ps. civ. [ciii.] 29, 30. Not only, then, did he teach that no creature can stand without the Holy Spirit, but also that the Spirit is the Creator of the whole creation.

34. And who can deny that the creation of the earth is the work of the Holy Spirit, Whose work it is that it is renewed? For if they desire to deny that it was created by the Spirit, since they cannot deny that it must be renewed by the Spirit, they who desire to sever the Persons must maintain that the operation of the Holy Spirit is superior to that of the Father and the Son, which is far from the truth; for there is no doubt that the restored earth is better than it was created. Or if at first, without the operation of the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son made the earth, but the operation of the Holy Spirit was joined on afterwards, it will seem that that which was made required His aid, which was then added. But far be it from any one to think this, namely, that the divine work should be believed to have a change in the Creator, an error brought in by Manicheus.265    Manes, or Manicheus, born about a.d. 240, seems to have desired to blend Christianity and Zoroastrianism. The fundamental point of his teaching was the recognition of a good and an evil creator. For a full account, see art. “Manicheans,” in Dict. Ch. Biog.

35. But do we suppose that the substance of the earth exists without the operation of the Holy Spirit, without Whose work not even the expanse of the sky endures? For it is written: “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the strength of them by the Spirit of His Mouth.”266    Ps. xxxiii. [xxxii.] 6. Observe what he says, that all the strength of the heavens is to be referred to the Spirit. For how should He Who was moving267    Gen. i. 1. before the earth was made, be resting when it was being made?

36. Gentile writers, following ours as it were through shadows, because they could not imbibe the truth of the Spirit, have pointed out in their verses that the Spirit within nourishes heaven and earth, and the glittering orbs of moon and stars.268    Virg. Æn. VI. 724. So they deny not that the strength of creatures exists through the Spirit, are we who read this to deny it? But you think that they refer to a Spirit produced of the air. If they declared a Spirit of the air to be the Author of all things, do we doubt that the Spirit of God is the Creator of all things?

37. But why do I delay with matters not to the purpose? Let them accept a plain proof that there can be nothing which the Holy Spirit can be said not to have made; and that it cannot be doubted that all subsists through His operation, whether Angels, Archangels, Thrones, or Dominions; since the Lord Himself, Whom the Angels serve, was begotten by the Holy Spirit coming upon the Virgin, as, according to Matthew, the Angel said to Joseph: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take Mary thy wife, for that which shall be born of her is of the Holy Spirit.”269    S. Matt. i. 20. And according to Luke, he said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee.”270    S. Luke i. 35.

38. The birth from the Virgin was, then, the work of the Spirit. The fruit of the womb is the work of the Spirit, according to that which is written: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb.”271    S. Luke i. 42. The flower from the root is the work of the Spirit, that flower, I say, of which it was well prophesied: “A rod shall go forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise from his root.”272    Isa. xi. 1. The root of Jesse the patriarch is the family of the Jews, Mary is the rod, Christ the flower of Mary, Who, about to spread the good odour of faith throughout the whole world, budded forth from a virgin womb, as He Himself said: “I am the flower of the plain, a lily of the valley.”273    Cant. ii. 1.

39. The flower, when cut, keeps its odour, and when bruised increases it, nor if torn off does it lose it; so, too, the Lord Jesus, on the gibbet of the cross, neither failed when bruised, nor fainted when torn; and when He was cut by that piercing of the spear, being made more beautiful by the colour of the outpoured Blood, He, as it were, grew comely again, not able in Himself to die, and breathing forth upon the dead the gift of eternal life. On this flower, then, of the royal rod the Holy Spirit rested.

40. A good rod, as some think, is the Flesh of the Lord, which, raising itself from its earthly root to heaven, bore around the whole world the sweet-smelling fruits of religion, the mysteries of the divine generation, pouring grace on the altars of heaven.

41. So, then, we cannot doubt that the Spirit is Creator, Whom we know as the Author of the Lord’s Incarnation. For who can doubt when you find in the commencement of the Gospel that the generation of Jesus Christ was on this wise: “When Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of [ex] the Holy Spirit.”274    S. Matt. i. 18.

42. For although most authorities read “de Spiritu,” yet the Greek from which the Latins translated have “ἐχ πνεύματος ἁγίου,” that is, “ex Spiritu Sancto.” For that which is “of” [ex] any one is either of his substance or of his power. Of his substance, as the Son, Who says: “I came forth of the Mouth of the Most High;”275    Ecclus. xxiv. 3. as the Spirit, “Who proceedeth from the Father;”276    S. John xv. 20. of Whom the Son says: “He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine.”277    S. John xvi. 14. But of the power, as in the passage: “One God the Father, of Whom are all things.”278    1 Cor. viii. 6. The argument from the exact force of prepositions is often urged by the Fathers, as by St. Athanasius and St. Basil among the Greeks. The Latins also use it, as St. Ambrose here, but occasionally the same Greek prepositions are variously rendered, which destroys the force of the argument. With regard to the two prepositions ex and de St. Augustine gives a very good explanation, De Natura Bon, c. 27: “Ex ipso [of Him] does not always mean the same as de ipso [from Him]. That which is from Him can be said to be of Him, but not everything which is of Him is rightly said to be from Him. Of Him are the heavens and the earth, for He made them, but not from Him, because not of His substance.” But neither the Vulgate nor even St. Ambrose himself is quite consistent in this matter.

43. How, then, was Mary with child of the Holy Spirit? If as of her substance, was the Spirit, then, changed into flesh and bones? Certainly not. But if the Virgin conceived as of His operation and power, who can deny that the Holy Spirit is Creator?

44. How is it, too, that Job plainly set forth the Spirit as his Creator, saying: “The Spirit of God hath made me”?279    Job xxxiii. 4. In one short verse he showed Him to be both Divine and Creator. If, then, the Spirit is Creator, He is certainly not a creature, for the Apostle has separated the Creator and the creature, saying: “They served the creature rather than the Creator.”280    Rom. i. 25.

45. He teaches that the Creator is to be served by condemning those who serve the creature, whereas we owe our service to the Creator. And since he knew the Spirit to be the Creator, he teaches that we ought to serve Him, saying: “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision, for we are the circumcision who serve the Spirit of God.”281    Phil. iii. 2, 3.

46. But if any one disputes because of the variations of the Latin codices, some of which heretics have falsified, let him look at the Greek codices, and observe that it is there written: “οἱ πνεύματι Θεοῦ λατρεύοντες,” which is, being translated, “who serve the Spirit of God.”

47. So, then, when the same Apostle says that we ought to serve the Spirit, who asserts that we must not serve the creature, but the Creator; without doubt he plainly shows that the Holy Spirit is Creator, and is to be venerated with the honour due to the eternal Godhead; for it is written: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”282    S. Matt. iv. 10.

640 CAPUT V.

Sicut Patrem ac Filium, ita etiam Spiritum creatorem in Scriptura significari. Hoc ipsum a paganis quoque scriptoribus adumbratum: sed planissime demonstratum esse in mysterio incarnationis, de qua ubi delibavit Ambrosius nonnulla, coeptum argumentum 0749C ex eo quod adoratio, quae soli debetur creatori, etiam Spiritui debeatur, confirmat.

32. Quis vero dubitare potest quia vivificet omnia Spiritus sanctus, quando et ipse sicut Pater et Filius, creator est omnium, nec quidquam nisi cum Spiritu sancto Deus omnipotens Pater intelligatur operatus; quandoquidem et in principio creaturae Spiritus superferebatur super aquam (Gen. I, 1)?

33. Itaque cum superferebatur Spiritus, nulla erat gratia creaturae: postea vero quam operationem Spiritus etiam creatura mundi istius suscepit, omnem hanc gratiae meruit venustatem, qua mundus illuxit. Denique sine Spiritu sancto universitatis gratiam manere non posse Propheta declaravit dicens: Auferes 0749D Spiritum eorum, et deficient, et in pulverem suum revertentur. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur, et innovabis omnem faciem terrae (Psal. CIII, 29, 30). Non solum igitur sine Spiritu docuit omnem creaturam 0750A stare non posse, sed etiam creatorem totius esse Spiritum creaturae.

34. Et quis neget opus esse Spiritus sancti quod creata est terra, cujus opus est quod novatur? Nam si negare cupiant quod per Spiritum sit creata; cum per Spiritum novandam negare non possint; meliorem ergo operationem Spiritus sancti, quam Patris et Filii, qui cupiunt separare, defendent: quod abhorret a vero; neque enim dubium est quod novata terra melior, quam creata sit. Aut si primo sine operatione Spiritus sancti terram Pater fecit et Filius: postea vero Spiritus sancti operatio copulabatur; videbitur id quod factum est, ejus quod accessit eguisse praesidio. Sed absit ut hoc quisquam existimet, ut operatio divina varietatem creatoris 0750B quam Manichaeus inducit, habere credatur.

35. An vero sine opere Spiritus sancti substantiam putamus esse terrarum, sine cujus opere nec coeli convexa subsistunt? Scriptum est enim: Verbo Domini coeli firmati sunt, et Spiritu oris ejus omnis virtus eorum (Psal. XXXII, 6). Adverte quid dicat: Omnem, inquit, virtutem coelorum ad Spiritum esse referendam. Qui enim superferebatur, antequam terra fieret, quomodo cum terra fieret, feriabatur?

36. Gentiles homines per umbram quamdam nostros secuti, quia veritatem Spiritus haurire non poterant; quod coelum ac terras, lunae 641 quoque stellarumque micantium globos Spiritus intus alat, suis versibus indiderunt. Ergo illi per Spiritum non negant virtutem subsistere creaturae: nos qui legimus, 0750C denegamus? Sed flatilem putatis ab illis spiritum designatum. Si illi auctorem omnium flatilem Spiritum declararunt, nos dubitamus Spiritum Dei esse omnium creatorem?

37. Sed quid alienis immoror? Accipiant documentum evidens, nihil posse esse quod Spiritus sanctus negetur operatus, nec de Angelis, nec de Archangelis, nec de Thronis, nec de Dominationibus posse dubitari, quod ejus operatione subsistant; quandoquidem ipse secundum carnem Dominus, cui angeli serviebant, Spiritu in Virginem superveniente, genitus sit; sicut et secundum Matthaeum ad Joseph angelus dixit: Joseph, fili David, noli timere accipere Mariam uxorem tuam; quod enim ex ea nascetur, de Spiritu sancto est (Matth. I, 20). Et secundum Lucam 0750D dixit ad Mariam: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te (Luc. I, 35).

38. Opus ergo Spiritus Virginis partus est. Opus Spiritus fructus est ventris, secundum quod scriptum 0751A est: Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui (Ibid., 42). Opus Spiritus flos radicis est: ille, inquam, flos, de quo bene est prophetatum: Exiet virga de radice Jesse, et flos de radice ejus ascendet (Esa. XI, 1). Radix Jesse patriarchae familia Judaeorum, virga Maria, flos Mariae Christus; qui bonum odorem fidei toto sparsurus orbe, virginali ex utero germinavit, sicut ipse dixit: Ego flos campi, et lilium convallium (Cant. II, 1).

39. Flos odorem suum et succisus reservat, et contritus accumulat, nec avulsus amittit; ita et Dominus Jesus in illo patibulo crucis, nec contritus emarcuit, nec avulsus evanuit; et illa lanceae punctione succisus, sacro speciosior fusi cruoris colore vernavit, mori ipse nescius, et mortuis aeternae vitae munus exhalans. In hoc igitur Spiritus sanctus 0751B virgae regalis flore requievit.

40. Bona virga, ut quidam putant, est caro Domini, quae de radice terrena ad superna se subrigens, odoriferos sacrae fructus religionis circumtulit mundo, mysteria divinae generationis, et gratiam coelestibus altaribus superfundens.

41. Dubitare ergo non possumus Spiritum creatorem, quem Dominicae cognoscimus incarnationis auctorem. Quis enim dubitet, cum in principio Evangelii habeas, quia Christi generatio 642 sic erat: Cum desponsata esset Maria Joseph, antequam convenirent, inventa est in utero habens ex Spirituc santo (Matth. I, 18)?

42. Nam licet plerique habeant, de Spiritu, Graecus tamen unde transtulerunt Latini, ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου 0751C dixit, hoc est, ex Spiritu sancto. Quod enim ex aliquo est, aut ex substantia est, aut ex potestate ejus. Ex substantia, sicut Filius, qui ait: Ex ore Altissimi prodivi, sicut Spiritus, qui a Patre procedit (Eccl. XXIV, 5); de quo dicit Filius: Ille me clarificabit; 0752A quia de meo accipiet (Joan. XVI, 14). Ex potestate autem, sicut illud est: Unus Deus Pater, ex quo omnia (I Cor. VIII, 6).

43. Quomodo ergo in utero habuit Maria ex Spiritu sancto? Si quasi ex substantia: ergo Spiritus in carnem et ossa conversus est? Non utique. Si quasi ex operatione et potestate ejus Virgo concepit; quis neget Spiritum creatorem?

44. Quid quod etiam Job creatorem suum Spiritum evidenter ostendit dicens: Spiritus divinus, qui fecit me (Job. XXXIII, 4)? Et divinum utique et creatorem uno versiculo demonstravit. [Alias cap. VI.] Si igitur creator est Spiritus, non est utique creatura; creaturam enim Apostolus creatoremque divisit dicens: Servierunt creaturae potius quam creatori (Rom. I, 25).

0752B 45. Simul creatori admonet serviendum, damnando eos qui serviunt creaturae, cum creatori servitium debeamus. Et quoniam creatorem Spiritum noverat, docet eidem serviendum, dicens: Videte canes, videte malos operarios, videte concisionem; nos enim sumus circumcisio, qui Spiritui Dei servimus (Philip. III, 2, 3).

46. Quod si quis de Latinorum codicum varietate contendit, quorum aliquos perfidi falsaverunt, Graecos inspiciat codices, et advertat quia ibi scriptum est: οἱ Πνεύματι Θεοῦ λατρεύοντες, quod interpretatur Latinus: qui Spiritui Dei servimus.

47. Ergo cum serviendum dicat Spiritui idem Apostolus, qui non creaturae, sed creatori asserit serviendum; evidenter utique et ipse sanctum ostendit Spiritum creatorem, et in aeternae divinitatis 0752C honore venerandum; quia scriptum est: Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, et ipsi soli servies (Matth. IV, 10).