101. We see, then, that heaven is open to virtue, and that this is the privilege not only of a few: “For many shall come from the east and from the west, and the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God,”148    S. Matt. viii. 11. giving expression to the enjoyment of perpetual rest since the motions of their souls are stilled. Let us follow Abraham in our habits, that he may receive us into his bosom, and cherish us with loving embrace, like Lazarus the inheritor of his humility surrounded by his own special virtues. The followers of the holy patriarch, approved of God, cherish us not in a bodily bosom, but in a clothing as it were of good works. “Be not deceived,” says the Apostle, “God is not mocked.”149    Gal. vi. 7.

102. We have seen, then, how grave an offence it is not to believe the resurrection; for if we rise not again, then Christ died in vain, then Christ rose not again.150    1 Cor. xv. 13. For if He rose not for us, He certainly rose not at all, for He had no need to rise for Himself. The universe rose again in Him, the heaven rose again in Him, the earth rose again in Him, for there shall be a new heaven and a new earth.151    Rev. xxi. 1. But where was the necessity of a resurrection for Him Whom the claims of death held not? For though He died as man, yet was He free in hell itself.

103. Wilt thou know how free? “I am become as a man that hath no help, free among the dead.”152    Ps. lxxxviii. [lxxxvii.] 4, 5. And well is He called free, Who had power to raise Himself, according to that which is written: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”153    S. John ii. 19. And well is He called free, Who had descended to rescue others. For He was made as a man, not, indeed, in appearance only, but so fashioned in truth, for He is man, and who shall know Him? For, “being made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death,”154    Phil. ii. 7, 8. in order that through that obedience we might see His glory, “the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,”155    S. John i. 14. according to Saint John. For thus is the statement of Scripture preserved, if both the glory of the Only-begotten and the nature of perfect man are preserved in Christ.

104. And so He needed no helper. For He needed none when He made the world, so as to need none when He would redeem it. No legate, no messenger, but the Lord Himself made it whole. “He spake and it was done.”156    Ps. xxxiii. [xxxii.] 9. The Lord Himself made it whole, Himself in every part, because all things were by Him. For who should help Him in Whom all things were created and by Whom all things consist?157    Col. i. 17. Who should help Him Who makes all things in a moment, and raises the dead at the last trump?158    1 Cor. xv. 52. The “last,” not as though He could not raise them at the first, or the second, or the third, but an order is observed, not that a difficulty may be at last overcome, but that the prescribed number be accomplished.

105. But it is now time, I think, to speak of the trumpets since my discourse is nearing its end, that the trumpet may also be the sign of the finishing of my address. We read of seven trumpets in the Revelation of John, which seven angels received.159    Rev. viii. 2. And there you read that when the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, there was a great voice from heaven, saying: “The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.”160    Rev. xi. 15. The word trumpet is also used for a voice, as you read: “Behold a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, as of a trumpet speaking with me and saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass.”161    Rev. iv. 1. We read also: “Blow up the trumpet at the beginning of the month [the new moon]”;162    Ps. lxxxi. [lxxx.] 3. and again elsewhere: “Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet.”163    Ps. cl. 3.

106. Therefore we ought with all our power to observe what is the signification of the trumpets, lest, accepting them, like old women, as part of the story, we should be in danger if we were to think things unworthy of spiritual teaching, or not befitting the dignity of the Scriptures. For when we read that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual hosts of wickedness, which are in high places,164    Eph. vi. 12. we ought not to think of weapons of the flesh, but of such as are mighty before God.165    2 Cor. x. 4. It is not enough that one see the trumpet or hear its sound, unless one understands the signification of the sound. For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, how shall one prepare himself for war?166    1 Cor. xiv. 8. Wherefore it is important that we understand the meaning of the voice of the trumpet, lest we seem barbarians, when we either hear or utter trumpet-sounds of this sort. And therefore when we speak, let us pray that the Holy Spirit would interpret them to us.

107. Let us, then, investigate what we read in the Old Testament concerning the kinds of trumpets, considering that those festivals which were enjoined on the Jews by the Law are the shadow of joys above and of heavenly festivals. For here is the shadow, there the truth. Let us endeavour to attain to the truth by means of the shadow. Of which truth the figure is expressed in this manner, where we read that the Lord said to Moses: “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a rest unto you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, it shall be called holy unto you. Ye shall not do any servile work, and ye shall kindle a whole burnt-offering unto the Lord.”167    Lev. xxiii. 24, 25. And in the Book of Numbers: “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Make thee two trumpets of beaten work, of silver shalt thou make them, and they shall be to thee for calling the assembly and for the journeying of the camp. And thou shalt blow with them, and all the congregation shall be gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of witness. But if thou blow with one trumpet, all the princes and leaders of Israel shall come to thee; and ye shall blow a signal with the trumpet the first time, and they shall move the camp forward, and place it on the east. And ye shall blow a signal with the trumpet the second time, and they shall move the camp forward, and place it towards Libanus. And ye shall blow a signal with the trumpet the third time, and they shall move the camp forward, which shall be placed towards the north [Boream]. And ye shall blow a signal with the trumpet the fourth time, and they shall move the camp forward, which shall be placed towards the north [Aquilonem]. They shall blow a signal with the trumpet when they move forward. And when ye shall gather together the assembly, blow with the trumpet, but not the signal. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets, and it shall be for you a statute for ever throughout your generations. But if ye shall go out to war into your own land, against the adversaries who resist you, ye shall sound a signal with the trumpets and ye shall be remembered before the Lord, and have deliverance from your dead. Also in the days of your gladness, and on your feast days, and on your new moons, ye shall blow with the trumpets, and at your whole burnt sacrifices and at your peace-offerings, and it shall be for you for your memorial before the Lord, saith the Lord.”168    Num. x. 1–10.^{169    St. Ambrose translates the Septuagint as usual, but there are some variations. Probably Libanus is a copyist’s mistake for Liba [Λίβα] the W.S.W. wind. So, too, Boream perhaps should be mare [παρὰθάλασσαν]. In ch. 115, St. Ambrose in explaining the third trumpet speaks of the sea. The third and fourth trumpets are not mentioned except in the Septuagint, and it may be noticed that St. Ambrose changes the description of the positions of the camps [παρεμβάλλουσαι], consttuta, into a direction, constituentur.}

108. What then? shall we esteem festival days by eating and drinking? But let no man judge us in respect of eating; “for we know that the Law is spiritual.”170    Rom. vii. 14. “Let no man therefore judge us in any meats or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or new moons, or a sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.”171    Col. ii. 16. Let us, then, seek the body of Christ which the voice of the Father, from heaven, as it were the last trumpet, has shown to you at the time when the Jews said that it thundered;172    S. John xii. 29. the body of Christ, which again the last trump shall reveal; for “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven at the voice of the Archangel, and at the trump of God, and they that are dead in Christ shall rise again;”173    1 Thess. iv. 16. for “where the body is, there too are the eagles,”174    S. Luke xvii. 37. where the body of Christ is, there is the truth.

108. The seventh trumpet, then, seems to signify the sabbath of the week, which is reckoned not only in days and years and periods (for which reason the number of the jubilee is sacred), but includes also the seventieth year, when the people returned to Jerusalem, who had remained seventy years in captivity. In hundreds also and in thousands the observation of the sacred number is by no means passed over, for not without a meaning did the Lord say: “I have left the seven thousand men, who have not bent their knees before Baal.”175    1 [3] Kings xix. 18. Therefore the shadow of the future rest is figured in time in the days, months, and years of this world, and therefore the children of Israel are commanded by Moses, that in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, a rest should be established for all at the “memorial of the trumpets;” and that no servile work should be done, but a sacrifice be offered to God, because that at the end of the week, as it were the sabbath of the world, spiritual and not bodily work is required of us. For that which is bodily is servile, for the body serves the soul, but innocence makes free, guilt reduces to slavery.

109. It was necessary, then, that spiritual things should be made known as in a mirror and in a riddle; “For now we see by means of a mirror, but then face to face.”176    1 Cor. xiii. 12. Now we war after the flesh, then in the Spirit we shall see the divine mysteries. Let, then, the character of the true law be expressed in our manner of life, who walk in the image of God, for the shadow of the Law has now passed away. The carnal Jews had the shadow, the likeness is ours, the reality theirs who shall rise again. For we know that according to the Law there are these three, the shadow, the image or likeness, and the reality; the shadow in the Law, the image in the Gospel, the truth in the judgment. But all is Christ’s, and all is in Christ, Whom now we cannot see according to the reality, but we see Him, as it were, in a kind of likeness of future things, of which we have seen the shadow in the Law. So, then, Christ is not the shadow but the likeness of God, not an empty likeness but the reality. And so the Law was by Moses, for the shadow was through man, the likeness was through the Law, the reality through Jesus. For reality cannot proceed from any other source than from reality.

110. If, then, any one desires to see this Image of God, he must love God, that he may be loved by God; and be no longer a servant but a friend, because he has kept the commandments of God, that he may enter into the cloud where God is.177    Ex. xxiv. 15. Let him make to himself two reasonable trumpets of beaten work of proved silver, that is, composed of precious words and adorned, from which not a harsh shrill sound with dread-inspiring voice may be uttered, but high thanks to God may be poured forth with continuous exultation. For by the voice of such trumpets the dead are raised, not indeed by the sound of the metal, but aroused by the word of truth. And perchance it is those two trumpets by which Paul, through the Divine Spirit, spake when he said: “I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding, I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding;”178    1 Cor. xiv. 15. for the one without the other seems by no means to have perfect utterance.

1161 101. Videmus igitur coelum patere virtuti, nec hoc esse paucorum: Multi enim venient ab Oriente, et ab Occidente, et Aquilone et Austro, et recumbent in regno Dei (Matth. VIII, 11), delectationem perpetuae quietis sepultis animorum motibus exprimentes. Sequamur Abraham moribus, ut nos recipiat in gremium suum, et tamquam Lazarum suae humilitatis haeredem (Luc. XVI, 23) propriis circumfusum virtutibus pio foveat amplexu. Non enim 1344B nos in gremio corporali, sed in quodam bonorum factorum amictu sancti patriarchae probata Deo successio fovet. Nolite, inquit, seduci, Deus non deridetur (Galat. VI, 7).

102. Advertimus quam grave sit sacrilegium resurrectionem non credere; si enim non resurgimus, ergo Christus gratis mortuus est, ergo Christus non surrexit (I Cor. XV, 13). Si enim nobis non resurrexit, utique non resurrexit, qui sibi cur resurgeret, non habebat. Resurrexit in eo mundus, resurrexit in eo coelum, resurrexit in eo terra; erit enim coelum novum et terra nova (Apoc. XXI, 1). Sibi autem ubi erat necessaria resurrectio, quem mortis vincula non tenebant? Nam etsi secundum hominem mortuus, in ipsis tamen erat liber infernis.

1344C 103. Vis scire quam liber? Factus sum sicut homo sine adjutorio, inter mortuos liber (Psal. LXXXVII, 5). Et bene liber, qui se poterat suscitare, juxta quod scriptum est: Solvite hoc templum, et in triduo resuscitabo illud (Joan. II, 19). Et bene liber, qui alios descenderat redempturus. Factus est autem sicut homo, non specie utique, sed veritate formatus; quia et homo est, et quis cognoscet eum? Etenim in similitudinem hominum factus, et specie inventus ut homo, humiliavit semetipsum, factus obediens usque ad mortem (Phil. II, 7, 8); ut per illam scilicet obedientiam ejus gloriam videremus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre secundum Joannem sanctum (Joan. I, 14). Ita enim Scripturae figura servatur, ut et unigeniti gloria, et perfecti hominis natura servetur in Christo.

1344D 104. Itaque adjutore non eguit: neque enim eguit, cum faceret mundum; ut egeret, cum redimeret. Non legatus, non nuntius, sed ipse Dominus salvum fecit eum: Ipse dixit, et facta sunt (Psal. XXXII, 9). Ipse Dominus salvum fecit eum: ubique ipse, quia per ipsum omnia (Coloss. I, 17). Quis autem adjuvaret eum, in quo creata sunt omnia, et omnia in ipso constant? Quis adjuvaret eum, qui 1345A omnia in momento facit, et in novissima tuba mortuos suscitat (I Cor. XV, 52)? Non quia aut prima, aut secunda non possit, aut tertia: sed ordo servatur, non quo difficultas sero vincenda, sed legitimus numerus explicandus sit.

105. Tempus autem, arbitror, de tubarum 1162 specie dicere, quoniam sermo propinquat ad finem; ut nostri quoque consummandi eloquii tuba sit signum. Septem tubas legimus in Apocalypsi Joannis, quas septem sumpsere angeli (Apoc. VIII, 2). Ubi habes quoniam septimus angelus tuba cecinit, et facta est vox magna de coelo dicens: Factum est regnum hujus mundi Dei nostri, et Christi ejus, et regnabit in saecula saeculorum (Apoc. XI, 15). Tuba quidem et pro voce accipitur, quia habes: Quoniam ecce ostium apertum in coelo, et vox prima, quam audivi, 1345B sicut tubam loquentem mecum et dicentem: Ascende huc, et ostendam tibi quae oportet fieri (Apoc. IV, 1). Legimus etiam: Canite initio mensis tuba (Psal. LXXX, 4); sed etiam alibi: Laudate eum in sono tubae (Psal. CL, 3).

106. Ergo quid sibi velit tubarum significatio, omni virtute debemus advertere; ne quasi fabulam aniliter accipientes periclitemur, si indigna dogmate spiritali, nec convenientia Scripturarum eminentiae sentiamus. Nam cum legerimus bellum nobis esse non adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed adversus spiritalia nequitiae, quae sunt in coelestibus (Ephes. VI, 12); non carnalia utique arma, sed fortia Deo aestimare debemus (II Cor. X, 4). Non enim satis est 1345C tubam te videre, nec sonum ejus audire, nisi proprietatem sonitus intelligas. Etenim si incertam vocem det tuba, quomodo quis parabit se ad bellum? Unde oportet vocis tubae nos scire virtutem, ne videamur barbari, cum tubas hujusmodi aut audimus, aut loquimur. Et ideo cum loquimur, oremus ut eas nobis Spiritus sanctus interpretetur.

107. Requiramus igitur in Scripturis veteribus quid de tubarum genere legerimus, consentientes eas solemnitates, quae Judaeis Lege praescriptae sunt, 1346A superiorum esse umbram celebritatum, coelestiumque festorum. Hic enim umbra, illic veritas. Per umbram ad veritatem pervenire nitamur. Cujus figura etiam alibi expressa est hoc modo; habes enim quia locutus est Dominus ad Moysen: Loquere filiis Israel, dicens: Mense septimo, una mensis, erit vobis requies in memoriale tubarum, vocata sancta erit vobis. Omne opus servile non facietis, et accendetis holocaustum Domino (Levit. XXIII, 24). In Numeris autem: Locutus est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: Fac tibi duas tubas ductiles, argenteas facies eas, et erunt tibi ad evocandam synagogam, et promovenda castra: et tuba canes in illis, et colligetur omnis turba ad ostium tabernaculi testimonii. Si autem in una tuba cecineris, ad te venient omnes principes et duces Israel, et tuba canetis significationem primam, et promovebunt 1346B castra, et constituentur ad Orientem. Et tuba canetis significationem secundam, et promovebunt castra, et constituentur ad Libanum. 1163 Et tuba canetis significationem tertiam, et promovebunt castra, quae constituentur ad Boream. Et tuba canetis significationem quartam, et promovebunt castra, quae constituentur ad Aquilonem. Significationem tuba canent in promotu eorum. Et cum congregabitis synagogam, tuba canite, et non significationem. Et filii Aaron sacerdotes tubis canent, et erit vobis legitimum aeternum in progenies vestras. Si autem exieritis in bellum in terram vestram ad adversarios, qui resistunt vobis, significabitis tubis, et reminiscemini coram Domino, et liberationem habebitis a mortuis vestris. Et in diebus laetitiae 1346C vestrae, et in diebus festis vestris, et in neomeniis vestris concinite tubis, et in holocaustis et sacrificiis salutaribus vestris, et erit vobis in commemoratione vestra coram Domino, ait Dominus (Num. X, 1 et seq.).

108. Quid igitur, dies festos in potu et in epulis aestimabimus? Sed nemo nos in manducando dijudicet; novimus enim quia Lex spiritalis est (Rom. VII, 14): Nemo ergo nos judicet in escis aliquibus aut in potu, aut in parte diei festi, aut neomeniis, aut sabbato; quae sunt umbra futurorum, corpus autem Christi 1347A (Coloss. II, 16). Corpus itaque Christi requiramus, quod vobis quasi novissima tuba vox de coelo paterna monstravit, tunc cum dicebant Judaei, quia tonitruum factum est illi (Joan. XII, 28): corpus Christi quod iterum tuba nobis novissima revelabit; quoniam ipse Dominus in jussu archangeli, et in tuba Dei descendet de coelo: et mortui qui in Christo sunt, resurgent (I Thess. IV, 15); ubi enim corpus, illic et aquilae (Luc. XVII, 37): ubi Christi corpus, ibi veritas.

108. Septima igitur tuba hebdomadis requiem videtur significare, quae non solum in diebus et annis et periodis aestimatur (unde et jubilaeus sacratus est numerus), sed etiam annum septuagesimum comprehendit, quando in Hierusalem regressus est populus, qui septuaginta annis in captivitate duravit. In centesimis 1347B quoque et in millesimis sacri observatio numeri minime praeteritur; neque enim otiose Deus dixit: Reliqui mihi septem millia virorum, qui non curvaverunt genua ante Baal (III Reg. XIX, 18). Ergo umbra futurae quietis in diebus, mensibus, annis, mundi ipsius tempore figuratur; et ideo per Moysen mandatur filiis Israel, ut septimo mense, una mensis, singulis fiat requies in memoriale tubarum: nec servile aliquod opus, sed Deo sacrificium offeratur; eo quod in ipso fine hebdomadis, quasi mundi sabbato, spiritalia a nobis non carnalia opera flagitantur. Quod enim carnale, servile; quia animo caro servit: liberum vero innocentia facit, culpa vernaculum.

109. Oportuit igitur per speculum et in aenigmate fieri spiritalia: Nunc enim per speculum videmus, 1347C tunc autem facie ad faciem (I Cor. XIII, 12). Nunc secundum carnem militamus, tunc spiritu videbimus divina mysteria. Et ideo verae legis character 1164 in nostris moribus exprimatur, qui in Dei ambulamos imagine; quoniam jam legis umbra transivit: umbra Judaeis carnalibus, imago nobis, veritas resurrecturis. Tria enim haec secundum Legem esse cognovimus, umbram, imaginem, veritatem: umbram in Lege, imaginem in Evangilio, veritatem in judicio. Sed Christi omnia, et in Christo omnia, quem nunc secundum veritatem videre non possumus: sed videmus quasi in quadam imagine futurorum, quorum umbram in Lege perspeximus. Ergo Christus non umbra, sed imago Dei: non vacua imago, sed veritas. Et ideo per Moysen Lex; quia umbra 1347D per hominem, figura per Legem, per Jesum veritas (Joan. I, 17). Neque enim veritas aliunde, nisi ex veritate procederet.

110. Si quis ergo hanc imaginem Dei videre desiderat, debet diligere Deum ut diligatur a Deo: et sit jam non servus, sed amicus, qui mandata Dei fecerit; ut possit introire in nubem, ubi est Deus (Exod. XXIV, 1348A 15). Ipse faciat sibi rationabiles tubas duas ductiles argento probato (Num. X, 1), hoc est, pretioso verbo compositas et ornatas; quibus non raucum increpans, terribili sonitu murmur interstrepat, sed sublimes gratiae Deo continua jubilatione fundantur. Talium enim tubarum sonitu mortui suscitantur, non crepitu utique aeris, sed verbo veritatis animati. Et fortasse duae istae tubae sunt, per quas divino spiritu Paulus increpuit dicens: Orabo spiritu, orabo et mente: psallam spiritu, psallam et mente (I Cor. XIV, 15); alterum enim sine altero nequaquam videtur evocationem habere perfectam.