Commentary on the Song of Songs, Book IV

1The Fourth Book. Arise, come, my near one, my fair one, my dove, for behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers are seen in the land, the time of pruning has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land; the fig tree has put forth its shoots, the flowering vines have given fragrance. The order of the drama we described above; now let us attend to what God’s Word says to the soul, or Christ to the church.

2God’s Word appeared to the fair soul through bodily senses — the gaze of reading and the hearing of teaching — as if through windows, calling her to go outdoors and, beyond bodily senses, to cease being in the flesh: You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.

3He would not call her near unless he became one spirit with her; fair unless he saw her image renewed from day to day; dove unless she were capable of the Holy Spirit, who in the form of a dove descended upon Jesus. She longed for swift flight: Who will give me wings like a dove? I will fly and rest.

4Those who receive Christ’s death become partners in the likeness of his death; those who receive the Spirit’s power, because he himself appeared in the form of a dove, themselves become doves, lifted by the Spirit’s wings toward the heavenly.

5The soul is not joined to the Word until every winter of disturbances and the storm of vices has departed, so that she no longer surges and is carried about by every wind of teaching. When these have gone, flowers of the virtues spring up and the time of pruning comes, that the superfluous may be cut back toward buds of spiritual understanding.

6The turtledove’s voice is the wisdom the Word’s steward speaks among the perfect, God’s wisdom hidden in a mystery. The turtledove lives in more secret places, apart from the crowd — mountain wastes or woodland secrets.

7The fig tree has put forth its shoots: not yet the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, but already their shoots. The human spirit is figuratively a fig tree. In the church each believer is a different tree; in one soul the diverse virtues are trees.

8In the soul there is a shooting fig and a flowering vine giving fragrance. The heavenly Father, the farmer, cleanses the branches. The vine first gladdens by flower-odor: We are the good fragrance of Christ in every place. Seeing the beginnings of virtues, God’s Word calls the soul to hasten and come.

9As to one still lying among bodily things he says: Arise; to the one who obeys: my near one, my dove. Lest she tremble at whirlwinds, he announces that winter has departed and the rain gone off to itself — vices depart to themselves, having no dwelling with God.

10This is the Fourth Book’s first series: from Arise, come through winter past, flowers, turtledove, fig and the vine’s fragrance, as far as the call to go out from the flesh. What follows more fully treats showing the face in the rock and the foxes, as far as Amen at the end of the surviving commentary.

11Arise and come, my near one, my fair one, my dove; in the covert of the rock beside the outer wall show me your face, and make your voice heard by me, for your voice is sweet and your face is fair. The Bridegroom shows a more secret place: the outer wall is a wall before the wall; there, the veil removed, are face and voice.

12Historically the narration is of little use; spiritually: the soul’s winter is passions and vices; in winter the Word does not call outdoors but fortifies. Spring is quiet of mind; then she is called out beyond flesh and world — beyond the figured city.

13Show me your face: the Bridegroom is not wholly ignorant of face and voice, but by an interval he had gone without them. He desires the Bride’s words and appearance in a more secret place, where reverence lets the veil fall back.

14Catch us the little foxes that spoil the vineyards; and our vineyards will flower. The Bridegroom to his companions: foxes lie in wait for the vineyards’ flower. In the soul foxes are contrary powers and crooked thoughts; angels are to catch them while little, before consent.

15Judas had a little fox in love of money; the Lord entrusted him with the money-bags that greed might be healed, but free will did not use the remedies. So an evil thought, once grown, tends toward the deed of sin.

16Of the church: foxes are perverse teachers of heresies; teachers of the church receive power to catch them as to tread on serpents. Little vineyards are unformed souls open to scandal; the perfect have much peace and no scandal.

17For us: for me the Bridegroom and for the Bride, or for me and my companions. Or with a pause: catch us the foxes — little ones that spoil vineyards — so that little refers to the vineyards. Small souls can be hurt; greater ones not likewise.

18Recapitulation of Book IV: Arise/come and the names near one, fair one, dove; winter of vices and spring of virtues; turtledove of wisdom; fig of shoots; vine of fragrance; showing the face in the rock; catching the foxes as far as Amen.

19Let the reader beware: Rufinus’s surviving commentary ends at Song 2:15; Baehrens next prints the Homilies on Isaiah. Take the nuptial words spiritually of the Word and the soul, or of Christ and the church.

20End of the Fourth Book and of the surviving commentary on the Song (20/20). Jerome’s Homilies on the Song and Rufinus’s Prologue and Books I–III were set in order before. Thus far, from Arise, come through Catch us the little foxes, with the Lord’s help, we have set in order. Amen.