Book of Ecclesiasticus, page 404

of her holy body ¹. Wherefore he himself in turn also offered hospitality to her in her assumption, saying: I was a stranger, and you gathered me in; I was hungry, and you gave me to eat ². Therefore I give you power in heaven, on earth, in the sea, and in all abysses ³.

5. Likewise, she is the tabernacle of the sleeping-place and rest of the Son of God. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 12: The Creator of all things said to me, and he who created me rested in my tabernacle. As if someone were asking: What is the cause of your coming into this most foul world? I answer: He created me so that through me, most wise, God the Father might be appeased; for he swore through Jeremiah, XIII, 14, saying: I will not spare..., nor will I have mercy. But what did wise Mary say? Since it is inevitable that you strike, let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and upon the son of man whom you have confirmed for yourself ⁴, who from divinity could suffer so great a blow, and yet according to humanity she grieved beyond measure concerning him. But the Father was saying that word of Isaiah LIII, 10: If he shall lay down his soul for sin, etc. But the Son said that word of Jonah I, 12: Because on account of me this storm has come upon you, etc.; I shall appease the Father by cry, by blood, by death. And then the appeased Father said: I do not will the death of the impious man, because now I see the death of my Son; but I will that the impious man be converted to his way and live ⁵.

Likewise, I was created so that through me the ignoble sinner might be ennobled; for nothing is ignoble except the sinner and sin. Psalm LXXXII, 11: They were made like the dung of the earth, namely through sin, who before were sons of God through grace. Therefore when Mary was born, we were ennobled by her in nature, because from Christ we are called Christians.

Likewise, I was born so that the weakness of the human race might be aided through me, most faithful. Ecclesiastes IV, 1: I saw the tears of the innocent, and no consoler. Hence she herself, consoling us, says that word of Hosea XIII, 9: Your destruction, Israel: only in me is your help.

Likewise, I was created so that through me, most bright, the shadows of the world might be put to flight. Genesis I, 1: Let light be made, that is, Mary, who illuminates all, but dissimilarly: she illuminates the married as a star, widowed persons as the moon, virgins and religious as the sun.

Likewise, I was created so that through me the strength of the devil might be conquered. Genesis III, 15: She shall crush your head.

Likewise, I was created so that through me the poverty of the sons of Adam might be enriched. Hence Jerome, in the sermon on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin that begins: You compel me ⁶, said that the Virgin is full of grace, who gave glory to the heavens, the Lord to the earth, and poured back peace, faith to the nations, an end to vices, order to life, discipline to morals.

It follows: He rested in my tabernacle ⁷, because with his whole divinity and humanity. He rested usefully, because while existing in my womb he worked, as David says, Psalm LXXIII, 12, salvation in the middle of the earth. He rested sweetly, bringing in no pain, and entering and going out with the integrity of the chamber of the virginal enclosure. He rested generously, bringing all his goods with him to me. Wisdom VII, 11: All goods came to me together with her, etc. He rested purely, the purest one in the purest. Hence she herself says, Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 15: In the city

sanctified, that is, Mary, I likewise rested. For the Son could say to her that word which Jacob says to Laban, Genesis XXX, 30: You had little, namely O mother, before I came to you, namely through grace in your mind and divinity in your womb. And now you have been made rich and renowned, because you are Lady on earth. For to you have been handed the keys of death and hell, and of heaven ⁸. And the Lord blessed you at my entrance. For this is Noah's entrance into the ark, when all the fountains of the abyss of graces were broken open ⁹.

6. Likewise, she was exalted in glory and grace above every creature. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 17 and following: Like a cedar, namely for putting to flight, I was exalted on Lebanon; its odor puts to flight the devil, the ancient serpent. Or for sustaining the burdens of the whole human race, there: Like a cypress on Mount Sion, which never yields to burdens; so she never yields to any tribulations. Or for defending, as there: Like a palm I was exalted in Cades, which with branches spread out has leaves in the manner of a human hand. Or for pacifying, as there: Like a beautiful olive, which is the tree of peace. Or for giving shade against the heat of temptations, as there: Like a plane tree I was exalted, which is high, has broad leaves, and is spread through branches. So also is the Queen of heaven.

7. Likewise, she is the vine of pleasantness and gladness. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 23: I, like a vine, have brought forth the sweetness of odor. But Mary is compared to the vine for three reasons. First, because the flower of the vine puts serpents to flight; so Mary puts demons to flight. Second, because the tear of the vine calms impetigo and scab; so Mary calms any crime. Third, because it produces wine, which removes sadness; so Mary gives perpetual gladness.

8. Likewise, the Blessed Virgin calls herself a fourfold mother: mother of beautiful love, against luxury; mother of fear, against proud audacity; mother of knowledge, against ingratitude and ignorance; mother of hope, against confused distrust. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 24: I am the mother of beautiful love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.

9. She is also the depository of the whole Trinity, in which the sinner ought to seek whatever he has need of in grace. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 25: In me is every grace of life ¹⁰, against death, and of truth, against falsehood; in me is all hope, against despair; in me is all hope of the way ¹¹ and of virtue, against every vice.

10. Likewise, she, sitting at the right hand of the Son of God, seeing our dangers, cries out, Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 26: Come over to me, all who, etc. Note from what, to whom, and whom she invites to come over. From what: from the deceiving world, from infecting sin, from the devouring devil. Or otherwise, as if she were saying: Pass over from the world, because the world passes away, and its concupiscence ¹²; therefore pass over to me. Or, pass over while you can, from guilt to grace, because afterward you will not be able. But to whom? To me, who am the illuminatrix of sinners. Job XXIX, 15: I was an eye to the blind. Likewise, to me, who am the reconciler of sinners, as is clear in II Kings XXV, 1 and following, concerning Nabal and Abigail. Or, to me, who am the general receiver of all Christ's pilgrims. Job XXXI, 32: My door lay open to the traveler. But whom do you invite to pass over to you? All you who desire me, honoring me and loving me also through tender devotion. But why ought we to pass over? That you may be filled from my generations, because you are empty; that you may be saved, because you are lost; that you may be made sweet, because you are bitter.

Hence, in the same place, verse 27: For my spirit is sweet above honey, repelling every bitterness of sin. And pass over for this, that you may be satisfied, as there, verse 29: Those who eat me will still hunger, etc. The Gloss: through desire and devotion. Or, for this reason, that you may be instructed, as there, verse 30: He who hears me will not be confounded, and those who work in me, by serving me, will not sin. And below, verse 31: Those who make me clear, by preaching faithfully, truly, and devoutly to others, will have eternal life, through me and through my Son.

11. Likewise, she is the one who was created for us and sent into the world. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 14: From the beginning and before the ages I was created, etc. Seek concerning this in Proverbs VIII, 22: The Lord possessed me.

12. Likewise, she is the one whose habitation is in the fullness of the graces of Angels and Saints, and in the fullness of the Trinity itself. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 41 and following: I like the river Dioryx, which is interpreted medicine of generation, namely of the sick sons of Adam; and like an aqueduct I came forth from paradise. I said: I shall water my garden of plantings, and I shall make drunk the fruit of my meadow, that is, of my Son: ... and I shall illuminate all who hope in the Lord, not in the world or in another thing.

13. Likewise, she is the one who is praised commonly with prayers, and who commonly ought to be praised by all. Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 47: See, namely Angels, just persons, sinners, that I have not labored for myself alone, namely by nursing my Son, nourishing him, and standing by the cross, but for all who seek the truth.

14. Likewise, she is the sun, which by its presence adorns heaven. Ecclesiasticus XXVI, 21: As the sun rising to the world in the highest things of God, so is the appearance of a good woman for the ornament of her house. And Ecclesiasticus XLII, 16: The sun, illuminating through all things, looked, and the work of the Lord is full of his glory. Again, XLIII, 2 and following: The sun in its appearance, announcing at its going forth, is a wonderful vessel, a work of the Most High. At midday it burns the earth, and in the sight of its heat who will be able to endure? Keeping a furnace in works of heat: the sun, burning the mountains threefold, breathing out fiery rays, and shining with its rays, blinds the eyes. Great is the Lord who made it, etc.

15. Likewise, she is the moon that indicates to us the feasts of eternal pleasantness. Ecclesiasticus XLIII, 6: From the moon comes the sign of a feast day. Note concerning the signs of the moon.

16. Likewise, the Virgin Mary is signified by Abraham, in whose praise, and in the praise of his son Isaac, it is said, Ecclesiasticus XLIV, 25: The Lord gave him the blessing of all nations; this was verified antonomastically of that Virgin, to whom the Lord gave every blessing. And, that we may repeat a little from the beginning, she had the blessing of the seventh day, on which God rested from every work that he had performed ¹³. For in her truly there was the consummation of the works of the day, since all created things are united with the Creator in one work, namely in man: and the first becomes last, and the last first. For there is no perfection of motion except when it is in a circle. She also had the blessing of Adam and Eve. Genesis I, 28: Have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the birds of heaven, and all living things that move upon the earth. For through power she has dominion over the fishes of the sea, that is, over demons established in the bitterness of hell. She also has dominion over the birds of heaven, that is, over Angels flying through contemplation of God. She also has dominion through mercy over the living things that move upon the earth, that is, over men established in this world.

Likewise, she had the blessing of Jacob, which consists in three things. First in abundance

of necessities, there, Genesis XXVII, 28: May God give you from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth an abundance of grain and wine. Second, in the dignity of goods, there, verse 29: Be lord of your brothers, and let the sons of your mother bow before you; let peoples serve you. In the removal of disadvantages, there, verse 29: Whoever curses you, let him be cursed; and whoever blesses you, let him be filled with blessings. Therefore let us all praise Mary, and let us say: Blessed are you among women ¹⁴.

She also had the blessing of Balaam, in which seven things are noted. The first is her glorious generation, there, Numbers XXIV, 17: A star shall rise from Jacob. The second, the incarnation of the Son of God, there: And a rod shall arise from Israel. The third, the destruction of vices, there: And let him strike the leaders of Moab. The fourth, the liberation of men, there, verse 18: And Idumaea will be his possession. The fifth, the confirmation of the blessed, there: Israel will act strongly. The sixth, the dominion of the rest, there, verse 19: From Jacob there will be one who rules. The seventh, the damnation of evils, there: And he will destroy the remnants of the city.

She also had the blessing of Moses, Deuteronomy XXVIII, 3 and following: Blessed are you in the city, and blessed in the field. Blessed is the fruit of your womb... Blessed shall you be entering and going out: you who migrated from this life without the pain of death, and entered heaven in body and soul.

She also had the blessing of Aaron; Ecclesiasticus XLV, 9 and following, concerning whose praise it is said: He crowned him with vessels of virtue,... and girded him round about with many golden bells, to give a sound in his walking, to make the sound heard in the temple as a memorial for the sons of his people.

She had the blessing of Samuel, concerning whose praise it is said, Ecclesiasticus XLVI, 16 and following: He renewed the empire, and anointed princes, etc. And, He saw the God of light, etc. He accepted no money, even down to shoes, from any flesh, and no man accused him.

She also had the blessing of David, concerning whose praise it is said, Ecclesiasticus XLVII, 4 and following: In his youth he killed the giant, and removed reproach from the nation... He crushed enemies on every side, and rooted out the contrary Philistines even to the present day.

She also had the blessing of Solomon, concerning whose praise it is said, Ecclesiasticus XLVII, 16 and 17: He was filled, like a river, with wisdom... Your name was spread abroad to distant islands.

She also had the blessing of Joseph, concerning whose praise it is said, Ecclesiasticus XLIX, 17, that he was prince of the brothers, firmament of the nation, collector of grain, and stabilizer of the people.

She also had the blessing of Onias, concerning whose praise it is said, Ecclesiasticus L, 1 and following, that in his days wells of waters flowed forth, and that he supported the house, and that he was like the morning star in the middle of a cloud, and like the full moon, and like the shining sun, and like a rainbow shining among clouds of glory, and like the flower of roses in spring days, and like lilies that are at the passage of water, and like fragrant incense; and like fire flashing forth and incense burning in fire; and like a solid vessel of gold adorned with every precious stone; and like an olive budding forth, and a cypress lifting itself into height; and that he stretched forth his hand in liberation, and poured a libation from the blood of the grape, etc., to the high prince.