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| Chapter III. To what the soul may be compared which is a prey to the attacks of dejection.
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Chapter III.
To what the soul may be compared which is a prey to the
attacks of dejection.
For the garment that is
moth-eaten has no longer any commercial value or good use to which it
can be put; and in the same way954
| 954 Totidem is used
here by Cassian for itidem, as in III. ix. | the wood that is
worm-eaten is no longer worth anything for ornamenting even an ordinary
building, but is destined to be burnt in the fire. So therefore the
soul also which is a prey to the attacks of gnawing dejection will be
useless for that priestly garment which, according to the prophecy of
the holy David, the ointment of the Holy Spirit coming down from
heaven, first on Aaron’s beard, then on his skirts, is wont to
assume: as it is said, “It is like the ointment upon the head
which ran down upon Aaron’s beard, which ran down to the skirts
of his clothing.”955
Nor can it have
anything to do with the building or ornamentation of that spiritual
temple of which Paul as a wise master builder laid the foundations,
saying, “Ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you:”956
and what the beams
of this are like the bride tells us in the Song of Songs: “Our
rafters are of cypress: the beams of our houses are of
cedar.”957
And therefore
those sorts of wood are chosen for the temple of God which are fragrant
and not liable to rot, and which are not subject to decay from age nor
to be worm-eaten.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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