ST AMBROSE AS AN INTERPRETER OF HOLY SCRIPTURE

Author(s): R. H. Malden
Source: The Journal of Theological Studies , JULY, 1915, Vol. 16, No. 64 (JULY, 1915),
pp. 509-522
Published by: Oxford University Press

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 509

(vi) Greek Ac. Paul, et Thee. 3: Small in size, bal

legged,legged,legged,legged, of noble mien, with eyebrows meeting, rather l
sometimes sometimes like a man and sometimes like an angel.
It will be observed that the borrowed Arabic descrip
varies at three points with the Armenian against the G
There can be no doubt that the description of the A
This is shewn not only by the parallels to the allusio
legs, but also by the statement that he sometimes lo
and sometimes like an angel. We compare the vision
appear on the face of Thaddaeus and before which he
self (Eus. H.E. I xiii 13), and also Ac. Thorn. 8 whe
looks at Thomas whose form changes. She says, This
God's God's God's apostle. Both incidents are related to Ac. χ
which passage, I shall shew, much influenced the Acta
The Armenian recension of the Story of Thecla
as Conybeare argues, superior to the Greek, but it is n
sent the earliest form of the story unless the story
literary form adapted to some depraved Acts of Pete
which is exceedingly improbable. That the openi
shewn by the parallelism with EP p. 7, where the tet
that of Caesarea and original. Jn each case the Apo
mediately on his arrival and borrows his sermon from

Η. J. Bardsley.

ST AMBROSE AS AN INTERPRETER OF HOLY

SCRIPTURE.

Allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures has been describ

'‫׳‬a convenient method of interpretation by which anything whatev
be made to prove anything one likes'.1 But it was employed
St Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St Ambrose, and St Augustine
make no mention of smaller names—and is a chapter in the hist
of Biblical exegesis which cannot be ignored. At the beginning o
Christian era it was known in Jewish circles. Philo1 found
a means of combining Hellenic philosophy with Jewish rel

1 Η. F. Hamilton The People of God i p. 324. 2 DCB. s v. Phi

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 5IO THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

It was also useful as a means of meeting the charges which might be

brought against the Old Testament by cultivated pagans who urged
that its picture of God is unduly anthropomorphic, that it inculcates
barbarous wars, and commends actions of questionable morality. For
those who were already believers it shewed that the sacred text possessed
richer stores of meaning than they had supposed.
Traces of it appear in the New Testament.1 Classical scholarship
had applied it to Homer as a means of meeting the moral difficulties
raised by his portraiture of the gods.2 It was therefore perfectly
natural that Christian writers should feel themselves at liberty to
interpret the Scriptures, particularly the Scriptures of the Old Testament,
allegorically if they wished to do so, and Alexandria soon became the
head-quarters of this school. The allegorical method was adopted by
the great Gnostic teachers who flourished there during the first halt
of the second century and their practice was accepted by the Church.
It was too valuable a weapon for the Christian apologist to ignore.
Thus the ' Epistle of Barnabas ‫ י י‬teaches that the law never had any
literal significance at all. The directions of Leviticus as to unclean
animals really refer to various classes of sinners whom the Israelites
were to avoid.4 The scape-goat is nothing but a type of Christ.5
The idea of a Christian γνώσιν which is to be attained by studying
the deeper meaning of the Scriptures appears in the epistle.6
But the real father of Christian Allegorism is St Clement of Alex
andria. It was firmly established by him in the Catechetical School and
so became the tradition of the Alexandrine Church. If he needed
authority for it he found it in a book which he regarded as inspired
Scripture. Hermas relates how the woman (representing the Church)
gave him a book to copy και μιτεγραψάμην πάντα προς ■γράμμα, ονχ
ηνρισκονηνρισκον yap τάς σν\λαβάς.Ί
On this St Clement comments : ϊΒηλον δ' άρα την μίν γραφην πρόΒηλον πρόΒηλον
tlvaitlvai πάσι κατά την ψιλην άνάγνωσιν ίκλαμβανομίνην, και ταντην tlvai την
πίστιν στοιχείων τάξιν ίχονσαν, 81' ο και η προς το γράμμα άνάγνωσιν άλλη
γορεΐται, την ΒιΛπτνζιν δ« την γνωστικην των γράφων προκοπτονσης η&η της
πίστιωςπίστιως ιικάζισθαι τη κατά τάς (τνλλαβάς αναγνώσει έκδεχό/«0α.8
With St Clement it is a principle that almost all Scripture has an
esoteric meaning which is to be grasped by the ' advanced' Christian

1 ι Cor. χ 4, Gal. iv 24-28, St Matt xii 40.

* Xenophanes (Ritter and Preller, p. 78). Cf. also R. Jebb Introduction to Homer
p. 89; H. Browne Homeric Study p. 30 ; Longinus rrip! ύψου! ix 7.
' 'An Alexandrian writing of the time of Hadrian'—Η. B. Swete The Holy
Spirit Spirit in the Ancient Church p. 18.
** X. 5 VII. « XVIII.
7 Pastor Uis. II. 8 Strom. VI xv 131.

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 5II

reader. ' Elementary' Christians will not get belo

meaning:—
μακρόν μακρόν δ' αν ειη πάντα επεζιεναι τα. προφητικά καΐ τά νομικά τά 81 αίνιγμα
των των ε'ιρημενα επιλεγόμενους· σχεδόν y άρ ή πάσα ωδε πως θεσπίζεται γραφή.1
There may be as many as four classes of meaning in a single passage,
literal, mystic (i.e. allegorical), moral, and prophetic.2
Two kinds of allegorical meaning may be found in the stories of the
Old Testament. An incident beside being a historical event which did
actually take place may symbolize some external spiritual truth. Thus
—to take a single example—the stripping of Joseph and the casting
him into the pit expresses the hostility always felt by the ignorant
against the more enlightened.3
Or an incident may prefigure the Life of Christ and anticipate some
detail of it. Thus the Burning Bush may be regarded as an earnest
of the Incarnation and prefigures our Lord's Crown of Thorns.'1
Origen adopted allegorism ex animo and all his exegetical writings
are permeated with it. But' his use of it differs somewhat from that of
St Clement. St Clement thinks primarily of the faithful whom it may
edify; Origen of the enemies whom it may overthrow. In his eyes it is
one of the most valuable weapons which the Church can wield against
the unbeliever, and his first task-is therefore to place it on a scientific
basis. He has to shew not merely that Scripture has commonly been
interpreted in this way, but that the Church is entitled to prefer this
method to any other. Any objection to the Scriptures which can be
met by allegorism can no longer be considered to be of any weight
at all.

He finds authority for his principle in Proverbs xxii 20—και συ 8ε

απόγραψαιαπόγραψαι αυτά σεαυτω τρισσως είς βονλην και γνώσιν επι το πλάτος της
καρδίας καρδίας σου 5—where the existence of different classes of meaning in the
Scriptures seems to him to be explicitly asserted.
The adoption of this principle makes the literal meaning of any
passage wholly unimportant. Indeed it is doubtful whether the Bible
should be considered to have any literal meaning at all—οΰ γάρ νομιστίον
τά τά ιστορικά ιστορικών είναι τύπους και τά σωματικά σωματικών, άλλα τά
σωματικά σωματικά πνευματικών και τά ιστορικά νοητών'
In In this way many of the difficulties raised by the Old Testament can
be met. The wars of extermination said to have been waged by the
Israelites never took place at all. They represent the struggles of the
soul with its besetting sins. But where incidents which are historical

1 lb. V vi 32. ‫ י‬lb. I xxviii 176. · lb. V viii 54. * Paed. II viii 75
5 Have I not written unto thee excellent things of counsels and knowledge ‫ י‬R.V.
6 In Ioann. χ 18.

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512 THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

are open to moral criticism the difficulty is met by postulating a higher

and a lower kind of truth. The ideal is to maintain both. But when
this is impossible the lower must be sacrificed. Thus what may appear
at first sight to be deceit is justifiable as being the only means of con
veying spiritual truth. ' The spiritual truth he says,' is often preserved
in what may be called the bodily lie.'1
Thus Jacob was justified in passing himself off as Esau. As Esau had
already forfeited his birthright, Jacob had obtained a spiritual seniority
which entitled him to assume the externals of his brother's character.4 The
events related in the Gospel have more than a historical significance.
For example, the Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem represents the entry
of the Word of God into the soul. Every detail of the narrative has its
counterpart in the spiritual experience of the individual believer as he
receives the word through the medium of the Scriptures—'Ιησούς τοίνυντοίνυν
εστίν ό τον θεοΰ λόγοι όστις εισέρχεται ε'ις την I εροσόλνμα καλονμένηνονμένην
Ψνχήν> όχονμενος τη υπό των μαθητών λελυμένη άπό των δεσμών άνω, λέγω
δί τοις άφελέσι της παλαιάς διαθήκης γράμμαατι σαφηνιζομένοις υπό των
λυόντωνλυόντων αντά μαθητών δυο‫ ־‬τον τ επι την θεραπείαν της ψυχής άνάγοντος τα
γεγραμμέναγεγραμμένα και επ' αυτήν αντά. άλληγορονντος . . . όχεΐται δε τω νέω πώλωπώλω
τη τη καινή διαθήκη . . . μόνος δί είς την 'Ιεροσόλυμα ψυχήν ουκ έρχεται . . .
πολλά πολλά γαρ τα προάγοντα τον τελειονντα ημάς λόγον θεοΰ δει εν ήμΐν γενέσθαι,
και και έπτα πλείστα όσα τα επόμενα αντω■ πάντα μέντοι γε αυτόν νμνονντα και
δοξάζοντα,δοξάζοντα,δοξάζοντα, και τον ίδιον κόσμον και περιβολήν αντω νποτιθέντα, ίνα αυτοί τα
οχήματα οχήματα μή άπτηται γης, έχοντα τον ονρανόθεν καταβεβηκότα έπαναπαυό
μενονμενονμενον αΰτοΐς· ίνα δί έτι μάλλον ανωτέρω της γης τνγχάνωσιν οι όχουντες
αυτόν αυτόν παλαιοί και καινοί λόγοι των γράφων εκκάπτεσθαι κλάδους δει από των
δένδρων δένδρων ίνα βαίνωσιν e7ri των ευλογιάς ίκκε ιμένων. δύνανται δί οί προάγοντες
και και άκολουθονντες αντω όχλοι δηλονν και αγγελικός συνεργείας?
It is unnecessary to multiply quotations from Origen's writings. He
reads the Bible without any historical perspective whatever. Any
passage may be taken in conjunction with any other and the value of
the Scriptures does not reside in what they seem to say but in the
'mystical' meaning which they skilfully conceal. To expound this
inner meaning is the principal task of the Christian student. The value
of Origen's method has been summed up as follows: 'It is at once
elusive and fruitless. He finds in it a convenient method of compelling
Scripture to yield an answer to the many speculative questions that
agitate his own restless brain. But it is no proper or satisfying answer
that he thus obtains. As a Jew even Philo had to pay some regard to
the literal and historical sense of the Old Testament; but the reins
of Origen's imagination knew no such restraining influence. For him
allegorical exegesis meant licence to father his own speculations
1 lb. χ 5. ‫ ג‬lb. ‫ י‬lb. χ 28.

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 513

upon a sacred text which was venerated as the

truth.'1
But to Origen and his contemporaries the results
method were entirely satisfactory. Allegorism becam
as one of the most valuable weapons of the Church
at Antioch its usefulness was hardly questioned
Antiochene school claimed many distinguished adhe
the Arians looked back to Lucian as in some sense their master must
have tended to bring it into disrepute. Allegorism and orthodoxy
seemed to stand or fall together3: especially when Alexandria became
in the person of Athanasius the stronghold of the Catholic Faith.
Allegorism had been introduced into the Western Church at least as
early as the time of Hippolytus. In the fourth century it might be said
to be demanded by Catholic tradition. Certainly those to whom
it appealed could justify their use of it by saying that it was so demanded.
There is nothing surprising in its adoption by any fourth-century
writer unless he were avowedly a disciple of the school of Antioch. And
there were special reasons why it should be adopted by St Ambrose.
1. 1. Auxentius, his immediate predecessor in the See of Milan, had
been an avowed Arian and Arianism was strongly entrenched at the
Imperial Court. A new bishop who wished to place his own orthodoxy
above suspicion could do so most easily by adopting whole-heartedly
the tradition of Alexandria.
2. St Ambrose had had no Christian training before he was elected
bishop, and from the very beginning of his episcopate laid great stress
on the teaching side of his office.4 But as he was not fitted by his
antecedents to undertake any original departure he would naturally
expound the Scriptures according to whatever method seemed to him
to possess the greatest weight of Church-Authority.
His veneration for the Scriptures was profound, and he quickly
became very familiar with their contents. His power of quotation,
whether relevant or not, is extraordinary. He was never tired of
preaching expository sermons, and St Augustine has paid a noteworthy
tribute to their value»6
Like Origen, St Ambrose recognized that the sacred text contains
much which is beyond human comprehension.6 But he felt that there
is no more worthy task than to elucidate their mysteries as far as
Dossible.
1 W. Fairweatlier Origen and Greek Patristic Theology p. 78.
2 Malchion, Lucian, Dorotheus, Chrysostom, Diodorus, Theodoret, Theodore of
Mopsuestia.
5 Cf. J. H. Newman Arians of the Fourth Century p. 414.
* * Paulinus Uita 38. 5 Conf VI iv.
6 De Paradiso ii 7 (cf. Philocalia ii j).
VOL. XVI. L 1

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514 THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
The following is a complete list of his extant exegetical writings :—
Title. Date.
De Paradiso Between 375 and 378.
De Cain et Abel Between 376 and 379.
De Tobia 377 (circa).
De Noe et Area 380.
Apologia Prophetae Dauid Soon after Aug. 25, 383.
De Interpretatione Job et Dauid 383-384.
Expositio in Lucam 386-387.
Hexaemeron Soon after 386.
De Elia et Ieiunio After 386.
Expositio in Ps. cxviii 387-388.
De Abraham ‫ן‬
De Isaac et anima
De Iacob et Uita Beata 387-390·
De Ioseph Patriarcha
De Benedictionibus Patriarcharum'
De Nabuthe Iezraelita After 386.
Enarratio in xii Ps. Dauidicos At intervals between 381-397.
The dates are ascertainable chiefly from internal evidence. In three
instances they are clear. Ap. Proph. Dauid (vi 27) and En. in Ps. lxi
(xvii 26) refer to the death of Gratian (Aug. 25, 383) as a recent event.
En.En. in Ps. xxxvi (xxv) alludes to Theodosius's victory at Aquileia
(Sept. 6, 394).
En.En. in Ps. xliii is said to have been dictated from his death-bed ‫ י‬and
therefore belongs to the last days of March 397.
With the exception of De Elia, De Tobia, and De Nabuthe, which
seem to have been preached to' general congregationsthese expositions
seem to have been originally sermons intended primarily for Cate
chumens. They do not aim at confuting unbelievers but rather at
removing the difficulties to which the Scriptures must give rise in the
minds of those who wish to believe. These were naturally more acute
where the Old Testament was concerned. Except for the series which
may be called ' Studies in the Lives of the Patriarchs', St Ambrose does
not seem to have been guided by any principle in his selection of
subjects.
We must illustrate his method and the results which it yielded
by means of quotations, and then endeavour to estimate his debt to
previous writers and his influence upon his successors.
The The Method of St Ambrose.
1. 1. His Principle.
He follows St Clement and Origen in adopting a threefold sense
Paulinus Vita 43. Cf. also M. Ihm Studia Antbrostana (Leipzig 1889).

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 515

of Scripture. But not every passage can bear the

Some may belong entirely to one class. Genesi
tively naturalis, because it tells the story of
myslicus,myslicus, because it contains the mystery
ronomy moralis, because it contains the precepts
The three books of Solomon correspond with th
Beside this the division of wisdom—traditionally
into three classes is accepted.3 These St Amb
Moralis,Moralis, Naturalis. These are symbolized by
Isaac Isaac (Gen. xxvi 20-23). Ezek = Uisio = Sapien
= Abundantia = Sapientia Moralis·, Rehoboth
Sapientia Sapientia Naturalis.

He gives no reason for these equations, which a

the LXX rendering of the names (αδικία, Ιχθρία, ε
The books of Solomon shew him to have been e
each class. The Evangelists are not deficient
St John may be considered to have excelled in
St Matthew in Moralis, St Mark in Rationali
exhibits the highest degree of each.4
Of the three interpretations which the Scriptures
is the most important:—
In mysticis fructus est, in moralibus folium . . .
folia sunt. . . haec forte sunt folia quae Saluator i
fructum non inuenit. Mystica saluant et a m
autem ornamenta decoris sunt non subsidia re
autem mystica moralibus etiam ipse Dominus do
dicens de Maria . . . Martha Martha, Maria optim
quae quae non aufereturl5

Enough has been said to shew what was the

St Ambrose to the Bible as a whole. In his eye
of sacred cypher. The plain, obvious meaning of
the whole of what it is intended to mean to the Christian reader.
Faith lives by the deeper meanings which can be disinterred, and the
task of the Christian teacher is to lay these before his audience. To
this task St Ambrose brought an utterly uncritical mind, unhampered
by any knowledge of Hebrew or by any considerations of historical
perspective. He is like a man turning over an immense heap of
variously shaped fragments. What the original design may have been
does not concern him. He merely fits them together as his fancy
prompts into wholly unexpected patterns. It is a laborious exercise
and one which could only be undertaken by the possessor of a retentive
1 Praef. in Ps. xxxvi. 3 Cf. Aug. De Ciu. Dei VIII iv.
3 Praef, in Luc. 2. * lb. 4. 5 In Ps. i 41, 42.
L 1 2

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516 THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
memory coupled with great power of application. No doubt as to the
value of the patterns which he formed seems ever to have crossed his
mind.
His His His Results.

We must give examples of his handling of each of the three classes

of meaning which he recognized:—
A. Naturalia.

It is not easy to see exactly what St Ambrose understood by the

naturalisnaturalis sensus of a passage. Certainly he understood by it more than
we should understand by the ' literal sense'. The book of Genesis may
be called collectively naturalis, but that does not mean that no part of
it is susceptible of allegorical interpretation.
Naturalia Naturalia are more than the historical facts related. For instance,
the reason why Noah took seven of the various species of clean animals
into the Ark is to be explained by the fact that seven is in itself a clean,
sacred, virgin number. And the discussion of the various properties of
the number Seven ends with the words Haec naturalia}
Another example of ' natural' interpretation is when the structure of
the ark is compared with that of the human body. The passage is
sufficiently important to be quoted at length:—

'Sed iam de ipsa Noe area dicendum2 quam si quis uelit impensius
considerare inueniet in eius aedificatione descriptam humani figuram
corporis. Quid est enim quod ait Deus Fac igitur tibi arcam de lignis
quadratis.quadratis. Quadratum certe hoc appellamus quod omnibus bene con
sistat partibus et conveniat sibi. Itaque et Deus auctor nostri corporis
. . . opus ipsum perfectum esse iis sermonibus significatur. Quadrata
autem hominis membra esse euidens ratio, si consideres pectus hominis,
consideres uentrem pari mensura longitudinis et latitudinis . . . iam
pedes et manus brachia femora et crura quadripartita quis non ipso uisu
aduertat ?
Quid etiam sibi uult quod ait Nidos fades in area . . . naturaliter
enim dictum arbitror eo quod omne corpus nostrum attextum est sicut
nidus . . . nidi quidam sunt oculi nostri . . . nidi sunt nostrarum sinus
aurium . . . nidus est narium . . . nidus est quartus maior ceteris hiatus
oris . . . unde uox euolat. Unde et puto et ilium in psalmo non solum
mystice sed etiam naturaliter dixisse Passer inueniet sibi domum et
turturturtur nidum ubi reponatpullos suos."

In a sense this might be called an allegorical interpretation of the

passage. But in the eyes of St Ambrose it is not ,mystical' because
the ark symbolizes a material object: not an event in the Life of Christ
or any spiritual truth.
The extract quoted above will be sufficient to shew that the exigencies

1 De Not et Area xii 39. ‫ י‬lb. vi. * Ps. Ixxxiii 4.

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 517

of naturalia impose no serious check upon the im

expositor.
B. Moralia.

By moralia St Ambrose meant ethics. Although he subordinates

them to mystica he was not blind to their importance. He dwells
on the need of Christian living' and attacks the sins of the time—
especially usury, drunkenness, and fraudulent trusteeship with great
vigour and shrewdness. For this purpose he makes most use of
St Luke's Gospel and of the lives of the Patriarchs, pointing out that
the characters of the Old Testament are to be regarded as warnings as
well as examples.2
In this region neither his method nor his results call for special
comment. A modern preacher would have no difficulty in using many
of his sermons on Moralia.

C. Mystica.
St Ambrose nowhere states whether a commentator of sufficient
spiritual insight could interpret every passage of Scripture ' mystically'
or not. But a ‫ י‬mystical' interpretation is to be found wherever possible.
Reference to Christ, the Church and the spiritual experience of the
individual soul are to be sought on every page of the inspired writings.
The following extracts are typical examples of the results which he
obtained :—

1. 1. Adam enim mentem diximus (De Paradise ii) Euam sensum esse
significauimus, serpentis specie delectationem expressimus . . . purga
uerat enim terram Dominus diluuii infusione . . . sed non satis erat ad
uirtutis profectum, nisi ut instrueretur homo quemadmodum se regeret
et gubernaret. Abraham mentis loco inducitur. Denique Abraham
transitus dicitur. Ergo ut mens quae in Adam totam se delectationi
et illecebris corporalibus desiderat in formam uirtutis speciemque
transiret uir sapiens nobis ad imitandum propositus est. Denique
Abraham pater dictus est eo quod mens paterna quadam auctoritate
. . . totum gubernat hominem. Haec ergo mens erat in Charra, id est
in cauernis obnoxia uariis passionibus. Ideoque dicitur ei Exi de terra
tua,tua, id est de corpore tuo. . Exiuit de hac terra ille cuius conuersatio in
caelis est. Et de cognatione inquit tua. Cognati sunt animae nostrae
corporis sensus. Et de domo tua inquit exi. Dominus mentis pro
latiuum est uerbum. Sicut enim paterfamilias habitat in domo sua . . .
ita etiam mens in sermonibus nostris habitat. . . et uis eius et disciplina
in sermone elucet.5

It is difficult to tell whether he regarded the Fall and the Migration

of Abraham as actual historical events or not. If they are history their
principal permanent value for the Christian reader lies in the ' mystical'
meaning which can be read into them.
1 e.g. in Ps. cxviii 1. 8 e.g. De Abraham I vi 58. 8 De Abraham II 1.

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 518 THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
2. The meeting between Isaac and Rebekah prefigures the Church.
Isaac represents the human soul which is attracted by the Church's beauty.
Or he may represent Christ, to whom the Church gives herself as bride.

Ergo uel anima patriarchae uidens mysterium Christi, uidens

Rebeccam uenientem cum uasis aureis et argenteis tanquam ecclesiam
cum populo nationum, mirata pulcritudinem uerbi et sacramentorum
eius dicit Osculetur me ab osculis oris sui. Uel Rebecca uidens uerum
Isaac, uerum illud gaudium, ueram laetitiam, desiderat osculari.1

The story in St Luke's Gospel (vii 36-50) of the woman who kissed
our Lord's feet is cited as parallel.
3. Commenting on St Luke xxii 36-38 he writes:—
Domine cur emere me iubes gladium qui ferire me prohibes ? . . .
Multis hoc iniquum uidetur, sed non iniquus Dominus ... est enim
gladius spiritalis ut uendas patrimonium, emas uerbum quo nuda mentis
penetralia uestiuntur. Est enim gladius passionis ut exuas corpus et
immolatae carnis exuuiis ematur tibi sacri corona martyrii.
Mouet tamen adhuc quod duos gladios discipuli protulerunt ne forte
unum noui alterum ueteris testamenti quibus aduersus diaboli armamur
insidias ? Denique dicit Dominus Saiis est, quasi nihil desit ei quern
utriusque testamenti doctrina munierit.2
He would not have doubted the historical character of the incident.
But he is not content to treat it solely as history. It is, as it were, an
episode in a drama the value of which for edification lies in its allegorical
significance.
His His debt to previous writers.
As a disciple of the Alexandrine School St Ambrose was acquainted
with the writings of Philo and of Origen. He mentions Philo by name
once3 and Origen three times.4 On at least five occasions he contro
verts Philo for the ultra-Jewish character of his exegesis without naming
him.5 He must presumably have been acquainted with the writings of
St Clement, but I have not been able to notice any direct reference to him.
But while in general agreement with the Alexandrines St Ambrose
seems to have borrowed directly from two writers only : St Hippolytus
and St Basil. With St Basil he had personal relations.3

1 De Isaac et Anima iii 7, 8. For the debt of the whole treatise to Hippolytus's
commentary on the Sottg of Songs, see M. Bonwetsch Texts u. Unter N.F. viii ‫ג‬
(Leipzig 1902).
s Expos, in Luc. χ 53-55· ' De Paradise ii 11.
* De Abraham II viii 54 ; In Ps. 118 iv 16; Ep. 75. I.
• Ep. 28, ι ; De Parad. II 11; De Cain et Abel I viii 3a; De Fuga III iv 20 ; De
NoevNoev 12. I am indebted for these references to P. de LabrioIIe Saint Antbroise,
esp. pp. 163-180 (Bloud et Cie, Paris).
' Cf. St Basil Ep. 197.

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 519

The indebtedness of his treatise De Isaac et Anima to

commentary on The Song of Songs has been discussed
(vide(vide supra p. 11 note), and it is therefore unnecessa
ground again.
St Basil published some homilies on the Six Days' W
as related in the opening chapters of Genesis under the t
This furnished St Ambrose with a model for a similar
He copies St Basil's title and arrangement of the
places he translates the Greek directly.
But it would not be fair to call the Hexaemeron of St Ambrose
a mere reproduction of St Basil's work. The differences between them
are often very wide and are due to a considerable difference between
their general mental attitudes.
1. 1. St Basil expressly disavows the allegorical method—οΐδα νόμους
αλληγορίας αλληγορίας . . . έγίο δί χόρτον άκουσας γόρτον νοώ, και ιχθύν και θηρίον και
κτήνος κτήνος πάντα ως ειρηται όντως έκδεχομαι."
2.2. St Basil's purpose is apologetic. He seems to have in mind
readers in whose eyes the authority of the Bible is still an open
question. He aims at shewing that the Scriptures are thoroughly
reasonable and throw light on many questions which philosophers have
found insoluble. They have, therefore, an irrefragable claim upon all
unprejudiced minds.
The purpose of St Ambrose is entirely exegetical. In his eyes the
divine authority of Scripture is beyond question, and he assumes that
this is recognized by his audience. But the meaning of the Sacred
Text is often obscure and commonly far richer than the ordinary
reader would suspect. His task is to edify the faithful by shewing
them how great these hidden treasures of meaning really are.
The following extracts will illustrate his debt and his independence.
1. ενθνμηθης ότι ό (νδοκησας εν nonne advertimus quod Dominus
τη τη μωρία του κηρύγματος σωσαι τους ex ipsa natura plurima exempla
πιστεύοντας πιστεύοντας μνρίας εκ της φύσεως ante praemisit quibus susceptae
άφορμαςάφορμαςάφορμας προς την πίστιν των παρα- incarnationis decorem probaret et
δόξων προλαβων κατεβάλετο.δόξων προλαβων κατεβάλετο. Hex. astrueret unitatem ? Hex. ν 20.
viii viii 6.

The matter in hand is the Birth of our Lord from a Virgin. Both
refer to the belief that vultures lay without having mated. But their
use of the analogy is different. To St Basil the Christian belief is
a matter of difficulty. But nothing in the Gospel is more incredible
than the admitted wonders of nature. Nature forbids us to say that
anything is impossible. To St Ambrose Faith needs no such assistance.
1 Hex. ix 1.

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52ο THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

But God has so ordered the working of the natural world that it points
to the Incarnation and makes it perfectly natural that the Birth of Christ
should have been as it was.

2. 01 yap θεόν άγνοήσαντες αίτίαν aduertit enim uir plenus pru

εμφροναεμφρονα προεστάναι της γενέσεως των dentiae' (sc. Moses) quod uisibilium
όλων oi σννεχώρησαν . . . νΐν μεν atque inuisibilium substantias ori
yap yap ετυνιόντων άλληλοις των ίμερων gines et causas rerum mens sola
σωμάτων,σωμάτων, νυν δε μετασνγκρινομένων, diuina COntineat, non Ut phil0S0phi
ταϊ yενέσεις και τάς φθοράς έπι- disputant ualidiorem atomorum
yίvεσθaιyίvεσθaι (sc. έφαντάσθησαν) και τών complexionem perseuerantiae iugis
διαρκέστερων διαρκέστερων σωμάτων την 'ισχνρο- praestare causam : sed iudicauit
τέραντέραν των ατόμων άντεμπλοκην της quod telam araneae texerent qui
διαμονής διαμονής την αίτίαν παρέχειν. όντως sic minuta et insubstantiua prin
ΙστονΙστονΙστον αράχνης νφαίνονσιν 01 ταντα cipia caelo ac terris darent.
γράφοντες,γράφοντες, oi ούτω λετττάς και άν- Hex. i 2.
υποστατού? αρχάς ονράνον και γης και
θαλάσσης θαλάσσης υποτιθέμενοι. Hex. 1 2.

In St Basil's eyes materialistic views of the origin of the universe

stand condemned by reason. To St Ambrose they are equally irrational,
but they are condemned primarily by the authority of Moses.
3: When commenting on Gen. i 9 (Hex. iv 2) St Basil dwells
exclusively on the physical aspect of the act. He refers to the natural
properties of water and to the difficulties which might be felt in view of
the fact that all the water on the surface of the earth is not now in one
place, but is distributed in widely separated seas.
St Ambrose ignores all questions of this kind (Hex. iii 3). To
him the gathering of the waters represents the recruiting of the
Church from the whole world and the separation of the faithful from
heretics.
4. Both St Basil and St Ambrose published homilies, originally
delivered in the form of sermons, upon selected Psalms. Their
selections are not the same, but we have discourses from both upon
Psalms i, xlv, xlviii, and lxi. In these St Ambrose shews a debt and an
independence similar to that which he shews in the Hexaemeron.

πάσα πάσα γραφή θεόπνευστος και ώφέ- etenim licet omnis Scriptura
λιμός.λιμός, διά tovtq συγγραφεΐσα παρά diuina Dei gratiam spiret, prae
τοΰ πνεύματος ίν ωετπερ εν κοινω τών cipue tamen dulcis psalmorum
ψυχών ίατρείω πάντες άνθρωποι το liber .. . historia instruit, lex docet,
"ιαμα"ιαμα τοΰ οικείου πάθους έκαστος prophetia annuntiat, correptio casti
έκλεγωμεθαέκλεγωμεθαέκλεγωμεθα . . . άλλα μεν οΰν προ- gat, moralitas suadet: in libro
φήταιφήται παιδενονσι, και άλλα Ιστορικοί, psalmorum profectus est omnium
kiu ό νόμος έτερα, και άλλα το είδος et medicina quaedam salutis

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 NOTES AND STUDIES 521

της παροιμιακής παραινέσεως. η δέ humanae. Qu

τών ψαλμών βίβλος το εκ πάντων habet quo prop
ώφίλιμοώφίλιμοώφίλιμον περιείληφε· προφητεύει τά sionis spec
μέλλοντα,μέλλοντα, ιστορίας νπομιμντήσκα, medio. Quicum
νομοθετείνομοθετεί τω βίω, υποτίθεται τα tamquam in co
πρακτέα,πρακτέα, καϊ άπαξαπλώς κοινον gymnasio et q
ταμιιίόνταμιιίόν εστίν αγαθών διδαγμάτων tutum diuersa g
το έκάστω πρόσφορον κατά την reperiens praepara
έπέπιμέλΐίαν εξευρίσκονσα. τά τϊ γαρ cui se intellig
παλαιά παλαιά τραύματα των ψυχών έζιάται, facilius perueni
και και τω νεοτρώτω ταχεΐαν επάγει την In
έπανόρθωσιν,έπανόρθωσιν, και τδ νενοσηκδς περι-περι

ποιείταιποιείται και το άκέραιον διασώζει.

In In Ps. i 1.

To St Basil the intrinsic merits of the psalter need no external

justification. But while St Ambrose recognizes them fully he finds an
additional reason for regarding the psalter as the flower of the Bible in
the fact that Moses had recourse to song after two of the great crises of
his life (Exod. xv, Deut. xxxii).

υπέρ υπέρ δέ κρνφίων ειρηται δ ψαλμός. Quid est Pro occultis ? . . . quae
τουτέστιν υπέρ απορρήτων, και τών autem ilia sint occulta in euangelio
evev μνστηρίω κικρνμμένων. sancto docemur, dicente Dei Filio
γινόμενος γινόμενος δέ εν τοίς κατά μέρος quod mysteria sapientiae abscon
ρητοΐςρητοΐςρητοΐς του ψαλμού μάθηση τδ κεκρνμ- dita sint sapientibus et paruulis
μένονμένον τών λόγων καί ότι ον τον reuelata. Haec sunt ilia, ni fallor,
τυχόντος τυχόντος εστίν ένιδεΐν τοις θείοις quae oculus non uidit nec auris
μνστηρίοιςμνστηρίοις η μόνον τοϊ δυναμένου audiuit nec in cor hominis ascende
γενέσθαι γενέσθαι της επαγγελίας εναρμόνιον runt quae praeparauit dominus
όργανον ώστε άντί ψαλτηρίου κινέίσθαιόργανον ώστε άντί ψαλτηρίου κινέίσθαι diligentibus eum. Ergo in OCCultO

αντοναντον την ψνχην υπό τον ενεργούντος cordis nostri occulta sapientiae
avrrjav-rrj άγιου πνεύματος. recordamus, non temere aliquibus
In In Ps. xlv 1. diuulgemus nisi sacramentorum
consortibus quos dominus uocauit
ad gratiam suam, qui se in abscon
dito uult rogari, quoniam solus
est qui abscondita et occulta
cognoscat. In Ps xlv 1.
The The influence of St Ambrose upon succeeding writers.

The correspondence of St Ambrose shews how highly his con

temporaries esteemed his exegetical powers. Many of his letters shew
that he had been asked to interpret some perplexing passage. But his

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522 THE JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

correspondents were not men of literary distinction, and we have

therefore no means of knowing how closely they followed him.
The writer in whom we should naturally expect to find most traces
of his influence is St Augustine. St Augustine has told how much he
owed to the sermons of St Ambrose upon the Bible (vide supra, p. 513 n.),
and we might therefore expect to find him reproducing his master.
But his debt to St Ambrose is general rather than particular.
He accepts a fourfold division of Old Testament Scripture,1 and
dwells on the importance of recognizing where any given passage
demands an allegorical interpretation.2 To take literally a passage
which is meant to be understood allegorically is a mark of carnal
mindedness. But he does not surrender himself completely to allegorism.
To him it is one valuable line of interpretation, but only one. It is to
be adopted where no other method seems to yield satisfactory results.3
Accordingly many passages are to be interpreted partly historically and
partly allegorically.4 In his writings both upon the Book of Genesis
and upon the Psalms he makes full use of the method which he had
learned from St Ambrose. But the thought is always his own. I have
not been able to notice any certain instance of direct borrowing.
St Ambrose had not sufficient originality to make him an attractive
model for successive writers. His strength lay primarily in his conduct
of affairs. He was remembered as one who had ruled wisely and firmly
in his day, and had valiantly upheld the rights of the Church against
aggression in high places, more than as a thinker and a theologian.
But more than any other single figure he established allegorism in
the west. He made the Alexandrine method of interpreting the
Scriptures familiar to Latin readers. The fact that St Augustine gave
it a still wider currency was due primarily to him.
But as a method of interpretation it had its own dangers. Those
who used it might easily overrate the value of their own subtleties and
treat them as profound divine truths. And allegorism might become
so fantastic as to defeat its own ends by exciting the ridicule of the
pagans whom it was designed to convert. St J erome was keenly alive
to this possibility, and saw the need of emphasizing the historical sense.5
But though allegorism fell somewhat into abeyance immediately after
St Ambrose's own time it never died. It revived during the Middle Age,
and his influence was probably stronger then than at any earlier period.
R. Η. Malden.

1 De Utilitate Credendi iii. (Cf. De Genesi ad Literam c. II.)

22 De Doctr. Chr. iii 9. (I owe both these references to W. Cunningham S. Austin,
C.U. Press, 1886). * De Gen. ad Lit. xi c. I. 4 lb. viii c. 1.
5 Praef. lib. ν Comm. in Is. {P. L. xxiv 158). Cf. also his commentary on Obadiah
(P. L. xxv 1097). I owe these references to M. de Labriolle, op. cit. p. 207.

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