§25et ideo ait propheta: hilares oculi eius a uino et dentes candidiores quam lac significans prophetas et apostolos.
therefore the prophet says: "His eyes are cheerful from wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk," signifying the prophets and the apostles.
alii enim sicut oculi Christi praeuiderunt et adnuntiauerunt eius aduentum, de quibus ipse dicit: Abraham diem meum uidit et gauisus est, et unus de prophetis dicit: uidi dominum Sabaoth, quem uidentes spiritali laetitia conplebantur: alii uero, hoc est apostoli, quos dominus ab omni peccatorum labe mundauit, candidiores super lac facti sunt, quos macula postea nulla fuscauit.
For some, like the eyes of Christ, foresaw and announced his coming, of whom he himself says: "Abraham saw my day and rejoiced," and one of the prophets says: "I saw the Lord of Sabaoth," seeing whom they were filled with spiritual joy; but others, that is, the apostles, whom the Lord cleansed from every stain of sins, became whiter than milk, whom no stain afterward darkened.
etenim lac temporale est, gratia autem apostolorum perpetua manet, qui nobis spiritalia illa atque caelestia conficientes alimenta mentis internae uiscera saginarunt.
For indeed milk is temporal, but the grace of the apostles remains perpetual, who, preparing for us those spiritual and heavenly nourishments, fattened the inner bowels of our mind.
sunt etiam qui mandata domini lucida, quae diuino ore deprompta sunt, sicut lac nobis facta arbitrentur, quibus nutriti ad panis caelestis peruenimus alimoniam.
There are also those who think that the bright commandments of the Lord, which were brought forth from the divine mouth, were made like milk for us, nourished by which we arrive at the sustenance of the heavenly bread.
unde et Paulus ait: lacte uobis potum dedi, non escam; nondum enim poteratis. Corinthius in principio fidei potu lactis inbuitur, sancti illi quorum fides adnuntiatur in uniuerso mundo tamquam, ablactati esca solidiore firmantur. §26Zabulon iuxta mare habitabit et ipse secus accessus nauium et praetendet usque ad Sidonem. ipsa nominis interpretatio meliora promittit, eo quod Latina expressio liberationem significet a nocturnis, quod est utique bonum et eius qui speret in pinnis domini, quem circumdat. ueritas eius, ne timeat a timore nocturno et a negotio perambulante in tenebris. §27hic ergo Zabulon iuxta mare inquit habitabit, ut uideat aliorum naufragia ipse inmunis periculi et spectet alios fluctuantes in freto istius mundi, qui circumferantur omni uento doctrinae, ipse fidei radice inmobilis perseuerans, sicut est sacrosancta ecclesia radicata atque fundata in fide spectans haereticorum procellas et naufragia Iudaeorum, quoniam gubernatorem quem habuerant abnegauerunt.
Whence also Paul says: "I gave you milk to drink, not meat; for you were not yet able." The Corinthian in the beginning of faith is imbued with the drink of milk; those holy ones whose faith is announced in the world, as if weaned, are strengthened by more solid food. "Zebulun shall dwell by the sea, and he shall be near the harbor of ships, and shall extend as far as Sidon." The very interpretation of the name promises better things, because the Latin expression signifies liberation from the things of the night, which is indeed good and of him who hopes in the wings of the Lord, whom his truth surrounds, lest he fear the terror of the night, and the pestilence that walks in darkness. therefore Zebulun, he says, shall dwell by the sea, so that he himself, immune from danger, may see the shipwreck of others and behold others tossing in the strait of this world, who are carried about by every wind of doctrine, while he himself perseveres immovable in the root of faith, just as the holy church, rooted and founded in faith, beholds the storms of heretics and the shipwreck of the Jews, because they denied the helmsman they had.
circa fluctus igitur habitat, non fluctibus conmoue. tur magisque ad subueniendum parata quam periculo obnoxia, ut si qui tempestatibus acti grauibus confugere ad portum uelint. praesto sit ecclesia tamquam portus salutis, quae expansis bracchiis in gremium tranquillitatis suae uocet periclitantes locum fidae stationis ostendens.
Therefore she dwells near the waves, but is not moved by the waves, and is more ready to help than subject to danger, so that if any, driven by severe storms, wish to flee to harbor, the church may be at hand as a harbor of salvation, which, with extended arms, calls the endangered into the bosom of her tranquility, showing a place of safe anchorage.
ecclesiae igitur in hoc saeculo tamquam portus maritimi per litora diffusi occurrunt laborantibus dicentes esse credentibus refugium praeparatum. quo uentis quassata nauigia possint subducere. §28in his ecclesiis sunt principes Zabulon et principes Nephthalim, sicut docet LXVII psalmus, quorum alii liberatores sunt a tempestate nocturna clamantes: abiciamus ergo opera tenebrarum et induamus arma lucis, alii sunt latitudinis apostolicae, qui possunt dicere: os nostrum patet ad uos o Corinthii, cor nostrum dilatatum est. ipsi sunt isti, qui cum essent in tenebris, lucem uiderunt magnam, sicut propheta testatur dicens: regio Zabulon et regio Nephthalim, uia maris trans Iordanem. populus, qui sedebat in tenebris, lucem uiderunt magnam. qui sedebant in regione umbrae mortis, lux orta est illis.
Therefore, the churches in this world, like seaports scattered along the shores, meet those who labor, saying that a prepared refuge is ready for believers, where they may bring in their ships shaken by the winds. these churches are the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali, as the 67th Psalm teaches, of whom some are deliverers from the night storm, crying out: "Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light"; others are of apostolic breadth, who can say: "Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged." These are they who, when they were in darkness, saw a great light, as the prophet testifies, saying: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan; the people who sat in darkness saw a great light; to those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has dawned upon them."