1 This entire hymn is used in the Moz. Brev., divided into fifteen
portions for use during Lent.
27 The word _sacerdos_ here, as in ix. 4, is used in the sense of
"prophet"; but in both passages there is some idea of the exercise
of priestly functions. Elijah may be called "priest" from his having
offered sacrifice on Mount Carmel, and David from his wearing the
priestly ephod as he danced before the Ark.
69 The old editors discuss these lines with much gravity, and mostly
come to the conclusion that "locusts" were "a kind of bird, of
the length of a finger, with quick, short flight"; while the "wild
honey" was not actual honey at all, but "the tender leaves of
certain trees, which, when crushed by the fingers, had the pleasant
savour of honey."
76 A gloss on one of the Vat. MSS. adds: "This is not authorised; for
John merely baptized with water, and not in the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost; therefore his baptism was of no avail, save that
it prepared the way for Christ to baptize." Many of the Fathers,
however, while expressly affirming that John's baptism differed
from that of Christ, allowed that the stains of sin were washed
away by the former. St. Chrysostom draws this distinction: "There
was in John's baptism pardon, but not without repentance; remission
of sins, but only attained by grief."
100 The story of Jonah, as a type of the Resurrection, is one of the
most frequent subjects of the frescoes of the Catacombs. In one very
ancient picture, a man in a small boat is depicted in the act of
placing the prophet in the very jaws of the whale.
115 Two stanzas are omitted in the text, which depict the sufferings
of Jonah with a wealth of detail not in accordance with modern
taste. For the sake of giving a complete text, we append them here:--
"_Transmissa raptim praeda cassos dentium
eludit ictus incruentam transvolans
inpune linguam, ne retentam mordicus
offam molares dissecarent uvidi,
os omne transit et palatum praeterit._
_Ternis dierum ac noctium processibus
mansit ferino devoratus gutture,
errabat illic per latebras viscerum,
ventris recessus circumibat tortiles
anhelus extis intus aestuantibus._"
194 Prudentius appears to have believed that the mystery of the
Incarnation was concealed from Satan, and that the Temptation
was an endeavour to ascertain whether Jesus was the Son of God
or no. Cf. Milton, _Par. Reg._ i.:--
"Who this is we must learn, for Man he seems
In all his lineaments, though in his face
The glimpses of his Father's glory shine."