“Further, each lamp had a vase of gold, full of water, in which was
extinguished the fire taken away from the wicks. By this we learn
that every gift demands from our mind a desire towards every cardinal
virtue--a desire so simple that we can feel in ourselves the yearning
of love after union with God. We observe this in Jesus Christ, who
is our mirror in all things; for in every virtue which He practised,
He excelled so lovingly that He sought ardently after union with His
Father. And we shall unite all our yearnings in that loving yearning
which He felt towards His Father in all cardinal virtues. For our
loving yearnings are our golden vases, full of water--that is, of truth
and righteousness--we shall plunge into them our burning wicks, the
acts, that is, of all the virtues which we have practised; we shall
plunge them in and extinguish them, by commending ourselves to His
righteousness, and by uniting ourselves to His adorable merits; without
this the wick of all our virtues would smoke and would have an evil
savour before God and before all His saints.”
Elsewhere, he examines the twelve jewels of the Breastplate, and
sees in them reflections of eternal symbols, as well as unsuspected,
precise, and suggestive analogies. Let us see whether it is not so.
“In the rays of the sun, the topaz surpasses in splendour all precious
stones; and even so does the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ excel in
glory and in majesty all the saints and all the angels because of His
union with the eternal Father. And in this union the reflection of the
Divine Sun is so clear and glorious that it attracts and reflects in
its clearness all the eyes of saints and angels in immediate vision,
and those also of just men to whom its splendour is revealed. So
likewise does the topaz attract and reflect in itself the eyes of those
who behold it, because of its great clearness. But if you were to cut
the topaz it would darken, while if you leave it in its natural state
it will remain clear. And so, too, if you examine and try to penetrate
the splendour of the eternal Word, that splendour will darken and you
will lose it. But leave it as it is, and follow it with earnest gaze,
and with self-abnegation, and it will give you light.”
Let us next consider the curious correspondences which he discovered in
other precious stones:--
“In this article we compare Christ to the noble sapphire, of which
there are two kinds. The first is yellow with shades of purple and
seems to be mingled with powdered gold; the other is sky-blue, and
in the rays of the sun it gives forth a burning splendour, and one
cannot see through it. And we find all this in our Lord, in this fifth
article of the creed. For when His noble soul rose to heaven, His
body lay in the tomb--yellow, because of the soul’s departure; purple,
because of His bleeding wounds; and mingled with powdered gold because
He was united to the divine nature. And His soul descended into hell,
blue as the sky, so that all his friends rejoiced and were glad in
His splendour; and in His resurrection the splendour becomes so great
and so powerful, both in body and soul, through the illumination of
the Divine Sun, that it darts forth lightnings and burning rays, and
inflames with love all things which it touches. And none can see
through that noble sapphire, Christ, because in His divine nature there
is a depth unfathomable.”
I pass over the amethyst “from which red roses seem to flow forth,” and
as a closing passage from this work, I shall translate the last three
symbols: those of the chrysolite, the emerald, and the jasper.