10. THE FOUR COLOURS ONCE AGAIN, FROM WHICH THE: Vestments [Were Made], And The Four Elements
BOOK THREE
sanctuary and the altar by undertaking the intention of continence, they will have the assistance of the divine law. Forjust as it gives the priests copious instructions about how they ought to live and how they ought to teach by placing other suitable vesture upon them, rejoicing in their voluntary devotion it also adds the adornment appropriate for the priesthood of wisdom, patience, clemency, spiritual zeal, humility, mercy, fear of the Lord, and the other similar ornaments without wtuch they would be guilty of iniquity and die. For if anyone who is living wantonly presumes to usurp the priestly office for himself, his soul shall surely incur most certaindeath.
(1221 Spiritually, this meaning is also confirmed by the following words wtuch are added a little later.
10. THE FOUR COLOURS ONCE AGAIN, FROM WHICH THE
VESTMENTS [WERE MADE], AND THE FOUR ELEMENTS
AND THE CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS
29~4-9 And when you have washed the father and his sons with water, you shall clothe Aaron with his vestments, that is, with the linen garment and the tunic, and the superhumerale and the rational, which you shall bind together with the sash; and you shall set the turban on his head, and the holy plate upon the turban, and you shall pour the oil of unction upon his head; and by this rite shall he be consecrated. You shall bring his sons also, and you shall clothe them with the linen tunics, and gird them with a sash, Aaron and his children, and you shall put mitres upon them. And they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. Since nothing else is commanded here concerning the undergarments received from Moses, it is clearly apparent that Aaron and his sons first clothed themselves with this kind of vestment and then went in to be washed, clothed, anointed, and consecrated at the hand of Moses.
Here we should also note that Moses first washed with water those whom he was intending to consecrate and then placed the vesture of sacred lank upon them, because it is doubtless necessary for anyone who is to be promoted to the office of the altar to wash himself at the time of dedication with an extraordinarily great flow of tears, or compunction. The cleaner he is when he comes to receive the rank, the more perfectly will he bring to completion what has been received. However, it may be possible to understand this bath as referring to baptism in the sacred font, if it should be necessary for someone who is elected to the priesthood to be washed in the 1 Bede does not quote the text of Excd. 29 1-3 here, but his commentary on 29 4-9 includes a discussion of the previous verses.
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
water of baptism then for the first time, for the remission of sins; nor was the Apostle objecting to ordination of such men when he said, Do not ordain a neophyte, or he may be puffed up with pride and fall into the judgement of the devil.
But as soon as he has been clothed with the sacred vestments the high priest is then anointed with the oil of unction, so that the consecration may be made perfect through the grace of the Holy Spirit. This does not imply that it is possible for us to have any of the previously mentioned garments of virtue apart from the grace of God, but it is even more necessary for the Lord to bestow the assistance of grace when someone either rises to a higher rank or comes to preside overthe guidance of a very great number [of souls].
Meanwhile, we should note that while it is asserted here in the Book of Exodus that Aaron is to be clothed with eight vestments, in Leviticus it appears that a ninth is added also, namely the sash with which the linen tunic is girded before the blue one is put on. Forthus is it written: Andwhen he had washed them, he vested the high priest with the linen under-tunic, girding him with the sash andputting the blue tunic on him, and over it he put the humerale, which hejtted to the rational by binding it with the girdle.2 But how and when this was done is clearly evident from those
[I231 things that we have explained concerning the figure of the intellectual vestments.
But since, following the sayings of the fathers, we have briefly touched on these h n g s concerning the priestly vesture, we suppose that we should also note that those four selected colours from which it was made are well suited to be compared with the four elements of the world: fine linen or linen with earth, because it comes forth from it; purple with water, because it is produced with dye from snails of the sea; blue and scarlet with air and fire, on account of the similarity of colour; and the scarlet was twice dyed because fire is endowed with the twofold power of giving light and setting ablaze. Therefore, the Hebrews say that the high priest carried the figure of all the elements in his vesture, because when he offered sacrifice he was under an obligation to pray not for Israel alone, but also for the whole
1 1 Tim. 3:6. The most prominent example of someone chosen for ordination prior to baptism was Ambrose of Milan (c.339-99, who was elected bishop while still a catechumen; see Paulinus, Vir. Ambr. 7 (PL 14: 29B), a work certainly known to Ekde, as he used it in writingDe remp. rat. 66(CCSL 1238: 513, 1514-16).
2 Lev. 8:GR
BOOK THREE
world.' Nor would it be inconsistent with these dungs if we should make bold to add that every individual human being contains the figure of all the elements: fire, in the heat [of the body]; air, for its sustenance; water, in its fluids; earth, in the very solidity of its members. For this same reason, Greek natural science refers to the human being as a 'microcosm', that is, a 'little world'.2
If you are also wondering what the gold that was in the same vesture might sign@ according to this understanding, you can understand it to be the inner person's power of reasoning. Hence also was 'The Holy of the Lord' properly written in [gold], because only through tlus [power of reasoning] can anyone ascend to the knowledge of our Creator. For the Apostle says that it is here, in the inner person, that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith.3 Therefore Scripture shows us the high priest of the Old Testament clothed in ths fashion, so that the high priest of our time may realize that he is obligated to intercede for the whole human race, and especially for those who have come to know the truth and who bear the sign of that faith on their forehead^.^ As the Apostle admonishes and says, First of all, then, I iniplore that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for allpeople, for kings andsor all who are in high station.
But ifwe understand the high priest whom Moses consecrates as the Lord Saviour, it is by right that he carries in his vesture a figure of the whole world, and of a human being as well. For, as the Apostle says, he himself is the brightness of the glory and the figure of the substance of God the Father, and he upholds all things b-v hispowerjul word.6 He is the Lanib of God who takes away the sins of the world;' he is a prrestforever,8 bright withevery adornment of holiness. He did not merit to receive tlus [holiness] through laborious exercise when he was born in flesh, but he received it
[I231 1 Jerome, Ep. 64, 17, 2 (CSEL 54: 605, 6-16). A cosmological interpretation of the vestments ofthe high priest is suggested in Wisd. 18:24 and developed by Philo (unknown to Bede)inDevrr.Mos.2, 16,133-5(LCL6: 512-14)andDespec.leg. 1, 17,97(LCL7: 152-4), and by Josephus inAnt. Jud. 3,7,7(ed. Blatt, 242,2-12). Oncosmological synlbolism in Philo and Josephus, see Danitilou (1 957). For the Christian appropriation ofthis exegetical approach, see Holder (1993).
2 Jerome, In Eccles. 9, 13-15 (CCSL 72: 331, 328-9); In Ezech. 1, 1, 6-8 (CCSL 75: 12,
237-86); cf. also Aldhelm, De wrg. (pros.) 3 (MGHAA 15: 230,26 - 231, 1) 3 Eph. 3:16-17 4 As above in the comment on Exod. 28:36-8 inDe tab. 3,7 (CCSL 119A: 1 13,797-8), this is a reference to the signing of the cross on the foreheads of candidates for baptism and the newly baptized.
5 1 Tim. 21-2 6 Heb. 1 :3
7 John 1:29
8 Ps. 110:4 (109:4)
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
altogether at the same time through the prevenient grace of the Holy Spirit when he became incarnate in the Virgin's womb. Pleasingly commending the intercession of his priesthood on our behalf, the Apostle says: But because he continues forever, he has an everlasting priesthood, whereby he is also able to saveforever those who ap roach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for us. And in llke manner commending the garments and ornaments of his virtues, [the Apostle] added: For it was$tting that we should have such a high priest, hob, blameless, unde- $led, separatedfrom sins, and made higher than the heavem2 He truly had
P .
on his head a golden plate upon which was engraved 'The Holy of the Lord', because he comes in the name of the Father, saying, 'I am in the Father and the Father is in tne, ' and 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father also.
Up to this point the heavenly oracle has been designating what sort of vesture Aaron and his sons ought to have. Now, what follows next explains that the proper manner of consecration which is to be used in dedicating
A [Aaron and his sons] as well as the tabernacle with all its furnishings is to offer the Lord a calf, and two rams, and wheat bread that is not only unleavened but also sprinkled with oil, or even covered with an application of oil of unction5 Figuratively, all of these h n g s doubtless indicate either devotion to good works and purity of faith or the grace of divine illumination, which is the only proper means of consecrating priests. For who does not know that the sacrifice of those animals and [the sprinkling ofJ their blood designate the death of our Lord and the sprinkling of his blood, through which we are set free from sins and strengthened for good works?
And the Apostle explains that the unleavened bread contains a mystery of the Saviour when he says, Therefore let us keep the>ast, not with the old leaven, nor with the lemen ofrnalice andevil, butwith the unleavenedbread of sincerity and truth.
Now the cakes and wafers were sprinkled or covered with oil so that we might be admonished to have works that are not only restrained from the leaven of malice and evil but also made worthy in the divine eyes with the richness of charity. Or perhaps we offer the Lord cakes sprinkled with oil
1 Heb. 7124-5 2 Heb. 7:26; Bede's reading segregarus apeccalrs ('separated from sins') in this quotation from the Vulgate, instead of the more usual segregahcs a peccarorrbus ('separated from sinners') is a variant found also in the Codex hiatinus, which was produced at Wearmouth-Jarrow at the end of the seventh century.
3 John 14:lO 4 John 14:9
5 Exod. 29:l-3 6 1 Cor. 5:8
BOOK THREE
at our consecration when in everything we do our hearts grow rich in devotion through the inner grace of the Holy Spirit, and we offer wafers covered with oil when we also publicly display the spiritual thmgs we do as a reliable example of [right] living for others. Our consecration is doubtless brought to completion through these offerings when with the Lord's assistance we seek to make ourselves worthy of sanctity through good works and pure thoughts. After these instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons have been completed,' Scripture returns to impart some further directions for making the altar of incense, on which the same
Aaron was supposed to burn incense daily.
(1251
1 1. THE ALTAR OF INCENSE
30: 1-2 You shall also make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense. It shall be one cubit long and another wide (that is, square), and two cubits high. If that altar of holocaust concerning which we have spoken above' designates in a general way the life of the righteous who daily cruclfy their flesh with its vices and desires3 and are accustomed to offer themselves to God as a living sacrifice: what else could this altar made for the burning of incense specifically signify, other than the life of those who are perfect?
Not without reason was the flesh of animals burned on the first [altar] and incense burned as an offering on the second. For [animal sacrifces] figure those persons who do not walk according to the desires of the flesh but instead dedicate all their bodily senses to the Lord's will (as it were) by offering themselves to h m as a sacrifice through the fire of the Holy Spirit, while [incense] depicts a type of those who with a greater perfection of mind offer nothing to the Lord but prayers of longing, having completely quenched all the charms of the flesh and laid them to rest. For nothing that is of the flesh assails [the perfect]. and they are not conscious of any sin whereby they are disturbed or made to be afraid, but with a profusion of sweet tears they long to come and appear before the face of God.5
For ths reason, the altar [of incense] was aptly placed inside, in the vicinity of the veil and the ark, and the [altar of holocaust] outside, in front of the tabernacle, because [those who cruclfy the flesh] doubtless shine in 1 Exod. 29: 10-45 2 Bede De tab. 2, 11 (CCSL 119A: 76, 1361-3); cf. De templo 1; 2 (CCSL 119A: 176,
1185-8; 224, 1277-80) 3 Gal. 5:24
4Rom. 12:l 5 Ps 42:3-4 (41:3-4)
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
the sight of the Holy Church as an example of virtue for everyone, while [the perfect] who bum with a higher desire draw especially near to the contemplation of future blessedness, even though they remain in the body.
Aptly is [the altar of holocaust] commanded to be covered with bronze and [the altar of incense] with gold, for bronze is more resonant than all other metals and lastsforavery long time, but whencompared to something made of bronze, gold is as superior in splendour as it is inferior in sound. Hence rightly does the bronze altar, upon which the flesh of victims was bumed and their blood poured out, bear the type of those who have overcome the pleasures of the flesh and sacrificed them (as it were) to God; with perseverance they finish the way of truth which they havc begun once and for all, and in the word of preaching they also repeatedly tell out to their neighbours that t h ~ s is the [way] in which they should be walking. The golden altar, however, is aptly compared to those who are more fully illuminated with the grace of heavenly brightness but are less open about telling others of the inner pleasures they taste in secret, and less able to give utterance by declaring how much thcy have becn interiorly refrcshed with sweetness in the hidden face of God. Aptly also was the altar of incense as superior in the shining of its metal as it was smaller in size, because the holier persons in the Church are always fewer [than the rest].
(1261 Both altars are aptly commanded to be made of the same acacia wood, which is, as we have said, similar to whitethorn and because the hearts ofall the elcct ought to be fortified with one firmness of unfeigned faith, that they may be prepared to receive the fire of love and to offer the libation of virtues to God. For the Apostle speaks to everyone in general, the small with the great, saying, Let us cleanse ourselves front every deJilement of the flesh and of the spirit, making sanct8cation per-ct in the @or of God,* which is to say in other words, 'Let us cut off and remove from ourselves the thorns ofviccs and the pricking stings of titillation which the earth of our heart or our body has been accustomed to sprout forth in us as a result of the sin of the first transgression, and let us vigourously cultivate our inner self and our outer self as well, as though we were trimming ourselves with some two-edged axe and pruning ourselves thoroughly, that we may become worthy to offer the sacrifice of virtues in the presence of our Creator by receiving the fire of the Holy Spirit.' And aptly was it one and the same fire, not two different ones, that consumed victims on the first altar and incense on the other, because there is doubtless one
I Beda, De lab. 1.3; 2, 5 (CCSL 119A: 13,324-7; 59,690-3) 2 2 Cor. 7.1
BOOK THREE
Spirit who quickens the minds of all the faithful with the various gifts of grace.
Now the altar of incense was square, being one cubit long and another wide, but two high. As we said in the exposition of the altar of holocaust, length pertains to the longsuffering of patience, width to the amplitude of love, and height to the sublimity of hope, through which we are able to rejoice with an honest mind in the endurance of temporal labours and in the joy of love. Both the length and the width of the altar are one cubit when all the men who are highest and most perfect in the Church bear temporal evils patiently, looking for nothing else but an eternal reward, and charitably expend as many of their possessions as possible on their ncighbours' behalf.
Similarly, the altar of incense was rightly ordered to be made square in its length and width, because charily ispatient and it is kind2 that is, patient so that it may endure the injury inflicted by the neighbour, and kind so that it may endure adversities along with the neighbour, discharging the duties of chanty and kindness even when it takes effort to do so. For this suggests that these virtues are so closely allied with one another in the spirits of the perfect that they are as capable of loving the brother as they are of bearing with him, and just as able to withstand his troublesomeness through patience as to show him goodwill through the kindness of thcir own love.
And it is two cubits hgh because the elect hope that they will receive a twofold reward for themselves in the life to come, that is, one [reward] of /1,77] rest for their souls when they will strip off this corruptible and mortal body to enter the heavenly kingdom, and another when they will regain that sanie body incorruptible and immortal, and rejoice more perfectly in the presence of their Creator, so as to fulfill the promise of the prophet who says, They shall possess a double portion in their land; everlasting joy shall be theirs.
30:2-3 Horns shall project out from [the altar of incense], and you shall overlay it with the purest gold, its grate as well as its sides and horns. In the Scriptures it is often the custom for horns to designate the eminence of faith and of the virtues with which we ought to stnke out against and overcome the hostile advances of our ancient enemy, joining the prophet in saying to the Lord. 'Through you we willjght against our enemies with the horn. As it is sometimes thc custom, on the other hand, for the word 'horns' to indicate the armies of the vices that endeavour to 4 . . .
,5 1 Bede, De tab. 1,4; 2, 11 (CCSL 119A: 13,343 - 14,347; 76, 1367 - 77, 1373) 2 1 Cor. 13:4
3 Isa. 61:7
4 i.e., the devil 5 Ps. 44:5 (43:6)
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
fight against us, he then explained whose horn he had spoken of subduing ,i saying, 'And through your name we disdain those who rise up against us.
The Lord concisely joined both of these [meanings] together when he said through the prophet, 'And all the horns ofsinners IwiN cutofl but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. '
Hence it is properly decreed in the law that the only animals which are clean and suitable to be eaten by the people of God are those that have horns. For it is well known that those animals that chew the cud and divide the hoof are also those that have so that it is mystically disclosed that the only people who can be incorporated into a spiritual union with the Church of God are those who by the strength of their faith prove that they are unconquered in their battles with the vices.
Now horns project directly out from the altar of incense when the elect do not exhibit works of virtue before humans, only for the sake of appearance, but perform them with a fHed and unmoveable devotion [wluch comes forth] from the inner root of the mind. Hypocrites, on the other hand, are like horns borrowed from someone else; although they have the appearance of godliness, they deny its power.4 They aptly correspond to the crow decked out with the flying wings of a peacock, which one of Aesop's fables describes as having no reason to boast of its beauty; in fact, the blazing jealousy of the peacocks eventually deprives [the crow] of all use of its wings, and of life it~elf.~ Now the altar is overlaid with the purest gold when the perfect each shine with the true light of inner wisdom, when in everything that they do they show forth the splendour of charity just as if it were the glory of thcir everyday clothing, when it is evident to everyone who either sees them or hears them that the memory of eternal brightness is always in them, and when they make it clear that they are thinking about the kingdom of God and his righteousness, seeking that before everything else.
(128] The grate of the altar, as well as its sides and horns, is properly ordered to be covered with gold, seeing that the grate was inside, in the middle of 1 Ps. 445 (43:6) 2Ps. 75:10(74:11) 3 Lev. 11:1-3; Deut. 14:4-7 4 2 Tim. 3:5
5 'all use of its wings' = omni pennarum wrtute, literally, 'every strength of the wings'.
Versions of this fable are recounted about a jackdaw and various kinds of birds in Babrius, 72
(LCL: 88-90); about a jackdaw and a peacock in Phaedrus, 1,3 (LCL: 194-6); and about a crow and some unspecified birds in Horace, Ep. 1, 3 (LCL: 272, 8-20). Jerome recalls the crow adorned in colours not its own in Ep. 108, 15, 1 (CSEL 55: 325, 1617). None ofthese would seem to be Bede's source, however, for none of them states that the characters are a crow and some peacocks, and in none of them is the crow said to lose its life.
6 Matt. 6:33
BOOK THREE
the altar, to support the incense which was being prepared, but the sides were visible on thc outside, and the horns, which were also visible outside, protruded out above the top [of the altar]. Now the grate is gilded when the grace of Christ shines in our inner self through faith. The sides are gilded when the same grace of the Lord's love spreads itself out externally through good works. And the horns are gilded when the confidence of fortitude gleams everywhere with the splendour of light withm; with this [confidence] the righteous have learned how to bear with the adversaries of the truth bravely through patience, or to refute and correct them prudently through wisdom. And because such persons as these have every right to say, I have fought the goodjght, I havejnished the race, I have ke 1 the faith; for the rest, there is reservedJor me a crown of righteousness, there
P is rightly added:
30:3 And you shall make for it a crown of gold all around. Surely a crown of gold is all around the dk3r of incense when the saints anticipate eternal rewards on account of the good things that they remember themselves to have done. And the crown is properly made all around the altar to show that everythug they have done is worthy of a heavenly reward, and there is nothing left in such people that needs to be cleansed in the purgatorial fire after their release from thc flesh.2 Morcover, the altar of incense has a crown of gold all around even in those who are lesser in merit.
Although they do not dare to testify openly that there is assuredly reserved for them the reward for the good fight and for keeping the faith, nevertheless, everything thrit they do is done with the intention of pleasing God, and in hope of obtaining the same heavenly reward. There follows:
30:4-5 And two golden rings under the crown on each side, so that the poles may be put into them and the altar may be carried. And the poles you shall also make of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
In accordance with what we have explained above in relation to the altar of holocaust, the ark, and the table,3 these rings with which the altar was carried can be suitably understood as the books of the four gospels, through whose faith and doctrine the saints are raised up above earthly thoughts so that they may be carried through the desert of ths everyday life and conveyed to the heavenly homeland by their progress in good works. In the former instance it was clear that four rings were being enjoined to be made,
1 2 Tim. 4:7-8 2 For Bede's understanding of the purgatorial fire, which he derived largely from Gregory the Great, see Carroll (1946), 178-80, and 12 Goff (1984), 102-3, 112-6. On the emergence of the doctrine of purgatory in Latin Christianity, see Le Gaff (who maintains that purgatory was not understood in a spatialized way until the lwelllh century) and Atwell(1987).
3 Bede, De rub. 1,4; 1,6; 2, 12 (CCSL 119A: 15, 419-20; 24, 773-4; 83, 1619-22)
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
two onone side and two on the other, in this case, however, it is only implied that four is the number of them that are to be made, two rings on each side.
To be sure, the number of the evangelists is more openly evident in the former instance, but in this case something else containing a spiritual mystery very much related to the love of God and neighbour is also present.
For the altar is surrounded with golden rings on every side because the hearts of the elect are strengthened everywhere by the love of God and neighbour. This [love] is pmperly compared to rings, because even though prophecies will eventually be made void, knowledge will be destroyed, and tongues will cease, it will never come to an end.
[I291
Now there are two rings on each side because both of the commandments of charity are distinguished by a twofold virtue. Charity toward God is perfected through sincerity of faith and purity of life, for without faith it is impossible to please God,2 and faith without works is dead.3 The prophet sums up both of these [truths in one little verse when he says, 'But my righteous one lives by faith, ' openly suggesting that the only way that anyone will enter into life is by combining works of righteousness with true faith. In the same way, brotherly love also consists of a twofold virtue, namely of patience and of kindness, as the Apostle bears witness when he says that charity is patient and it is kind. For this reason the Lord also says,
'Forgive, andyou will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. That is, he teaches about patience as the forgiving of debts and about the grace of kindness as the giving of the necessities [of life]; the one, so that we may bravely bear misfortunes from our neighbours, and the other, so that we may joyfully share our good fortune with our neighbours. The altar, thercfore, has two rings on each side when the saints are surrounded with a twofold perfection of charity, for honouring their Creator and for caring for and serving the neighbour as well. Bars overlaid with gold are put into these rings so that the altar may be carried when these [saints] prepare an opening in the mind to receive the brightest sayings of the fathers who have gone before them, through which they are lifted up higher and higher above earthly things and transported to the love of eternal blessings. In the words that follow, it is also mystically designated that they deserve to draw near to heavenly things in spirit, for it says:
1 1 Cor. 133
2 Heb. 11.6
3 Jas. 2:26
4 Bede quotes from Heb. 10:38, although his reference to 'the prophet' shows that he recognizes the original source as Hab. 2:4.
5 1 Cor. 13:4
6 Luke 6:37-8