by Humbert of Romans
CHAPTER TWO
XII. Some Figures of the Preacher
It has been noted that the Holy Scriptures multiply with a prodigal lavishness figures which represent preachers. The gloss gives this reason for it: it is because preachers must learn well what they ought to do and what fruits they ought to produce, each in his own way, according to the signification of these different similitudes.
“Thou shalt be,” says Jeremiah, “as the mouth of the Lord, if thou wilt separate the precious from the vile” (Jer. 15:19).
It is exactly this that preachers do: they, then, are the mouth of the Lord.
“The light of my countenance,” Job says, “fell not upon the earth” (Job 29:24);
which the gloss says, means that the Church does not preach the divine mysteries in all their brightness to earthly men. Thus the preacher, to whom it belongs to make this brightness shine out, is justly called the countenance of the Lord.
“I will glorify the place of my feet” (Isaiah 60:13),
says Isaiah, to which the gloss adds that these feet are the preachers. Being then, at once, the voice, the countenance, and the feet of the Lord, every minister of His Word should allow nothing to appear on his face which is not on the face of God; and finally, he should carry God wherever he goes, as the feet carry the body.
Preachers are likened to Angels.
“The seven angels prepared themselves to sound the trumpets” (Rev. 8:6);
and according to the gloss, these angels represent the army of preachers. Preachers, then, must take care that there is in them nothing of the devil or of the beast, but on the contrary they must be above the common run of men, like unto Angels.
Preachers are also called, the
“eyes, teeth, neck, or breasts of the Church”
and such-like things, as are found in the Canticle of Canticles (Cant. 4). To these titles are attached diverse obligations. Preachers are the eyes of the Church, of they watch over souls in His name; they are the teeth for they grind the wicked and make them enter into the bowels of the Church; they are the neck, because they have as their mission, to recount the eternal joys, to maintain the breath of life, and to transmit the bread of sound doctrine; they are the breasts, for they give milk to those who, in Christ, are still little children. Again, as Job puts it, preachers are “heavens.”
“The divine Spirit has adorned the heavens” (Job 26:13),
that is, has adorned preachers. It behooves them, therefore, to shine forth as the heavens, with the brilliance of their many virtues.
They are “stars” he says at another time:
“God shutteth up the stars as it were under a seal” (Job 9:7); preachers according to the gloss ought to illuminate the earth in the night of this world.
They are called the “gates of heaven.”
“He had opened the doors of heaven,” says the book of Psalms (Ps. 77:23);
and these doors, according to the gloss, are preachers. It belongs to them to open a passageway to heaven, so that men may enter, and also to pass on the graces of heaven in order that they may flow over the face of the earth.
Preachers are also likened to clouds; for like clouds in the sky, they should encompass the whole world;
“The clouds,” says Job, “go round about all things (Job 37:12),
as preachers do, says the gloss, when the traverse the world, casting their light upon the very ends of the earth. In the same vein, they are compared to the snow that
“God commandeth to go down upon the earth” (Jer. 37:6).
In fact, water accumulates in the heavens, the gloss tells us, to form snow, and in falling upon the earth, the snow turns again to water spreading over all the land. In like manner, the “snow” gathered in the sublime hearts of the Saints in contemplation falls upon the earth where it is melted by the charity of the preachers, and in the form of his humble words flows into the hearts of the people.
They are also called the “thunder” –
“When the seven thunders,” it is written in the Apocalypse, “spoke out their voices” (Rev. 10:3).
These seven thunders represent preachers, because they ought, according to the gloss, inspire the fear of God. And St. Gregory explains the text of Job; We should hear in thunder the preaching of the fear of God; which shakes the hearts of men.
Someone says that preachers are “precious stones.” “The king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple” (III Kings 5:17). And these stones, on which the edifice rests, are the holy doctors, whose preaching edifies the Church and adorns it with virtues.
It is also said that the preachers are “mountains,” because, according to the gloss, the mountains first receive the bounties of heaven, passing them on to the low-lying lands.
“Let the mountains receive peace for the people and the hills justice” (Ps. 71:3),
is written in the book of Psalms.
Again, preachers are said to be “fountains” because their words flow out like water from a spring.
“Thou hast broken up the fountains, O my God” (Ps. 73:15),
that is, according to the gloss, you have raised up preachers to pour waters of eternal wisdom.
It is said that they imitate “eagles,” which swoop down on carcasses; and preachers, in much the same way, search from afar the souls dead in sin.
“Wheresoever the carcass shall be, the eagle is immediately there” (Job 38:36.)
Every holy preacher anxiously hastens to wherever sinners are to be found in order to shed over them the life-giving light, which dispels the darkness of death into which sin has cast them.
Preachers are like the “cock,” whose song announces the dawn:
“Who gave the cock understanding?” (Job 38:36.)
The gloss explains that the preacher, in the midst of the darkness of the present life, awaits the coming of the light which will rise upon the world, and announces the light by his words, just as the cock announces the day by his song.
And again, they are compared to “ravens,” for in these birds are certain good qualities found in preachers:
“Who provideth food for the raven, when her young ones cry to God?” (Job 38:41.)
Is not the raven the preacher, whose little ones, the gloss tells us, which beaks open for nourishment, wail in the bottom of the nest? In order to facilitate his mission God gives the preacher an abundance of grace not only for his own use but also for the nourishment of those placed under his charge.
The preacher is compared to a “dog”:
“There are,” according to Isaiah, “dumb dogs not able to bark” (Isaiah 56:10).
To bark is t o preach, says the gloss, and the preacher is likened to the dog because he ought to run here and there devouring souls and gathering them into the Church, as it is written in the Book of Psalms, and ordinances.
“King Assuerus,” it is written in Esther, “sent letters to all the province of his kingdom” (Esth. 1:22);
that is, according to the gloss, God has recourse to the preachers to make known to the world His warnings and reprimands.
They are fearless “companions in arms,” with whom David filled the earth with his exploits. The Lord says in Isaiah of these valiant men:
“I have called my strong ones in my wrath,” (Isaiah 13:3)
– St. Paul for example, adds the gloss. The sacred text continues:
“The Lord of host hath given charge to the troops of war” (Isaiah 13:4),
providing them, concludes the gloss, with the armor of the great Apostle, in order to annihilate by their preaching those who oppose the knowledge of God.
Preachers are also “stewards” of the true Solomon, furnishing his table with all that is needed for the banquet. The book of Kings tells us, in fact,
“that the governors of Solomon furnished the necessaries for his table, with great care in their time” (III Kings 4:27).
And thus by preaching and disseminating the true doctrine, preachers work in harmony in order that nothing be lacking in the house of God, and that His table be abundantly served with whatever may nourish the faithful.
They are equally the “constructors” who under the direction of Esdras raised from its ruins the temple of the living God. It is written in the book of Esdras:
“They gave money to hewers of stone and to masons” (I Esd. 3:7)
– the gloss understand here preachers who have united with the bonds of charity the hearts of those to whom they have taught the good life, just as the workers joined together with cement the square, polished stones which went into the making of the building.
Preachers are, finally, the vigilant “sentinels” placed in charge of the house of Israel, that is, the Holy Church, in order to warn it of approaching danger.
“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel” (Ezek. 3:17).
And the gloss gives this qualification to the preacher, because by his life he ought to elevate himself to the heights and from there mount watch over the salvation of the city of God.
In the preceding it should be noted that the figures, under which preachers are placed and which instruct them in their duties, are classified into nine groups; the first refers to God; the second, to the Angels; the third, to the Church; the fourth, to the heavens; the fifth, to the air; the sixth, to the earth; the seventh, to the birds; the eighth, to the terrestrial animals; the ninth, to the different offices that men hold.
Happy is the preacher who succeeds in uniting in himself all that these figures represent!
