on his account the tribe of Judah both excels in blessing, and is led last into captivity and saved first, because from it the Lord deigned to take flesh—so much so that from it all were called Jews; he himself is promised to David and to his house and tribe as the one who would reign for ever from his seed. Therefore, if the faith of the nations was wrought for the life to come, the incarnation of Christ for the faith of the nations, and the rest for the incarnation of Christ, then the whole series of acceptances is gathered, from its very intention, to pertain to the age to come. And all these things are also easily confirmed by the testimonies of the New and the Old Testament, since they are everywhere scattered. On types. [Disciple] What is a type?
[Master] What we call a figure, or form, as the Apostle says, 'For all these things happened to them in figure,' and again, 'Adam, who is the form of the one to come'; for it is not out of place that one same thing be signified by many words. [Disciple] What then is a type, or figure? [Master] The manifestation, through deeds, of present or past or future unknown things—according to that which the deeds are. [Disciple] Give types of past things. [Master] As is the humility of the catechumens: for they bear the type of Adam, expelled from Paradise and, out of the consciousness of his sins, fearing the divine countenance; on which account they too go about in public with their heads covered. [Disciple] Give one among present things.
[Master] As the garment of Aaron, which bore the names of the twelve tribes engraved upon stones, showing that he in a certain way made supplication on behalf of the whole people. [Disciple] Give one concerning future things. [Master] In these there is no difficulty; yet, by way of surplus, as in the two sons of Abraham the two testaments were shown. [Disciple] Since we gave an almost similar definition concerning prophecy as well, what is the difference? [Master] That in prophecy, by words, according to that which words are, future things are signified; but in types, things are declared from things. Yet these two can be so mingled in definition that we may say that prophecy is a type in words, according to that which they are words; and conversely, a type is a prophecy in things, insofar as they are known to be things.
On the distinctions of types. [Disciple] How many are the modes of types, or figures? [Master] Principally four: for either glad things are signified by glad, or sad by sad, or glad by sad, or sad by glad. [Disciple] Give examples through the individual modes. [Master] Glad things are indeed signified by glad, as the resurrection of our Lord according to the flesh and his dwelling in heaven is a form of our resurrection and a sign of the future dwelling of the righteous in heaven, as the Apostle says, 'For you are dead, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.'
But sad things are prefigured by sad, as the casting down of the devil and his angels and the promise of future punishment is a figure of those who, for the likeness of their works, will be thrust down to like punishments, just as blessed Peter too uses the same form to deter sinners, saying of God that 'he did not spare the angels that sinned, but delivered them to the prisons of darkness.' The third mode is when glad things are signified by sad, as the transgression of Adam was a type of the righteousness of our Savior, as the blessed Apostle teaches that 'as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of one man many shall be made righteous.'
'For death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the form of the one to come'—that is, the type; for in the Greek the word 'typus' is specially read. Therefore the grace of the second Adam, that is, of Christ, was the form, or type, of the transgression of Adam—prefigured, namely, by way of contrast. The fourth mode is when sad things are figured by glad, as baptism is a figure of the death of our Lord, as the Apostle says, 'For as many of you as were baptized in the death of Jesus were baptized.' For what is gladder than baptism, where we are cleansed from sin and by which we are made sons of God; or sadder than death, to which even he himself, who was about to take it up willingly, nevertheless came in sorrow?
[Disciple] What other things accidentally befall types? [Master] Difference of times: for some are before the Law, as Abel, slain by his brother, prefigured the passion of Christ, and Noah's ark the Church, and the like; but some are under the Law, as the death of Moses himself and the glory of Joshua; some under Grace, as the garments of the baptized and the vestments of the priests and the partaking of the Lord's body and various other things—all of which to show by types pertains not to the teaching of the rules but to the exposition of the text. [Disciple] By what reasoning do we say that figures, or types, pertain to the age to come? [Master] Because the figures of the Old Testament look in intention toward the New;
but the New promises the blessedness of the life to come, and thus all things, from their very intention, run together toward the hope of the age to come. On predictions. [Master] Since we have spoken of the rule of types, let us look at predictions. What is a prediction? [Master] The manifestation of future uncertain things by words, insofar as they are words. [Disciple] What accidentally befalls predictions? [Master] Principally three things: that some were before the Law, some under the Law, some under Grace. In how many ways were predictions made before the Law? [Disciple] In how many ways were predictions made before the Law? [Master] In five:
either concerning generality in common, as 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh'; and again, 'Cursed is the earth in your works'; for this is known to have been foretold to the whole human race through one man: or in part, or half, as 'I will multiply your sorrows, and in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your turning shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you'; for this was said not to the whole human race, but to all women: or singularly, as 'And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she is the mother of all the living': or for the beginning of the Old Testament, as 'Cursed be Canaan; he shall be a servant to his brothers.'
or principally for the New Testament; for when it is said, 'Let us make man to our image and likeness,' and 'Come, let us go down and confound their tongues,' the plural number is an indication of the Trinity, which is preached more openly in the New Testament. And when it is said, 'The blood of thy brother crieth to me from the earth,' the Passion of our Lord is foretold, as the Apostle bears witness in the Epistle to the Hebrews, because the sprinkling of the blood of Christ could cry to God on our behalf more than the blood of Abel had cried against his brother. 20. In how many ways were predictions made under the Law? [The Student] In how many ways were predictions made under the Law? [The Master] In two: either concerning those things which were done under the Law, or concerning those which are under Grace. 21.
How many predictions are there for the things done under the Law? [The Student] For those things which were done under the Law, how many kinds of predictions do we find? [The Master] About twenty-two: for either the increase of the people is foretold, as it is to Abraham, 'And thou shalt be a great and numerous nation'; or the promise of an inheritance, as it is, 'To thy seed I will give this land'; or the separating-out of the unworthy, as it is, 'Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman'; or vengeance upon the enemies of the people and reward to its friends, as it is, 'I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee';
or the deliverance of the people from their enemies, as it is, 'Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall go out thence with great provision,' and so forth; or the lineages and names of certain persons, as Isaac and Samson; or the eminence of descendants, as 'Kings shall come forth from thee'; or the manner of departure, as it is, 'But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age'; or the distinction of peoples, as it is, 'One people shall go before the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger'; or abundance, as it is, 'God shall give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth a plenty of corn and wine'; or divine aid, as it is, 'Behold, I am with thee, keeping thee in every way';
or the choosing of priesthood or of teaching, as it is, 'I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel'; or strength and the immutability of the inheritance, as it is, 'Judah is a lion's whelp; from the root, my son, thou art gone up; couching, thou didst lie down as a lion and as a lion's whelp; who shall rouse him up?'; or a purpose of life, as it is, 'Zebulun shall dwell as a stranger, and he himself shall be a haven of ships,' and 'knowing rest, that it is good,' and so forth; or transgression, as it is said, 'For I know that at the end of my passing you will commit iniquity and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you'; or punishment, as it is, that 'evils shall befall you in the latter days';
or a general casting-out, as it is said, that 'They have provoked me to jealousy with that which is not God and have angered me with their idols, and I will provoke them to jealousy with that which is not a people; I will deliver them over to a foolish nation'; or the effect and reward of virtue, as it is, 'Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle, or who shall rest on thy holy mountain? He that walketh without blemish and worketh justice,' and so forth; or a kind of penalty, as it is, 'Gad came to David and announced to him, saying: Choose for thyself either three years of famine upon the land, or three months to flee from before the face of thine enemies that pursue thee, or three days of mortality in thy land';
or signs, as it is, 'And this shall be a sign to thee, that God hath anointed thee king over his inheritance,' and the rest; or the choosing of a prophet, as it is, 'And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High.' [The Student] Give predictions concerning the nations made on behalf of the people. [The Master] As it is, 'His hand against all, and the hand of all against him,' and 'Arise and go out from this place, for the Lord shall destroy the city.' 2. The visions, too, of Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh and other kings or nations, spoken through the prophets, do indeed relate to causes among the Gentiles; yet the intent regards the people, for whose vindication these several things came to pass. 22. Concerning the predictions under the Law fulfilled in Christ. [The Student] How many modes of prediction are there concerning Christ? [The Master] About twenty-six:
either concerning his conception and name, as it is, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel'; or concerning the place of his nativity, as it is, 'And thou, Bethlehem, city of Judah, art by no means least among the cities of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth a leader who shall rule my people Israel'; or concerning the things he did in his infancy, as it is, 'before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good'; or concerning his justice and judgment, as it is, 'Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows';
or concerning his divinity, as it is, 'Who shall declare his generation?'; or concerning the visitation by which he took on human nature, as it is, 'What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the Son of man, that thou visitest him?'; or for the unity of deity and flesh, as it is, 'A child is born to us; a son is given to us,' and afterward he added, 'the mighty God'; or concerning his power and kingdom, as it is, 'But I am set up as king by him over Zion, his holy mountain'; or concerning the crushing of his enemies, as it is, 'Thou hast subjected all things under his feet'; or concerning his teaching, as it is, 'Beautiful in form above the sons of men'; or concerning the usefulness of his teaching, as it is, 'because of truth and meekness and justice';
or for the miracles, as it is, 'And thy right hand shall lead thee wondrously'; or concerning the glorification which he justly receives from the faithful, as it is, 'Therefore the peoples shall praise thee for ever, and to the age of ages'; or concerning the spreading abroad of his preaching, as it is, 'O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth'; or concerning his priesthood, as it is, 'Thou art a priest for ever'; or concerning his judgment and justice, as it is, 'in the splendors of the saints,' and again, 'He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill up the ruins, he shall crush the heads in the land of many'; or concerning the labors of his life, as it is, 'He shall drink of the torrent in the way';
or Scripture signifies the Father's good pleasure concerning the mystery of the Incarnation, as it is, 'Behold my beloved child, in whom my soul is well pleased'; or the pouring-out of the Holy Spirit, which the man taken up by him assuredly merited, whether at the very beginning of the Incarnation, or in his growth, or in his baptism, or in his miracles, or in his teaching, or in his resurrection, as it is, 'I will put my Spirit upon him,' and 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he hath anointed me,' and the rest; or his carefulness toward his disciples, as it is, 'He shall not strive nor cry out, nor shall anyone hear his voice in the streets'; or his sitting upon a beast of burden, as it is, 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold thy king cometh, sitting upon a colt, the foal of an ass';
or it signifies his sufferings or burial and the causes of them, as it is said, 'We saw him, and he had no form nor comeliness, but his appearance was without honor, lower than all men'; and again, 'a man in stripes and knowing how to bear humiliation, for his face was turned away and dishonored, and reckoned as nothing. He himself bears our sins and grieves for us, and we thought him to be in grief and in stripes and in affliction. But he was wounded for our iniquities and was made weak for our sins'; or the division of his garments, as it is, 'They divided my garments among themselves and cast lots upon my vesture';
or it signifies the resurrection of the Lord, as it is, 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption'; or the calling of the Son according to the humanity he assumed, as it is, 'Out of Egypt I called my son'; or the generation of his divinity before the beginning, as it is, 'Out of the womb before the day-star I begot thee'; or his second coming, as it is, 'Behold, upon the clouds of heaven as the Son of man.' 2. [The Student] Are all the predictions understood concerning our Savior alone? [The Master] In two ways we are accustomed to take these:
for some things are so foretold of his Person that they can fit no other, as it is read, 'The prince shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he come for whom they are laid up'; but others are spoken on occasion of another person, yet in their meaning they look toward Christ, as it is, 'In thee and in thy seed shall all nations be blessed.' 23. Concerning the predictions pertaining under the Law to the calling of the Gentiles. [The Student] Since we have established the predictions spoken concerning Christ in the old Law, give those which are set down concerning the calling of the Gentiles. [The Master] We understand the predictions concerning the calling of the Gentiles to be set down in about seventeen modes:
for sometimes they signify their reception, as when it is said, 'I will provoke them to jealousy with that which is not a people; with a foolish nation I will anger them'; sometimes their infirmities, the casting-out of sins, and the teaching of better things, as when it is said, 'He sent me to proclaim to the poor, to preach release to the captives and sight to the blind'; sometimes the grace they received, whether of adoption or of miracles, as when it is said, 'Daughters of kings are in thy honor; the queen stood at thy right hand'; sometimes an admonition, as that which follows, 'Hearken, O daughter, and see and incline thine ear, and forget thy people'; sometimes the glorification which we owe to Christ, as when it is said, 'because he is the Lord thy God, and thou shalt adore him';
sometimes the blessedness and virtue which the faithful merit, as when it is said, 'Virgins shall be brought to the king after her'; sometimes the gladness in which they are, seeing their own progress, as when it is said, 'They shall be brought with joy and exultation'; sometimes the priesthood and the ecclesiastical order, as when it is said, 'Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee'; sometimes the spiritual building-up of the Church, as when it is said, 'out of the ivory houses, out of which they have delighted thee'; sometimes the ecclesiastical authority, as when it is said, 'thou shalt make them princes over all the earth'; sometimes the fullness of believers, as when it is said, 'the whole earth shall be filled with his glory; so be it, so be it';
sometimes endurance whether of temptation or of persecution, as when it is said, 'until he bring forth judgment unto victory; and in his name shall the nations hope'; sometimes the destruction of enemies, as when it is said, 'and his enemies shall lick the earth'; sometimes the peace in which the Church rejoices after persecutions, as when it is said, 'In his days justice and fullness of peace shall arise, until the moon be taken away'; sometimes the errors of heretics and the presence of Elijah, as when it is said, 'Behold, I send you Elijah the Tishbite, and he shall turn back the hearts of the fathers to the sons'; sometimes the hope of the faithful and the second coming of the Savior, as when it is said, 'and he himself shall be the expectation of the nations';
sometimes the baptism of John, as when it is said, 'Behold, I send my angel before thy face.' 24. Concerning the kinds of predictions which were given under Grace. [The Student] Since we have spoken of the kinds of predictions which are in the Law, give those which are read as set forth under Grace. [The Master] Of the predictions made under Grace, thirty-two kinds are found: for either the birth and life of John the Baptist is foretold, as is that whole speech through the angel to his father Zechariah and the prophecy of Zechariah himself; or the wondrous conception and nativity of the Savior, as is the prediction which the angel spoke to holy Mary, and the revelation to the Magi;
or the unbelief and conversion of the Jews, as it is said, 'Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted'; or the reward of the heavenly kingdom, as it is, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'; or the calling of the Gentiles, as it is said, 'Many shall come from the east and the west and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven'; or the exclusion of the Hebrews, as is that which follows, 'but the children of this kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness'; or salvation through the preaching of the apostles, as when it is said, 'Come after me; I will make you to become fishers of men';
or the brightness of miracles, as it is said, 'He that believeth in me, the works that I do he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do'; or the temptation and persecutions of the just, as it is said, 'For they shall deliver you up in councils, and in their synagogues they shall scourge you,' and so forth; or the patience of the faithful amid adversities, as when it is said concerning the Church, 'and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,' and again, 'the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force'; or the contemplation of the heavenly kingdom and of the second coming, which even in this life the souls of the saints enjoy, as it is, 'For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then shall he render to each one according to his works.
And I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death, until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom'; or the recompense of the good or the evil, as when it is said, 'And these shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just into life everlasting'; or the presence of the Holy Spirit given to the apostles, as it is, 'I will ask my Father, and he will send you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of truth'; or the ecclesiastical authority is foretold, as it is said, 'And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven';
or the death, passion, and resurrection of the Savior, as it is said, 'From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests, and be put to death, and on the third day rise again'; or the general resurrection, as when the Apostle says, 'as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive'; or the resurrection of Christ and ours together, as it is said, 'when I shall be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself'; or the betrayal of Judas, as it is said, 'Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?';
or the manner of the temptation and death of certain disciples, as the Lord foretold to Peter both his coming denial and the kind of his suffering, saying, 'before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice,' and 'when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and lead thee whither thou wilt not'; or the presence of those who would seize Christ, as when he says, 'Arise, let us go; behold, he that shall betray me is at hand'; or the scattering of the apostles, as it is, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered'; or the finding of the ass's colt, which the Lord in the Gospel foretold to the disciples should be brought;
or the presence of Antichrist, as when it is said, 'Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless the falling-away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition who opposeth,' and so forth; or the presence of Elijah, as when it is said, 'Elijah shall come first'; or the conscience of the elect, as concerning Paul, 'this man is to me a vessel of election'; or it is foretold that some shall not be changed but shall taste death, as the Apostle says, 'Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall all indeed rise again, but we shall not all be changed'; or a future famine, as is the prophecy of Agabus; or the contrariety of heresies, as it is said, 'But know this, that in the last days perilous times shall arise';
and again, 'There shall be a time when they shall not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires they shall heap to themselves teachers'; or the grace of baptism, as it is, 'he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire'; or the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Jewish temple, as it is, 'Pray that your flight be not in winter or on the sabbath,' and 'Behold, your house shall be left to you desolate'; or the preaching of the Gospel, as it is said, 'And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the end come'; or the evils of the end itself together with the end, as when it is said, 'Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened.' [The Student] How do we say that these predictions pertain to the age to come?
[The Master] Just as we said concerning the receptions, that the things foretold before the Law had their intent toward the times of the Law or of Grace, and again that the things foretold under the Law prefigured Grace, and that the things under Grace had their cause and reward in the heavenly kingdom: so it is gathered that the whole intent of the predictions looks to the goods of the age to come. 25. Concerning the effects of the predictions. [The Student] Since we have now set forth three parts of those things which we said pertain to the age to come, that is, the receptions and the figures and the predictions, now the fourth part remains, that we may discuss the effects. What, then, are the effects?
[The Master] The effects are the outcomes of those things which either the intent of the receptions foresaw, or the likeness of the types prefigured, or the knowledge of the predictions foretold. 2. [The Student] How many are the times of the effects? [The Master] Three: for either they were accomplished in the time of the Law, the things that were foretold, or they now come to pass under Grace, or they are to be fulfilled in the age to come. 26. What was the reason for making the present age. [The Student] If all things that have been done in the present age were looking toward the age to come, what need was there for the present age to be made by God?
[The Master] Because it was fitting that the rational creatures should first learn and be exercised in uncertainties, and then afterward enjoy eternal things; and that what was given might seem deservedly bestowed upon those who were proved, and might become more welcome to those who remembered the contests they had passed through; and that they might the more glorify the Giver, who both helped the godly in this age so that they might conquer, and granted eternal rewards to the victors. 27. Concerning the teaching of rational beings in this age. [The Student] In how many ways is the teaching of rational beings carried out in this age? [The Master] In two: either from the understanding of the things that have been made, as the Apostle says that 'the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made';
for it is necessary that he who considers the world and all things placed in it, distinguished in their modes and orders, should understand that there is a God who both made and governs these things: or from the divine Scriptures, which, as we have said, are divided into four kinds: the historical, the prophetic, the proverbial, and that which simply teaches. 28. What things are to be observed in the understanding of the Scriptures? [The Student] What are the things we ought to keep in mind in the understanding of the divine Scriptures? [The Master] That the things which are said should befit the speaker; that they should not disagree with the causes for which they are said; that they should accord with the times, places, order, and intent. 2. [The Student] What do we call the intent of the divine teaching?
[The Master] That which the Lord himself declared: that we love God with our whole heart and with our whole soul, and our neighbors as ourselves. But the corruption of the teaching is, on the contrary, not to love God or one's neighbor. [The Student] What is the cause of this contrariety? [The Master] The cause of evils is in those very persons who are evil; for while rational creatures use disorderly the free will rightly granted them by God, they have become to themselves the cause both of malice and of punishment. 29. Whence are the books of the Catholic religion vouched for? [The Student] Whence do we prove that the books of our religion were written by divine inspiration? [The Master] From many things, of which the first is the very truth of the Scripture; then the order of its matters, the harmony of its precepts, the manner of speech free of pomp, and the purity of its words.