i8 74 ] WHAT TO SEEK IN THE BIBLE 219 



in medulla est,&quot; i.e. in the spiritual sense, which not only 

 in Moses, but in the Evangelists and Apostles, is covered 

 with a veil. 1 In an important letter to Paulinus (ii. 2) 

 in which he gives a general sketch of Scripture, he dwells 

 with delight on the Apocalypse, which has as many 

 mysteries as words. Nay, even this praise, he adds, 

 falls short of the merit of a book in which every vocable 

 conceals manifold meanings. Of the historical books 

 he speaks half apologetically. Thus the Acts seems 

 only a bare history of the infancy of the Church ; though 

 no doubt Luke, the admirable physician, has concealed 

 in every word some medicine for the languishing soul. 

 As if, forsooth, next to the Gospel history, anything 

 could be more profitable to the soul than the plain literal 

 history of the first days of the Church ! For the rest, 

 the allegorical interpretation is carried out by Jerome 

 with greater formality, but with more timidity than by 

 the boldly self-conscious Origen. It was from him, 

 perhaps, that the mediaeval Church derived its scheme 

 of four senses, Literal, Ethical, Dogmatic or Allegorical, 

 and Anagogic. 2 But in carrying out this scheme he is 

 oppressed by a feeling of insecurity, a dread of falling into 

 forced interpretations. 3 If a prophet like David must 

 pray that his eyes may be opened before he can see the 

 wonderful things of God s law, &quot; qua nos putas parvulos 

 et paene lactantes inscitiae nocte circumdari ! &quot; There 

 is something more than modesty in these expressions of 

 infantile weakness face to face with God s Word, which 

 are only too closely copied through all the middle ages. 4 

 They imply a real sense that the current methods gave 



1 Ad Paulinum ii. 14 of Ep. Sel., Paris, 1639. 



2 Clemens Al. had already hinted at this. Cf. Reuss, Gesch. d. N.T. 

 sect. 510. In the west Reuss finds it first in Eucherius. But Jerome on 

 Amos iv. (T. vi. p. 270, ed. Veron., 1736), already distinguishes the Alle 

 goric and Anagogic sense, though he maintains the division into three 

 senses by uniting the Literal and Ethical. 



3 E.g. Comm. on Micah ii. T. vi. p. 459. 



4 Cf. Diestel, Gesch. des A.T.p. 157, sect. 20. 



