Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Daniel 4:24

Western Saints

Jerome

Verses 24, 25. "'This is the interpretation of the sentence of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king. They shall cast thee forth from among men and thy habitation shall be with cattle and wild beasts...'" Daniel moderates the severity of the sentence by complimentary language, so that (variant: and) after he has first set forth the harsher aspects, he may moderate the king's alarm by assurances of the kindlier treatment to follow. He draws the final inference:

St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER FOUR ↗

Gregory the Dialogist

Often, when means are abundant, and many things can be done for subordinates to admire, the mind exalts itself in thought, and fully provokes to itself the anger of the judge, though not breaking out in overt acts of iniquity. For he who judges is within; that which is judged is within. When, then, in heart we transgress, what we are doing within ourselves is hidden from men, but yet in the eyes of the judge we sin. …

The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 1, Chapter 4 ↗