Fathers

Loading…

What the Fathers say

Proverbs 30:18

Western Saints

Ambrose of Milan

An eagle and a ship and a serpent are not of one family and nature but of a distinguishable and different substance, and yet they are three. On the testimony of Scripture, therefore, [the Arians] learn that their arguments are against themselves.Therefore, in saying that the substance of the Father and of the Son is diverse and their Godhead distinguishable, [the Arians] themselves assert there are two gods. …

Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.3.40-41 ↗

Bede

Three things are difficult for me, etc. As far as history is concerned, it is as it is written; but because he speaks through parables, the way of an eagle in the sky is difficult to find: that is, the subtlety of the enemy, which flies around the hearts of heavenly men, is discovered with great labor. Similarly, the way of a serpent on the ground, that is, the cunning of the poisonous enemy, never ceasing to lay snares for those he sees founded on the rock of faith. …

Commentary on Proverbs ↗

Bonaventure

Most incomprehensible is wisdom that travels along roads that are beyond investigation. Concerning this, it is said in Proverbs: "Three things are too wonderful for me, yes, four I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden." "The way of an eagle in the air" came about in the ascension of Christ; "the way of a serpent upon the rock," in the resurrection, for a serpent is renewed upon the rock where it sheds its old skin; …

Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8 ↗