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VRSZ
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Translation
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What the Fathers say
Western Saints
Augustine of Hippo
What does "catch" mean? [This means to] come to grips with them, convince, refute them, so that the vineyards of the church may not be spoiled. What else is catching foxes, but overcoming heretics with the authority of the divine law, and so to say binding and tying them up with the cords provided by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures? [Samson] catches foxes, ties their tails together and attaches firebrands. What's the meaning of the foxes' tails tied together? …
Bede
Catch for us the little foxes, etc. Indeed, the foxes that destroy the vineyards are heretics and schismatics, who with the teeth of perverse doctrine are accustomed to tear apart the flourishing vineyards of Christ, that is, the unripe minds of the faithful. If only we did not know how much they tend to damage them! …
Bernard of Clairvaux
"Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards" (Song 2:15). Behold, I go after these foxes. They are the ones who pass beyond the way and who plunder the vineyard. They are not content to desert the way, unless they can also lay waste the vineyard, adding transgression. It is not enough for them to be heretics, unless they be also hypocrites, so that sin may be sinful beyond measure. These are they who come in sheep's clothing to strip the sheep bare and to despoil the rams. …
Translation