Fathers

Song of Solomon 4

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Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

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What the Fathers say

Song of Solomon 4:15

Eastern Fathers

Cyril of Jerusalem

Now who is the "fountain sealed," or who is signified by the "wellspring of living water"? It is the Savior himself, of whom it is written: "For with you is the fountain of life."

Catechetical Lecture 14:5 ↗

Western Saints

Ambrose of Milan

And about mystical wells it remains for us, which we also find in the Song of Songs, as Scripture says: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and flowing down from Lebanon. For if you pursue the depth of mysteries, the well appears to you as if the mystical wisdom is located in the profound: but if you desire to draw from the abundance of charity, which is greater and richer than faith and hope, then the fountain is for you. …

On Isaac and the Soul 4.26 ↗

Bede

Fountain of gardens, well of living waters, etc. The fountain of gardens is born among others in the enclosed garden of the Lord, because the heavenly doctrine has proceeded into the world from the primitive Church, which would generate many churches for the Lord, that is, spiritual gardens. To which fountain it is rightly inferred, the well of living waters which is a fountain, except that a well is always at a height, whereas a fountain, being always submerged in height, can also be at the highest peak of the land. …

Commentary on the Song of Songs ↗

Robert of Tombelaine

Rightly in the sendings forth, she is described as a fountain of gardens and a well of living waters. For what is designated by the fountain and the well, if not Holy Scripture? Which so generates the water of wisdom that it both always refreshes those who drink and yet does not cease to flow. It is fittingly said to belong to gardens, because Holy Scripture belongs especially to those in whose minds the seeds of virtues spring up. …

Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 4 ↗