Chapter 8. On the Meat and Drink in the City of God.

CONCERNING the meat and drink of the city of God, we find these words in the Apocalypse : " And he showed me a river of the water of life clear as crystal, pro ceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And in the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding

its fruits every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations/' (chap, xxii.) I am afraid, that some, judg ing from these words, may wonder at the scantiness of food in heaven, and. think that more substantial meat is to be found in this land of our exile ; since in the Apocalypse we read of nothing, but the fruit of one tree for food, and the water of a river for drink. But those who suppose such a thing should remember, that in the terrestrial paradise, where doubtless there was better food than we have now, Adam was only allowed to eat fruit and herbs, and drink water ; but this fruit and water were far superior to all the food and wine of this life, though not so in any degree, to the "tree of life/' and the living water of the heavenly paradise. In this vale of misery, all men are sickly and have their sense of taste corrupted by a kind of bitterness, and therefore to remove this nausea, they have invented various kinds of food ; but this variety so lessens the nausea, as to increase the disease. In the terrestrial paradise however, men were healthy, for the sweetness and wholesomeness of the food and of the water were such, as to be able perfectly to nourish them, and to their great delight, to keep them in continual health ; we may add also, that their food was abundantly supplied, without the labour and toil of procuring it. But the living water and "the tree of life" in the city of God, are not like the meat and drink

of man in common with animals, such as we have in this world ; but so excellent, so great, so divine are they, that the Prophet sings, " They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure." (Psalm xxxv.) Neither is this meat or drink any thing corporal, but it is spiritual and divine, of which we read in Ecclesiasticus: "She will give him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink ;" and the^tree of life is that bread, of which it is written in the same place, " with the bread of life and understanding she shall feed him." (chap. 15.) And as St. Augustine teacheth, "in corporal things food is one thing, and drink another," but in spiritual matters, food and drink are the same ; that is, wisdom, or understanding, 01^ intelligence, which signify the same thing, is food that nourishes and drink that extinguishes thirst. But by the " livingVater," wisdom also may be signified, and by the " tree of life," charity ; thus St. John in his first Epistle, " We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death." (chap, iii.) To love as well as to understand, are both spiritual actions ; wherefore, the drink of the saints in the city of ^God, is to drink of the living river that springs from the foun tain of life, which is God; this means, to enjoy a participation of that ^ wisdom by which God is wise, and which is most pro-

found, high, and unspeakable. The food of the same saints is to eat of the " tree of life ;" that is, to enjoy a share of that ineffable love, whereby goodness itself being clearly seen can be loved, and by which God loves Himself, who is infinitely good, and the fountain of all goodness. What these signify, we cannot, nor shall we be able to understand, until we arrive at this blessed city. But when St. John says, ff that on both sides of the river is the tree of life, yielding its fruit every month," we must understand the passage metaphori cally, that by a comparison taken from corporal things we may understand the spiritual. The blessed Evangelist intended to point out to us the tree of infinite good ness; and that he might do this, he des cribed the tree which grew at the bank of the river, and which from its excellence, being continually watered, produced fruit every month, not every yoar as others do. Neither does he wish to intimate, that there is only one tree, but many of the same kind, which are so planted on both sides of the river flowing through the middle of the city, that there is little space between the one and the other ; and in this manner, the view of the whole city can be enjoyed, and the flow of the water as well as the fruit of the tree. The goodness of the tree is sig nified by the words tree of life ; its fruitfulness by the production of new fruit every month. Hence it is, that the inhabitants

of the city always have fresh and ripe fruit — • fresh, from having it every month — ripe, from having had it the month immediately preceding: it is never rotten, never dry, never insipid. All this signifies, that the food of the blessed, (that is, the wisdom by which they perfectly see God, and the charity whereby they perfectly love Him,) is the best, .and never faileth. That which the holy Evangelist adds concerning the leaves of the tree, "for the healing of the nations/' seems to mean, that in this our exile, the fruit of the tree of life itself will never be given unto us, but only its leaves ; these, however, although they confer not eternal life, are yet useful in " healing" our disorders, the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, the pride of life, &c., by which all men are enfeebled more or less. These leaves are the divine revelations of the prophets and apostles, sent to us from heaven. 0 ! how sweet an odour would these leaves scatter, if we had the spirit of the Lord. Read the Prophets, the Psalmist, the Gospels, the Epistles of SS. Peter, Paul, John, James, Jude, all these breathe humility, charity, and continency, of which the philosophers make no mention."*

Wherefore, Christian soul, diligently

• St. Jerome also says, " Oro te, Frater charissime, inter hrec vivere, ista meditari, nihil aliud nosse, /lihil quserere; nonne tibi yidetur jam hie in terris Regni coai^stis habitaculum." (Epist. ad Fauliimm.) g

peruse these leaves, make unto thee from them a daily medicine ; and imagine what must be the fruit thereof. And, then despis ing the husks of swine, ardently sigh for the fruit of Eternal life which is above ; think of it, and as long as it is deferred, let the memory of it never depart from thee.