Your breasts better than wine; fragrance of ointments
For your breasts are better than wine. The breasts of the Word are teaching that nourishes little ones with milk and the perfect with solid food. The letter of the law is compared to wine, which sometimes intoxicates toward the letter without the spirit. Christ’s breasts are better, because they bring grace and truth. The fragrance of your ointments is above all spices: the name of Christ and the fame of his preaching have filled the whole world with fragrance.
Latin
Quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino. Ubera Verbi doctrina est lacte nutrimens parvulos et solido cibo perfectos. Vino legis littera comparatur, quae aliquando inebriat ad litteram sine spiritu. Ubera Christi meliora sunt, quia gratiam et veritatem afferunt. Odor unguendorum tuorum super omnia aromata: nomen Christi et fama praedicationis eius universum mundum replevit odore.
About this text
Origen’s Commentary on the Song of Songs, Liber I (Rufinus’s Latin). Complete on this page: §§1–20.
English follows Baehrens, Origenes Werke VIII (GCS 33, 1925), Rufinus’s Latin of Commentary Liber I. Lawson ACW 26 was not used as wording. This page is Liber I §§1–20 (closeout).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Baehrens, Origenes Werke VIII = GCS 33 (1925) (Latin · Commentary Liber I §§1–20)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.