Preface.

tangled and confused multitudes and gatherings of unbelievers in beauty.

2. Yet, just as in the Dawn, the Sun, and especially the Moon, certain changes in their rising, their radiance, and the place of their appearance are perceived, so too one sees similar changes in regard to this external adornment of the Church—various and sometimes very sorrowful changes occur.

For 1. The Sun, Moon, etc., change their rising and setting in terms of time and place, climbing or descending according to the variety of the seasons of the year. Likewise, one finds this change regarding place in the Church, which had its rising and the appearance of its beauty in Mesopotamia, Canaan, Egypt, in the Wilderness, Palestine, etc. And thereafter in Greece, where it also had its decline|original: "declinatie," a term used both for the setting of a celestial body and the fading of an era, thereafter in Italy, and further it has wandered across the earth more and more.

2. The Dawn, Sun, and Moon do not always shine equally bright and do not always show the same form, for they are subject to darknesses that hinder the radiance of their light. It is the same with the Church, which does not always appear equally beautiful and does not always show itself equally glorious; for it is often clouded over with scandals and errors, by which it is led away from its Bridegroom In Christian allegory, Jesus Christ is the "Bridegroom" and the Church is his "Bride."; sometimes it sits in heavy anxieties and sorrow, when, being driven away by persecutions, it is hindered in its worship. And such change is clearly demonstrated and set before our eyes through the depiction which is painted for us in various ways in the Song of Solomon original: "hooge liet Salomonis": For sometimes she is closer to her Bridegroom, fully enjoying him; sometimes she is heartily longing for him and seeking him; sometimes having gone astray, she is sought by him; then she is presented as a frightened dove hiding herself in the clefts of the rocks. See, in the same way it is with the Church of Christ here on earth, which sometimes flourishes for a time in peace, hearing the voice of her Bridegroom through the preaching of the Word of God, even as if kissing him through the receiving of the Holy Sacraments, and rejoicing in him. Sometimes wandering a bit from her Bridegroom. When her Bridegroom, being deeply concerned for her salvation, seeks her, and sometimes she is frightened by intense persecutions and cast out into the world: and then one sees her longing more for him and seeking him more fervently: and according to these various states of hers, one always notices changes.