EXPLANATION. FIRST BOOK. FOLIO 10.

An ornamental drop cap 'I' marks the start of the text.

In this page, therefore, the Cross of the Lord is seen depicted and written along with the figures of the Seraphim and Cherubim placed around it. These are introduced into this work here to show with what great foresight and arrangement divine mercy has always provided for the salvation of the human race. He willed the appearance of our redemption to be seen beforehand through prophetic revelation in those very angelic spirits. He also decreed to make known the eternal reconciliation to the world through the prophetic works constructed in the entrances of the Tabernacle and the Temple: that is, in those very Cherubim placed next to the Ark beyond the veil.

Furthermore, although many authors have interpreted many things regarding the appearance and position of these beings, and have written various things with different styles but not with different faith: it nevertheless seems appropriate to me, while preserving the tradition of the elders, that these beings in their appearance represent the model figure of the holy Cross. This is because their positions occupy the same intervals, and they extend in their positions similarly upward and downward, to the right and to the left. Finally, the prophet Isaiah narrates the following about the Seraphim among other things, saying: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the things that were under Him filled the temple. Seraphim stood above it: one had six wings and the other had six wings; with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew; and one cried to the other and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts term: Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of His glory."

What then does this position of the six wings of the Seraphim prefigure, if not the image of the Cross of Christ? Those wings that covered the upper part of his body, that is the face, must necessarily be raised upward toward the head, and for this reason they clearly demonstrate the upper part of the Cross. Those, however, which covered the lowest part, that is the feet, must be believed to have been sent downward, and for this reason they signify the lower part of the Cross. Those two which were extended for flying, what else do they signify than the transverse wood of the Cross in which the arms and hands of the Lord were extended? And therefore, in the position of these six wings of the Seraphim, no wise person doubts that the sign of the entire Cross of Christ is clearly expressed.

It is also well that they are interpreted as "advancing" or "burning," because they demonstrate that form in which all opposing powers were overcome, and the sins of the whole world were consumed and deleted. Indeed, they commend to the elect of God that fire which the Lord testified He came to send upon the earth and willed that it should burn. And rightly, with a triple voice, they encouraged all the elect to the praise of the holy Trinity: that is, those who were before the coming of the Savior, those who lived during the presence of His incarnation, and whoever are still to be converted to the faith after His ascension into heaven until the end of the world. For one passion of Christ redeemed all together from the Jews and the Gentiles alike.

Furthermore, those Cherubim that were crafted in the Tabernacle or the Temple, what else did they display by the extension of their wings than the image of the Cross of Christ? Concerning them, it is well narrated in the Book of Kings that they were made ten cubits in height, and had ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing. To this likeness, the form of the human body can also be compared, whose

width in the extension of the arms, from the tip of the fingers of one hand to the tip of the fingers of the other hand, is almost as great as its height or length, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head. These therefore stood next to the Ark and the mercy seat propitiatorium, because they demonstrated the true reconciliation in the incarnation of the Savior to the human race. These also always had wings extended in the manner of a Cross, because they rightly made known our perpetual redemption in the passion of Christ the Savior.

On the Cross itself, this verse is written in the length, going from the top downward: Behold the nourishing citadel of the Cross: the holy construction of salvation. original: En arx alma Crucis: fabrica sancta salutis. This one indeed is in the width: Behold, this is the throne of the king: this is the reconciliation of the world. original: En thronus hic regis: hec conciliatio mundi. Elegiac verses are also written on the Seraphim and Cherubim. For on that Seraph which stands above the right arm of the Cross, these are the verses: The Seraphim shows the signs of the Cross of Christ to the heavens. And by the position of the wings, he proves all these things are sacred. On the one indeed above the left arm, these: For these companions exult in celebrating the High One with this praise. Crying out the scepters of the Lord of Hosts term: Sabaoth with three voices. In the Cherub on the right, these are the verses: From here the Cherubim mark these holy banners as a triumph. And with wings spread wide, he notes the outstretched arms. In the one on the left, indeed, these: They stand as assistants at the side of the citadel and hide the sacred coverings. And they prove these things were made as a mercy by their service.