15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
The wonders of seeing are here exposed. First, as to seeing friends, second as to enemies. There: "All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: 'We have destroyed her'" (Verse 16).
Regarding friends their compassion is expressed by four signs. First, by the clap of hands: "all who pass along the way clap their hands at you." Namely, along the way upon the earth, seeing the earth's vastness.
Then,"they hiss" by a movement of their head. And,"wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem".
Then so, by word: "Is this the city which was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?"
Because, in both spiritualities and temporalities (Jerusalem) was: "the joy of all the earth". For peoples assembled there in solemnities. And Psalm 48(47):2 declares: "beautiful in elevation is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great king."
[AD 1274] Thomas Aquinas on Lamentations 2:15
Regarding friends their compassion is expressed by four signs. First, by the clap of hands: "all who pass along the way clap their hands at you." Namely, along the way upon the earth, seeing the earth's vastness.
Then,"they hiss" by a movement of their head. And,"wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem".
Then so, by word: "Is this the city which was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?"
Because, in both spiritualities and temporalities (Jerusalem) was: "the joy of all the earth". For peoples assembled there in solemnities. And Psalm 48(47):2 declares: "beautiful in elevation is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great king."