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1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. 2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. 4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. 5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. 6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. 7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. 8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. 9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? 11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. 12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. 13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
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[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:1
Where has your beloved gone, etc.? The beloved is said to depart and turn away, not because the Lord ever abandons those whom He has already acquired and continues to acquire others, but because by the power of His divine nature He can be present everywhere. Thus, He goes or turns away to associate with others whenever He wills, yet still preserving in grace those whom He has already gathered to Himself. As He says to Moses: "Gather for me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders of the people and officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them" (Numbers 11:16). Not that He lessened the grace given to Moses, but because He made those whom Moses had, partakers of that grace. This is like the example of a flame, from which when you light a candle, you ignite it with light, and the flame from which you light it remains whole. It can also be rightly understood that the beloved departs and turns away from the bride for a time, when we, longing with love for Him, are inflamed to the point of shedding tears, fulfilling the duty of prayer with fixed and unwavering intent, transferring the entire mind from carnal desires to eternal things. Yet, He does not always grant what is desired. Therefore, we rightly ask those whom we believe to know and are worthy of such a quest, where the Lord has gone or turned away, desiring to be shown the presence of those who with greater virtues and signs of a pure mind reveal the divine grace within them, so that by their example and discourse, we may also ourselves be instructed and more and more progressively grow in the love of our beloved. And they rightly say, "And we will seek Him with you," because any soul that tries to seek Christ without the companionship of the holy Church will not be counted among the daughters of Jerusalem, but rightly among those of whom the mother of holy Samuel, holding the type of the Church, says to the despising priest of the synagogue: "Do not consider your maidservant as one of the daughters of Belial" (1 Samuel 1:16).

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Song of Solomon 6:1
My beloved is gone down into his garden: Christ, pleased with the good works of his holy and devout servants labouring in his garden, is always present with them: but the words is gone down, are to be understood, that after trying his Church by permitting persecution, he comes to her assistance and she rejoices at his coming.
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:2
My beloved has gone down into his garden, etc. It is already known what the garden of the beloved is. For he himself said: A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse. Certainly, his garden is the Church; his garden is each chosen soul. And well has he said, My beloved has gone down into his garden, adding his, that is, the garden he himself made, he himself cultivated, he himself planted with the spices of virtues, he himself irrigated with the fountain of his grace so it would not wither; he himself enclosed it with the wall of his protection so it would not be defiled by outsiders. This is the garden of which he himself said: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden, and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air lodged in its branches (Luke XIII). The mustard seed, indeed, is the word of the Gospel, humble in appearance, fervent in power; which, being received by the Father, God and man himself sowed in his Church, and gave it such increase that, like a noble tree, it spread its branches of faith and virtues far and wide over the world, in which even angelic spirits rejoice for human salvation, and the citizens of heaven believe that they have gained increased rest when earthly beings are recalled to the heavenly realms. For it was not in vain that the same beloved, about to be captured in the garden, crucified in the garden, buried in the garden, rose victorious from the dead in the garden. He wanted to be believed by Mary, who first deserved to see the glory of his resurrection, as a gardener, for in his own garden, namely the Church, among the various plantings of divine gifts, he also took care to plant the virtue of patience in this life through the contempt of death, the desire for blessed immortality in the reception of the body after the dissolution of the body, with the hope of blessed peace to end this life. And indeed, he is said to have descended into his garden, but not to have entered it: for the place of the beloved is on high, since he dwells in high places, and regards the lowly (Ps. 112). The place of the garden is in the low, in the valley of tears; but he who descended unto it from above, disposed the ascent in his heart, by which he might reach the place of supreme happiness. Hence appropriately it is said above in regard to the same garden, that is, the Church: Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, like a column of smoke perfumed with myrrh? Thus a marvelous dispensation of divine mercy, that the Lord is said to descend into the Church, and the Church to ascend to the Lord. For divine grace descends to us from above, which, by assisting us, makes us ascend upwards. This was mystically signified in Exodus, when the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, and Moses ascended: for the latter ascended to gain the progress of virtues; the former descended to impart gifts. Therefore, after having said: My beloved has descended into his garden, he also adds how the same garden is constituted, with what produce it is fruitful, when he immediately subjoins: To the beds of spices. For the bed of spices is the mind of the faithful, taught by the discipline of right faith, as if composed of equal sides on both sides, and frequently turned over by careful digging, and purged of useless weeds; for indeed with careful consideration it examines itself, and with diligent thought endeavors that nothing profane, nothing unclean, nothing contrary to salutary matters, may be found by the heavenly Farmer; and strives to render itself worthy, in which the beloved, the sower of righteousness, may propitiously plant the spices of virtues with his grace, and by his frequent assistance, may water them lest they wither. This most beautifully declares its heavenly desire, at the beginning of the forty-first psalm, in accordance with the Hebrew truth, saying: As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, God (Ps. 41). But descending into his garden or to the bed of spices, it is shown what the Lord does there, when it is added:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:2
To be fed in the gardens, etc. He is fed in the gardens, because He delights in the pious labors of the saints; He is fed in the gardens, because they are indeed His members to whom the fruits of righteousness come; and it should be understood not only of carnal but even of spiritual alms, which He predicted He would declare in judgment: “As long as you did it to one of these least of my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25). He gathers lilies when He leads the righteous, having attained to the perfect whiteness of merits, out of this life and brings them to the heavenly kingdom. This He fully emphasizes with the spur of immense charity, adding the following two verses:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 601] Leander of Seville on Song of Solomon 6:3
So long as Christ wishes there to be one church of all nations, whoever is a stranger to the church is not considered a part of the body of Christ, even though he uses the name of Christian. That heresy which rejects the unity of the Catholic church is to him a concubine and not a wife, in that it loves Christ with an adulterous love, since Scripture says that there are actually two in one flesh, that is, Christ and the church, in which there is no third place for a harlot. “One is my friend, one is my bride, only daughter of her mother.” Of whom, likewise, the same church speaks, saying, “My lover belongs to me, and I to him.”

Source: HOMILY ON THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH
[AD 601] Leander of Seville on Song of Solomon 6:3
He is, indeed, your true bridegroom. He is also your brother. He is likewise your friend. He is your inheritance. He is your reward. He is God and the Lord. You have in him a bridegroom to love: “For he is fair in beauty above the sons of men.” … He is a friend of whom you need not doubt, for he himself says, “You are my only lover.” You have in him the inheritance that you may embrace, for he is himself the portion of your inheritance. You have in him the reward that you may recognize, for his blood is your redemption. You have in him God by whom you may be ruled, the Lord to fear and honor.

Source: THE TRAINING OF NUNS, PREFACE
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:3
“I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine,” etc. I prepare a delightful pasture for my beloved in the beds of spices, that is, in the pure hearts of the faithful, and my beloved to me, who is fed among the holy desires of chaste minds, returns this in exchange for His grace by fulfilling the same desires of His faithful ones whom He has nurtured. He fulfills them by plucking them from this paradise of sacred pleasure and gathering them into the secret chambers of the heavenly mansions, where before His glory, with eternal immortality of flesh and spirit, they shine brightly with a dual aspect like lilies, that is, both golden and white, and as if spreading the sweet fragrance of their virtues throughout all the inhabitants of the eternal homeland. Thus far, the voice of the holy Church is heard, seeking and praising her Lord and desiring to see His face; but since He can never be absent from His lovers, but where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of them, indeed even if one of His own is enclosed among lions, detained in the depths of the sea, or surrounded by the belly of a whale, if separated from other mortals, there He is with him. Therefore, His voice follows, declaring to those who search for Him and converse about Him that He was always present with them and heard what they spoke about, rewarding their devotion to Him with worthy praise, saying:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Song of Solomon 6:4
He who was spoiled by the soldiers, who was wounded by the spear, that he might heal us by the blood of his sacred wounds, will assuredly answer you (for he is meek and lowly of heart, and gentle in aspect): “Arise, O north wind, and come, O south, and blow upon my garden, that my spices may flow out.” For from all parts of the world has the perfume of holy religion increased, and the limbs of the consecrated Virgin have glowed. “You are beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem.” So it is not the beauty of the perishable body, which will come to an end with sickness or old age, but the reputation for good deserts, subject to no accidents and never to perish, which is the beauty of virgins.

Source: Concerning Virginity 1.9.47
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:4
You are beautiful, my friend, sweet and comely, etc. Jerusalem is called the vision of peace, by which name the habitation of the heavenly homeland, which the highest peace possesses, is very frequently signified. You are beautiful, friend of the bridegroom, sweet and comely like Jerusalem. The Church or any holy soul, indeed a portion of the Church, which by the purity of clean operation, the sweetness of divine praise, the pleasantness of mutual love, immediately becomes an imitator of the heavenly city, is sweet and comely like Jerusalem in the same way Isaiah speaks: Like the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make stand before me, says the Lord, so will your seed stand (Isaiah 66). It is also terrible as an army set in array, when through fixed intention of pure prayer it repels every incursion of the demonic army from itself, when through frequent proclamation of the heavenly word it breaks all the weapons of errant doctrine, when through continuous examples of good works it even challenges the depraved habits and life of false believers and leads them back to the path of truth. The Church is terrible as an army set in array, when each believer remains in the calling in which he was called, when leaders grant the form of saving doctrine and perfect operation to the subjects, when the continent purify themselves from every filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, when the married so enjoy this world that by diligent liberality of alms they do not neglect to compare for themselves the rewards of the future age. Indeed, the prophet teaches that the Church consists in this triple distinction of faithful persons, when he asserts that only three men, namely Noah, Daniel, and Job, will be delivered in the time of heavenly vengeance. And when each of these have kept their own position inviolate, they indeed show an army set in array and on this account make the bride of Christ insurmountable to all enemies: likewise any perfect soul, when it works with such virtues that it leaves no place for vices, undoubtedly persists terrible to enemies as an army set in array: for if, by way of example, it so strives for continence that it does not hold the virtue of humility, or if it thus exercises the works of alms so as not to refrain the tongue from the fault of superfluous speech, or so insists on frequent prayers that it neglects to bestow the affect of love to the neighbors, such a soul is indeed less terrible to enemies, because it has arranged the army of its virtues less perfectly, having disposed faith firmly in part but left it inert in another part. But because the one and same Church of Christ partly already rejoices with its King in heaven, and partly still fights for Him in the world, that which it says: "You are beautiful, my love, sweet and lovely as Jerusalem," can be understood about that part of it which, having completed its struggle and finished its course, has already received the crown of righteousness. But what follows, "Terrible as an army set in array," can suitably be taken to refer to those who, still held in the body, resist with strong faith the adversary lurking around them in the manner of a roaring lion. Likewise, the Church is beautiful, sweet, and lovely as Jerusalem, in those things which it works spiritually and worthily for God within itself. It is terrible as an army set in array, because it strives to spread its spiritual empire throughout the whole world, even against the powers of the world. And indeed the empire of the Romans once, or the Greeks, or other nations, was set in array like an army, because it certainly oppressed the world with great power: but it was not sweet and lovely as Jerusalem, because it did not know how to hope for or imitate the joys of the peace of life. But truly the Church is both beautiful and sweet and lovely as Jerusalem, because it is accustomed to live a heavenly life on earth; and terrible as an army set in array, because it strives to draw even the barbarous minds and morals of various nations to its own rite. Yet, because it does not yet deserve to see the face of its beloved as it most longs to, it subsequently hears:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Song of Solomon 6:5
A goat is honored because its thick coat provides an image of beauty for the bride. Another reason for praise is that a goat can pass over rocks with a sure foot, agilely turn on mountain peaks, courageously pass through difficult, rough places, and can go safely on the road of virtue. Some would maintain that this animal is suitable for the comparison with the bride because Moses the lawgiver uses it for many of the sacred functions of the law.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 15
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Song of Solomon 6:5
So he says to her, as if to one who is perfect, … “Turn your eyes from me,” because she cannot withstand the fullness of his divinity and the splendor of the true light.Yet we can also take “turn your eyes from me” as follows: “Although you have been perfected, I must still redeem other souls and strengthen them. For you exalt me by looking upon me, but I have descended so that I may exalt all humankind. Although I have risen up and possess the throne of the Father, still I will not leave you orphans bereft of a father’s help, but by my presence I will strengthen you. You find this written in the gospel: ‘I am with you even unto the consummation of the world.’6 Turn your eyes from me, therefore, because you exalt me.” The more anyone strives toward the Lord, the more he exalts the Lord and is himself exalted. On this account also the psalmist says, “I will extol you, O Lord, because you have upheld me.” For the holy person extols the Lord; the sinner brings him low. Therefore he wishes that she turn her eyes away. Otherwise, by contemplating her he may be exalted—for now he can attain to the higher regions—and may leave the other souls behind. Likewise in the gospel he showed his glory, not to all the disciples but to those who were more nearly perfect.
Now imagine some teacher who desires to explain an obscure matter to his hearers. Although he is himself an accomplished speaker and well informed, nevertheless let him lower himself to the ignorance of those who do not understand, and let him use simple, rather plain, everyday speech so that he can be understood. Then whoever is more quick-witted among his hearers, and can follow easily, disparages and questions him. Looking on such a one, the teacher restrains him, so that the latter may permit him to spend time rather on those who are more humble and lowly, in order that the rest may also be able to follow.

Source: ISAAC, OR THE SOUL 7:57
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Song of Solomon 6:5
“Turn your eyes away from me because they set me all aflutter.” What he means is something like this: the beauty of your eyes, the sharpness of your vision and the clarity of your thinking have drawn me to love of you; but do not gaze at me immoderately lest I take harm from it. After all, I am inaccessible and incomprehensible, surpassing all comprehension, not only human but also angelic. Even if you wish to surpass limits and pry into what is beyond your power, you would not only find nothing but would also impair your sight and render it dull. Such is the nature of light, after all: as it illumines the eye, so it penalizes intemperance with damage.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:5
Turn your eyes away from me, etc. As if it were openly said, "Indeed, I have given you dovelike eyes, by which you might know the secrets of the Scriptures, by which you might distinguish virtues from vices, by which you might know the paths of righteousness through which you would still come. But beware lest you seek to turn those same eyes to see me as well. For no man shall see my face and live (Exodus 33). For there will be a time when, released from fleshly bonds, you will come to me, and then what I promised will be fulfilled, because he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him (John 14). But now, while you are still established in the body and wandering away from perpetual goods, turn away the eyes of your mind from the contemplation of divine majesty and essence, because they have made me fly away, that is, those spiritual senses of yours, with which you have desired to know me perfectly, although they are very exalted, are not sufficient in this life to comprehend me perfectly, but can only reach to the extent that they might discern that the glory of the divine nature is of such sublimity that it cannot be seen, except by those who have been completely taken away from visible life and introduced into the invisible. Therefore, we are commanded at present to turn away the eyes of our inquiry from knowing the substance of God, because they have made him fly away from us, not that he, being sought, recedes further, who promises, saying, 'Seek, and ye shall find' (Luke 11); but that we may learn from him revealing, that the purer the heart with which he is sought, the more certainly it will be understood how incomprehensible he is. Which is similar to what the Psalmist says, 'Man approaches with a deep heart, and God will be exalted' (Psalm 63). As if it were said in other words, human frailty lifts up the eyes of the heart intent on seeing God, and they make him fly away, because by that same inquiry the senses, exercised and enlightened, recognize that the eminence of divinity is higher than they could previously think, and it is most truly said in another psalm, 'His greatness is without end' (Psalm 145). By this response, the Lord wished to satisfy the holy Church's desire, by which she was anxiously seeking him openly, and not in a riddle: longing to see him whom she loved, as the previous verses of this song declare abundantly. Therefore, he urges her not to seek in the way a reward which is reserved for her in the homeland, but to remember in the meantime that she must walk by faith, so that she may reach the vision: distinguishing these times very beautifully, as the evangelist John says: 'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is' (1 John 3). But lest the Church might perhaps bear heavily that she could not yet enjoy the full contemplation of her Creator, he enumerates for her the manifold pledges of the spirit which he has bestowed upon her, so that she may more patiently bear the delay of that one supreme and singular good which she has not yet received, but is about to receive in the time of eternal recompense. For it follows:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:5
Hair like a flock of goats, etc. These verses and the following ones placed above have been fully explained to the best of our understanding; but let us not hesitate to reiterate in explanation what the author of the sacred song did not hesitate to repeat in writing, so that we may either recall what was said before to memory or, with the help of divine grace, do something new usefully. But that whether these or countless other things in the Scriptures that have already been said are repeated, is a sign of firmness because it is the word of God, and it is truly fulfilled, as the patriarch Joseph testifies explaining the king's dream. Therefore, in the hair of the bride is intimated the manifold sublimity of thoughts; in the teeth, however, the firmest stability of her words is intimated, because they cooperate in speaking with the lips and tongue, and they arise insensibly from the brain, nor do they hurt when cut. For who is wise and would mourn, and not rather rejoice, when the superfluous lightness of thoughts is taken away from him? Hence, in a great mystery, the teeth of the lawgiver are read as unmoved when he was full of days, and a razor did not ascend upon the head of Samuel, because he was a perpetual Nazarite to the Lord, that is, holy. For it was signified that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law until all is fulfilled (Matthew V); and that in the prophetic mind, no cut should be made of penitence onto fleeting thoughts. However, the same hair of the bride is well likened to a flock of goats: for the law commanded that any soul which sins through ignorance, when it realizes its guilt, should offer a spotless goat to God as a sacrifice. And our hair is compared to a flock of goats when the errors of our thoughts offer tears of compunction and prayers in penance to the Lord as an offering. Moreover, it cannot inconveniently be understood that a flock of goats is placed for that which is accustomed to seek sustenance in the high places of rocks or bushes: for the thoughts of the elect, always striving for heavenly things, rejoice to be fed in the heights, not in low pleasures; of these goats, it is well added, that they appeared from Gilead: for Gilead means a heap of witness. And this term rightly designates the mind of the righteous when it proves by sure indications of virtues that it has renounced earthly desires; since the mountain Gilead got its name because Jacob and Laban made a heap in it, in testimony of their friendship or pact that they would not harm one another, when the same Laban had sought his idols with Jacob and did not find them. Therefore, Laban signifies the world, Jacob the mind supplanting vices. And Laban seeks his idols with Jacob and does not find them when the lovers of this world, examining the hearts of the elect, do not find anything of theirs in them. Jacob also makes a heap in testimony that he does not touch the substance and boundaries of Laban, when, having gathered in himself a wealth of virtues, like living stones, the devoted mind says to God, Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians III). And Laban brings stones for the construction of the same heap, when the world itself by its temptations provides an occasion for virtue to the faithful. A covenant is made between Laban and Jacob that they should not harm one another, while the just one declares and says: The world is crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians VI). From this heap, therefore, appears the flock of goats, to which the spouse's hair is compared, when from a faithful mind a multitude of frequent high thoughts is generated; and from this same flock, for those sins we have committed ignorantly, we offer an unblemished goat to God, when we punish our recognized sins with humble contrition of heart. However, Galaad is the name not only of the mountain, but also of the city founded upon it. Hence, rightly it can bear the figure of the Lord, our Savior, and of the Church or of any holy soul that is placed upon it. Indeed, above where it is added, “Your hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Mount Gilead,” we understood it as said of that incomparably high mountain, who said of Himself: “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” But here, where the name of the mountain is not mentioned, and it is simply said, "which appeared from Gilead," nothing prevents us from understanding it as said of the city built upon it, that is, the Church or a just soul. For a holy soul is rightly called a heap of testimony, which is built high with the collection of various virtues, and the whole Church is rightly called by this name, to whose peoples the Apostle Peter said: “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also as living stones are being built up” (1 Peter II). This is also fitting for the Lord, as we said above, to whom the assembly of all the elect is gathered, who give testimony with a pure conscience by pious profession and good deeds. “Your teeth are like a flock of sheep which have come up from the washing.” We said that in the teeth of the spouse, the words of the holy Church can be understood: rightly, therefore, they are said to be like a flock of sheep, because nothing in them, but the brightness of virtues and innocence is seen, while in all things they seek the grace of their Creator, either by teaching, or by praying, or by giving praises to Him; rightly, those sheep are said to have ascended from the washing, because nothing impure, nothing unclean, nothing that is not purified by the fountain of knowledge, is brought forth from the mouth of the just, according to the exhortation of the Apostle saying: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians IV). On the contrary, whoever brings forth filthy, or contemptuous, or harmful, or even idle words from his foul heart, his teeth are not likened to sheep coming up from the washing, but rather to pigs emerging from a wallow. It is fittingly added:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Song of Solomon 6:6
He praises these sheep also in the Song of Solomon, speaking of some perfect ones as the teeth of his spouse the holy church.

Source: EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 95:9
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Song of Solomon 6:6
Separated from the world, to which they were once conformed, they pass over into the members of the church. And rightly therefore are they, through whom such things are done, called teeth like to shorn sheep; for they have laid aside the burdens of earthly cares, and coming up from the bath, from the washing away of the filth of the world by the sacrament of baptism, every one bears twins. For they fulfill the two commandments, of which it is said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”: 16 loving God with all their heart, and with all their soul and with all their mind, and their neighbor as themselves.

Source: EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 3:7
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:6
All lambs of twin births, etc. For all the sheep with which the bride’s teeth are arranged are multiplied by twin births, because every speech of the elect is fruitful with the twin love, that is, the love by which God and neighbor are loved; every speech talks about the perpetual health of mind and body; every speech is accustomed to fortify its listeners through the arms of justice which must be held both on the right and the left; every speech desires to deal with the promise of life, which is both present and future; nor does anything proceed from the mouth of the righteous that is not advantageous to the fruit of eternal salvation. And fittingly, indeed, the sheep, by which the bride’s teeth are bestowed, are said to bear twin offspring, because without doubt through the things we say, we are able to benefit our neighbors and to instruct them in the way of virtue; through those things which we healthily think, we benefit ourselves. We ourselves make a living sacrifice to the internal judge on the altar of the heart, but to our neighbors, for edification, we disclose what we carry within ourselves only through words. Whence someone, pleasing the Creator with such a sacrifice, said, “In me are, God, God, your vows, which I will render in praises to you” (Psalm 53). But if in teeth, as previously mentioned, we understand preachers to be designated, and in hair, listeners, which most aptly corresponds, not only because the former minister speech and nourishment to the body, and the latter provide gentle adornments to the head, as beneficial instruments, but also because the former are placed first in the forefront, like predecessors, and the latter, like successors, cover the back part of the head, it is evident that it is fitting for those who are still unskilled and weaker to listen to and obey the teachings of the elders. But those very teachers, it is fitting not only to fulfill the divine commands but also to increase the flock of the supreme shepherd by preaching.

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Song of Solomon 6:7
What are the cheeks of the church of which the Scripture elsewhere says, “Your cheeks are as the bark of pomegranates”? They are the cheeks on which modesty is accustomed to shine, beauty to sparkle, on which there is either the flower of youth or the distinguished mark of perfect age.

Source: CONSOLATION ON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR VALENTINIAN 6
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:7
As the rind of a pomegranate, etc. It was said above that in the cheeks of the Church the insignia of her modesty is figured, in the pomegranate the ministry of the blood of the Lord is depicted. And the bride of Christ has cheeks like a pomegranate, because a faithful soul does not blush at the passion of its Redeemer, neither to confess in words nor to imitate in deeds; but with all shame and confusion, which lead to death, set aside, she delights to proclaim openly, saying: But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians VI). And prudently, because he had compared the cheeks of the Church to the rind of a pomegranate, he therefore added, Without your hidden things, because evidently the rind of a pomegranate shows indeed only redness on the outside, but conceals inside many seeds with which it abounds. Thus indeed a soul devoted to God, and healthily modest, strives through all things to safeguard itself by the virtue of the life-giving cross, but under the same sign of the cross, it contains many kinds of virtues which do not appear outside, but truly refresh the mind within.

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Song of Solomon 6:8
Scripture recounts that some of the patriarchs had many wives at the same time; others took other wives when previous wives had died. The purpose of this is to indicate figuratively that some can exercise many virtues at the same time; others cannot begin those which follow before they have brought the former virtues to perfection. Accordingly, Solomon is reported to have had many wives at the same time.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 11:2
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Song of Solomon 6:8
The word queens refers to the souls that rule in the realm of the intelligible and spiritual. The word concubines [refers] to the souls that receive an earthly reward, concerning whom it is said, “They have received their reward.”

Source: ON EIGHTY-THREE VARIED QUESTIONS 55
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Song of Solomon 6:8
Let us examine why on earth he mentioned “sixty queens” but “eighty concubines.” The number sixty contains six tens, and while the ten signifies perfection, the six represents the number of the world’s creation: in six days the God of all formed the whole creation. Accordingly, by “sixty queens” he referred to the souls in this world who were made perfect in virtue and who longed for the kingdom. The bride lives a way of life above this world, she is outside it, flies beyond it, is totally the bridegroom’s and has him constantly in mind, whereas these latter souls live in this world and practice the perfection of virtue to the extent possible while longing to attain the kingdom. But it is through fear that they obey the laws, and so they were called “eighty.” The divine Scripture, remember, speaks of the time of judgment as the eighth. In describing judgment in the Psalms, blessed David used the title “On the eighth” and began this way, “Lord, do not censure me in your anger, nor chastise me in your wrath,” and shortly after, “Because in death there is no one to remember you, in hades who will confess you?” Thus [he brings] out that at the time of judgment no place for repentance will be given to those who have sinned and have not had a change of heart.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6
[AD 500] Aponius on Song of Solomon 6:8
In the present verse, therefore, three orders of merit are indicated to be in the church according to the following enigma. First, clearly, there are teachers, living an immaculate life. Second, there are the teachable, who imitate the lives of their teachers and burn with great desire to understand the content of the teaching and to distinguish sound doctrine from unsound doctrine. But the third order is that of maidens, for whom only belief in the one God helps toward salvation, who are not yet worthy to be joined to the sacred number. Although all of them may have the Word of the Father as King, he who was with the Father in the beginning and always remains God in the Father, the dignity of merit nevertheless escapes them.

Source: EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 9:21
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:8
There are sixty queens, etc. Both queens and concubines indeed approach the king's bed, they bear children for the king, but not both adorn the king's head with a royal diadem. Therefore, both signify souls that adhere to the preaching of truth, and through the word of faith and the fountain of saving baptism, beget spiritual offspring for the eternal king, but there is some, indeed not little, difference of their minds: for queens are those minds that serve the doctrine with the view of the heavenly kingdom. However, concubines are those who announce Christ for the sake of carnal and temporal pleasures only, not sincerely. Of such the Apostle says: "Whether by pretense or by truth Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice" (Phil. I). The Lord Himself also distinguishing between them says: "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. V). "But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Ibid.). Both, therefore, approach the king's bed, but not both reign with Him, because those who destroy their own teaching by their deeds deprive themselves of the comforts of the everlasting kingdom. Therefore, those are rightly considered by the number sixty, those by eighty: for the number ten, because of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) signifies the knowledge of divine law; the number six, in which God perfected the world, designates the perfection of good works. Truly, because five multiplied by twelve makes sixty, the number of sixty queens can also thus be interpreted, that those who regulate all the senses of their body, namely, sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, according to the rule of apostolic doctrine, are rightly designated by the number sixty. And these are the queens, because those who now follow the commandments of the apostles, whose number is twelve, through all the offices of their members, then together with the same apostles are joined to the joy of the perpetual king. Likewise, when eighty is taken in a negative sense, it not unjustly suggests the cares and entanglements of earthly and temporal matters, because naturally the course of this world is encompassed by four seasons, and the world itself is divided into four zones, namely, east, west, north, and south. Sixty, however, are the queens, because as many souls as follow the recognition, which they received by the perfection of the sacred law, engage in good actions; these also fight here in the kingdom of faith, and in the future will enter into heavenly marriages with the true king. And eighty concubines, because those who expend the knowledge of truth and the mystery of the word, which they seem to practice, in the pleasures of weak and passing things, indeed when their lamps are extinguished at the arrival of the bridegroom, are excluded by the gate of the heavenly kingdom due to the voluptuousness of temporality. And there is no number of young maidens. Understand by young maidens those souls who have recently been reborn in Christ, who are not yet sufficient for the duty of preaching; and therefore, as if not yet noble, not yet suitable for the royal bed, they assist in the service of the queen with faithful watch, because they joyfully obey the commands of the holy Church humbly. Of whom we read above: Your name is like poured-out oil, therefore the young maidens loved you; that is, the souls which are not yet left old through guilt, but are already renewed by grace. Of whom there is no number, because the total number of the citizens of the heavenly homeland surpasses the measure of our estimation. For it cannot be taken of our peaceful king, namely the true Solomon, that he does not know the number of his faithful: for He who counts the multitude of the stars and calls them all by names (Psalm 146), how much more would He know the number of His elect, whose names He wrote in heaven, the number He foreknew before the ages.

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Song of Solomon 6:8
One is my dove: That is, my church is one, and she only is perfect and blessed.
[AD 258] Cyprian on Song of Solomon 6:9
This one church is also intended in the Song of Songs, when the Holy Spirit says, in the person of the Lord: “My dove, my perfect one, is but one; she is the only one of her mother, the choice one of her that bare her.” Can one who does not keep this unity of the church believe that he keeps the faith? Can one who resists and struggles against the church be sure that he is in the church? For the blessed apostle Paul gives the same teaching and declares the same mystery of unity when he says, “There is one body and one Spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.”

Source: Treatise I. On the Unity of the Church 4
[AD 258] Cyprian on Song of Solomon 6:9
But that the Church is one, the Holy Spirit declares in the Song of Songs, saying, in the person of Christ, "My dove, my undefiled, is one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her." Concerning which also He says again, "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring sealed up, a well of living water." But if the spouse of Christ, which is the Church, is a garden enclosed; a thing that is closed up cannot lie open to strangers and profane persons. And if it is a fountain sealed, he who, being placed without has no access to the spring, can neither drink thence nor be sealed. And the well also of living water, if it is one and the same within, he who is placed without cannot be quickened and sanctified from that water of which it is only granted to those who are within to make any use, or to drink.

Source: Epistle LXXV:2
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Song of Solomon 6:9
“My dove, my perfect one, is one.” The Lord’s words in the gospel explain this more clearly … that in the diversity of their lives’ activities, they should not be divided in their choices of the good. Rather, they should all be one, united into a single good through the unity of the Holy Spirit.… All will look to the same goal, and every evil will be destroyed. God will be all in all, and all persons will be united together in fellowship of the Good, Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power forever and ever.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 15
[AD 411] Tyrannius Rufinus on Song of Solomon 6:9
Of this church which keeps the faith of Christ entire, hear what the Holy Spirit says in the Canticles, “My dove is one; the perfect one of her mother is one.” He then who receives this faith in the church let him not turn aside in the council of vanity, and let him not enter in with those who practice iniquity.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOSTLES’ CREED 39
[AD 420] Jerome on Song of Solomon 6:9
“My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her.” Now the mother of whom this is said is the heavenly Jerusalem.

Source: LETTER 22.24
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Song of Solomon 6:9
“For as regards the fact that to preserve the figure of unity the Lord gave the power to Peter that whatsoever he should loose on earth should be loosed,” it is clear that that unity is also described as one dove without fault. Can it be said, then, that to this same dove belong all those greedy ones, whose existence in the same Catholic church Cyprian himself so grievously bewailed? For birds of prey, I believe, cannot be called doves, but rather hawks. How then did they baptize those who used to plunder estates by treacherous deceit and increase their profits by compound usury, if baptism is only given by that indivisible and chaste and perfect dove, that unity which can only be understood as existing among the good? Is it possible that, by the prayers of the saints who are spiritual within the church, as though by the frequent lamentations of the dove, a great sacrament is dispensed, with a secret administration of the mercy of God? [Thus] their sins also are loosed who are baptized, not by the dove but by the hawk, if they come to that sacrament in the peace of Catholic unity.

Source: ON BAPTISM 3:17.22
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:9
My dove is one, my perfect one. There are indeed sixty queens, because there are many faithful souls around the world who, having accepted the knowledge of the word, take on the task of multiplying the offspring of the Church for the reception of the heavenly kingdom. There are also eighty concubines, because there are also souls who, focused on earthly matters, engage in doctrine, and although they themselves succumb to carnal lures, nevertheless generate spiritual offspring for God by preaching. And there are maidens without number, because countless bands of Christian people are found, who, although not yet suitable for the office of governance and teaching, nevertheless obediently and faithfully offer the devotion of their faith and works to the service of the Holy Church, namely the bride of Christ. But above all these, that is, both true and feigned members of the Church, rightfully excels the universal Church itself, which in its same faithful members from the beginning to the consummation of the age, from the rising to the setting of the sun, and from the north and the sea praises the name of the Lord. Of which praise it is most beautifully said: My dove is one, my perfect one. It is indeed one, because it does not accept the division of schism; it is one, because not one was collected before the law, another under the law, another under grace, another from the circumcision, another from the uncircumcision; but just as there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, that is, one catholic multitude of all the elect everywhere, and in every place of the world, and in every age, subject to the same one God and Father. From which Luke teaches it is called catholic, saying: The churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were built up, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied (Acts IX). For what is in Latin here, is in Greek catholos. From which it is clearly evident that the Church is called catholic because it is built up in all parts of the world in one peace, in one fear of the Lord, and is filled with the same comfort of the Holy Spirit. From which unity of the Spirit, it is also rightly called a dove: for the Spirit descended upon the Lord in the form of a dove, showing both its simplicity and the Lord's upon whom it descended. Because the Lord made His Church a participant in the spirit of simplicity, He rightly calls it His dove, rightly also calls it perfect, not only because it is formed from all the people of the righteous but also because it is perfected by the reception of all virtues and divine gifts. It is the one chosen by its mother, the mother who brought it forth. The mother and progenitor of the present Church is the one about whom the Apostle says: "But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother" (Gal. IV); which is rightly and justly called our mother, because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights (James I). Hence it is also said in the Apocalypse of John: "And he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (Apoc. XXI). For the holy city Jerusalem descends from heaven from God, because whatever good the present Church knows, does, hopes for; it receives all this from above, either through the King of heaven Himself or through the ministries of the heavenly citizens. Therefore, it is rightly chosen by its mother who brought it forth, since of course that heavenly city approves only those from human society who serve God in unity of faith and love. Otherwise, the Donatists, or any others who separate themselves from the unity of the Catholic Church, whether by open dissension or profane action, are, because they refuse to have the perfection of the simplicity of the dove, separated from the lot of the chosen in judgment and placed on the left side. The name of mother and progenitor of the Church can be most fittingly understood by the grace of the Holy Spirit, through whom the Church itself is born to God and consecrated, because, in Hebrew, the spirit is called in the feminine gender. The Lord Himself teaches that this should be rightly called the Church's mother and progenitor, saying: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John III). And immediately, distinguishing spiritual birth from carnal birth, He added: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit" (John III). To this mother and progenitor, the one dove of Christ is rightly chosen and perfect, because, leaving behind all the crowds of schismatics, the one Church, which He now nourishes and keeps in the unity of Catholic peace, is then uplifted by spiritual grace to the joys of the heavenly homeland.

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:9
The daughters saw her and acclaimed her most blessed, etc. It seems here that the same daughters are mentioned as the maidens previously named, because while here he brings daughters, queens, and concubines to the forefront, he had earlier mentioned queens, concubines, and maidens together. Therefore, great praise is due to the Catholic unity, which both the mother by grace, who bore them, chose perpetually, and the daughters whom she begot and nurtured to God by the Spirit. As soon as they saw it, that is, as they learned of her chaste life and heard of the gifts of the inheritance promised to her, they rightfully never cease to bless her. And both queens and concubines extol her with just praises, that is, whether these who are truly part of her kingdom or those souls who adhere to her in name only, but are earthly in hope and mind, all certainly acknowledge that she is worthy of eternal praise, understanding for sure that nothing of true and unshakable good can be found without her company. Indeed, since before the end of the world, Judea too is to be gathered to the grace of its Redeemer, and will also praise that same perfection of the holy Church along with others, it is fittingly added from the voice of the Synagogue itself, marveling:"

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Song of Solomon 6:9
Who is she: Here is a beautiful metaphor describing the church from the beginning. As, the morning rising, signifying the church before the written law; fair as the moon, showing her under the light of the gospel: and terrible as an army, the power of Christ's church against its enemies.
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Song of Solomon 6:10
The church is the sun and the moon and the stars, to which it was said, “Fair as the moon, bright as the sun.” By it our Joseph is adored in this world as in Egypt, when he is raised from humble to high estate.

Source: LETTER 199:39
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Song of Solomon 6:10
“As beautiful as the special moon.” The experts in these matters say the moon gets its light from the sun’s rays and gets partial light when a small part of it faces the sun. When it is directly opposite and is in full view of the sun, it is completely lit up as though reflecting its face like a kind of mirror and leaving no part of its bulk unlit. The church of Christ likewise, therefore, the congregation of the souls made perfect in virtue, “with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror,” in the words of blessed Paul, “is being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, as a work of the Lord, the Spirit.” And it becomes so completely luminous as to resemble a moon, and a “special moon,” that is, full moon.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Song of Solomon 6:10
The bride, however, is not only “like a special moon,” but also she will shine in the future life “like a sun,” astounding all with its brightness. They will marvel not only at her light but also at her orderliness. There is nothing disordered about the Lord’s bride, nothing undetermined; she gives practical directions like a kind of plumb line, and regulates her own life by use of norm and rule.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6
[AD 500] Aponius on Song of Solomon 6:10
By clinging continually to God the Word, she is made wholly on fire, like a burning coal. Also like a burning coal among a number of dead coals, when joined to the others, she ignites them all. Thus, in the midst of the souls of the dead [destined] for eternal life, she alone, the singular chosen one, vivifies all souls who believe in her, makes them like herself, and draws them to her beauty. Nevertheless, uniquely splendid like the moon, perfect in heaven among the stars, she in their midst is proven to glow with everlasting beauty more than all others. Chosen like the sun in paternal majesty among all the powers of the heavenly hosts, she is proclaimed as one to be admired by all, as the following verse teaches: “The maidens saw her and called her most blessed; queens and concubines also praised her.”

Source: EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 9:30
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Song of Solomon 6:10
You are rightly compared with this figure since you raise your precious head over all races, and you transmit the souls of the just like resplendent stars to the kingdom above. You are a pyramid full of heavenly corn, the blessed gathering of saintly people from diverse nations, the shining assembly of bright minds, a structure that cannot be dismantled since it is fashioned from living stones, the eternal happiness of all who are blessed, brighter than the sun, whiter than snow, without spot or wrinkle. Of you it is written in the Song of Songs: “Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” - "Exposition of the Psalms, Preface 17"
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Song of Solomon 6:10
You are properly compared to this figure since you raise up your precious head from all the nations, and you conduct the souls of the just, like exceptional lights to the kingdom above. You are a pyramid filled with heavenly corn, the blessed gathering of saints from many nations, a bright assembly of clear minds, an indestructible building made of living stones, the eternal happiness of all the blessed, brighter than the sun, whiter than snow, without stain, without wrinkle. It is written about you in Song of Songs: “Who is she who comes forth, rising like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, as exceptional as the sun, terrible as an army arrayed for battle?”

Source: EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS, PREFACE 17
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:10
Who is this that comes forth, etc. Therefore, this Synagogue, converted to the faith of Christ, speaks, marveling at the Church being exalted by divine grace so much that it cannot be overcome by any powers of the worldly empire, even though it is very humble. "Who comes forth," it says, because it did not stand in one place, did not appear for a short time, but extended its faith and fame over the whole world, and throughout the ages of the passing world, it does not cease striving for the crown of eternal life. It comes forth, however, as the dawn rising, because the rise of true light in it, after the darkness of ignorance, is shown far to the world, as its heralds are admonishing and saying that the night has passed, but the day has approached. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, and so on (Rom. XIII).

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:10
Beautiful as the moon, chosen as the sun, etc. Beautiful as the moon, because illuminated by the Sun of righteousness, it passes through the night of this world, and floods it with the light of heavenly knowledge and evangelical way of life; chosen as the sun, because it receives the image of its same Creator and illuminator in itself, walking in all righteousness, holiness, and truth, and truly giving thanks to Him, because the light of Your face, Lord, has been signed upon us (Psalm IV). Also beautiful as the moon, in the night of present life, where, with the varying state of times, now bright to the world, now despised and oppressed; now full of the brilliance of virtues, now disfigured by the vices of the wicked, it imitates in many ways the path of the moon increasing and waning. Chosen as the sun, in the day of future blessedness, where, with the state of eternity remaining, it will shine with the true vision of unchangeable light, fulfilled by His promise, in which it is said: The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Cant. VI). Terrible as an army set in array, because it could never be restrained by any clouds of adversity, without showing in itself the beauty of both the moon and the sun: namely, the moon, in the laborious light of good action in the meantime; the sun, in the hope of eternal blessed recompense. And well terrible as an army set in array, because the more perfectly it places the order of virtues in itself, the more terrible it is to the aerial powers, and the whole Church and every faithful soul stands: for in certain good deeds, for example, vigils, fasts, manual labor, meditation on Scriptures, the word of preaching, modest silence, whoever does not know how to hold necessary order, errs. For these and many other such things, as they are often held usefully, so also they are sometimes healthfully interrupted for a time. But there are more excellent gifts of virtues, without which one cannot attain life, such as faith, hope, and charity; which ought therefore never by any consideration of time or place to be absent from the hearts of admonishing faithful. Therefore, whatever soul continually fortifies itself with more eminent virtues, and also diligently girds itself for the exercise of lesser ones, where place and hour are fitting, this is terrible to all adversaries as an army set wisely and firmly in order proceeds. This while a few followers of the Jews believe and worthily admire the struggles of the Church, she herself agrees with the one praising and immediately indicates the reason for her military preparations, responding with the voice of the doctors, that is, leaders of her spiritual militia.

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Song of Solomon 6:11
You wish to know the place? He says in the Canticles, “I came down to the nut garden”; for it was a garden where he was crucified.

Source: Catechetical Lecture 14:5
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Song of Solomon 6:11
By “nut plantation” they refer to the present life, which is harsh, troublesome and laborious but contains hidden in itself the fruit of virtue. The fruit of the nut has a bitter skin on the outside, the second one is tough and resistant, and the edible part is hidden as though deposited in a kind of inner chamber and is not extracted without effort. Such also is the present life, containing as it does harsh pain and grief, containing hardship and effort which, however, are not fruitless, not useless, holding the fruit hidden within them. Hence blessed Paul also says, “Our life is hidden with Christ in God; but when Christ our life is revealed, then we too shall live in him.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:11
Solomon bears witness that a nut is customarily employed as a figure of the present church when in the Song of Songs he speaks in the character of the faithful teachers.… For just as a nut has sweet fruit on the inside but does not show it on the outside unless its hard shell can be broken, so in the same way do the righteous maintain the sweetness of spiritual grace in their inmost heart while they are in this present life. Its magnitude cannot be perceived by their neighbors until the time when the bodily dwelling is dissolved and the souls freed from it can gaze upon one another in heavenly light, and they individually shine so much with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and they are loved so much by one another, that absolutely nothing remains hidden.

Source: On the Tabernacle 1:8
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:11
I descended into the garden of nuts, etc. For the garden of nuts is the present Church, where we are scarcely able to perceive each other's consciences. Indeed, nuts are all fruits which are covered with a harder shell; conversely, all soft things are generally called evil. Therefore, the life of the righteous is rightly compared to nuts, where they preserve the sweetness of spiritual fruit in their innermost heart in such a way that they cannot make it known to others, how great it is. Hence, it is necessary that Mother Church always keeps a cautiously ordered line of teachers, while she takes care to battle for them and to defend them from the enemy, whose senses and hearts she often does not know. It can also be understood this way: Just as the nut or almond has a very bitter shell and is surrounded by a very hard casing, and after the harsh and hard parts are removed, the sweetest fruit is found inside, so too every correction and labor of continence, which the holy Church is exercised in, seems bitter indeed at present, but produces in the future the sweetest fruit, according to the saying of the Apostle Paul: "For all discipline seems for the moment not to be joy, but grief; afterward, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews XII). However, the valley fruits say the fruit of humility, as it is in the Psalm: "And the valleys will abound with grain" (Psalm LXVI), because indeed the humble are exuberant with the refreshment of heavenly grace. The valley fruits say the good works of the faithful of the holy Church, exhibited in the depths of the earth, but bringing their workers to the merits of the heavenly kingdom. Of which also the Psalmist says, "He planned ascents in his heart in the valley of tears to the place you have set for them" (Psalm LXXXIII). And the bride descended into my garden, to see the fruits of the valley, when the teachers of the Church, from the height of their secret tranquility and divine contemplation, which they are often granted, turn the acumen of their mind to consider the state of the same Church, to diligently explore how much the faithful are progressing in good deeds, how much they still need the help of teachers, and to provide them with vital fruits for cultivation.

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:11
To see if the vine has blossomed, etc. He looks to see if the vine has flowered, when he carefully examines whether the hearts of those he instructs propose new endeavors of virtues to be undertaken spiritually, according to the saying of the Psalmist, "They will go from strength to strength" (Psalm LXXXIII). He looks to see if the pomegranates have budded, when he diligently observes if there are any who desire to be poured out in their own blood in imitation of the Lord's passion, following the admonition of the Apostle Peter, who says, "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose" (1 Peter 4:1). Thus, the Church proclaims her evangelical labors to the astonished Synagogue. And she, being pierced with a healthy fullness, professes that she has long remained deprived of such great salvation due to profane blindness and ignorance, responding in this way:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:12
I did not know, my soul was troubled within me, etc. I did not know the gifts of spiritual grace with which you were illuminated by the Lord to bring forth the fruits of faith among all nations. The internal anxiety of my mind troubled me because of the sudden introduction of the New Testament in place of the old, while the proclamation of the gospel suddenly filled the whole world instead of the books of the prophets and the law, which I knew to be divine and written by the Holy Spirit. Like swift chariots, it quickly traversed not only Judea and Samaria, but also the borders of all nations, to my amazement and astonishment. I rightly compare it not just to chariots, but to quadrigas; for indeed the authority of four writers commended it to memory, but the mind and hand to write were directed by one Spirit of God through Jesus Christ, like if you see one quadriga prepared for the course by the harmonious speed of four horses, but governed by the guidance of one charioteer, so that they run on the right path. Indeed, I had heard for a long time that four authors would write about Jesus with equal consent, but what spirit drove them, what utility and truth, how much glory and salvation their scripture contained, alas, I deserved to realize and know so late! Moreover, that the quadrigas are called the heralds of the New Testament in the name of Aminadab, signifies the Lord Savior, who, presiding over the chariot, filled the hearts of the preachers with the grace of His Spirit, through whom, by the preceding notion of the saving doctrine, He would reach the peoples about to believe in Him. For Aminadab, who was the great-grandson of the patriarch Judah, in both his person and name indicates the Lord Savior: namely, by his person, because the genealogy of the Lord's incarnation descends from Abraham to King David, from David to Joseph and Mary, in the same manner as the names of Judah and David, and Solomon, and other fathers, from whom Christ descended according to the flesh, are sometimes taken by the prophets to signify Him; as in the phrase, "Judah is a lion’s cub. To the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?" (Gen. XLIX). And again: "And I will cleanse them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, and David My servant shall be king over them" (Ezek. XXXVII). And in this very volume: "Go forth, daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon" (Cant. III). However, by his own name, Aminadab, which means "of my people, spontaneous," he fittingly designates the Mediator of God and men, who, although he was God before the ages, united with flesh, when he wanted and how he wanted, appeared as a pious Redeemer among the people of the Church. He became a part of his people through spontaneous kindness, of whom he was the Creator and ruler by natural power. When the Synagogue confesses the long delay of its mind, by which it was hindered from understanding the mysteries of the Lord's incarnation, the Church promptly responds by comforting and exhorting: Return, return, O Shulammite. Return to the knowledge of your Redeemer, from whom for so long you miserably wandered away, so that being imbued with his sacraments, you may become worthy of entering the heavenly life; return to the peace of our brotherhood, which you considered, for a long time, to be despised due to the cause of discordant religion. Return, return, so that we may look upon you: return in the purity of faith, return in the perfection of works, to the love of the Lord together, so that with joyful eyes and minds, we may contemplate the beauty of your chastity, which we have long desired, and with Christ's love uniting us together, we may be built into one house of faith, both in Him, as in the cornerstone. However, I do not remember ever reading the name Shulammite elsewhere; indeed, it seems to be the name of some noblewoman, either proper or derived from a place, who was distinguished at that time by much glory of wisdom, or beauty, or virtue. But if Shulammite, as some say, means despised or captive, this name is fitting for the Synagogue, which, because of the fault of treachery, departed from the grace of its creator, as much as it was captive under the yoke of sin, it remained unworthy in respect to divine kindness. But the Shulammite is asked to return, so that by the obedience of returning to the Lord, she may deserve to be freed from the binding of harmful captivity and be made worthy of the sight of her Redeemer and Savior. While the Church admonishes the Synagogue to return to the grace of its Redeemer, the Redeemer himself, agreeing to her devoted exhortations, suddenly interjects his speech and declares that the consolations of her exhortations are now about to come to effect. For he says:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Song of Solomon 6:13
Turn to us, O peaceful soul, that you may show your glory to your sisters and that they may begin to console themselves with the security of your repose and happiness. Turn to us once only, that we may see you, and turn again and hasten with all speed to that great Jerusalem, the city of the saints. Or indeed, since Christ says this to the pious soul, he commands it to turn for a little while, that its glory and its future repose with the saints may be manifest to us, and then he commands it to hasten to the company of the saints on high.

Source: CONSOLATION ON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR VALENTINIAN 65
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Song of Solomon 6:13
Just as the work calls Solomon—our Lord, in other words—“peaceable,” so too it calls his bride “peacemaker” for attaining peace from him and being freed from the former conflict. The bridegroom’s attendants, then, on seeing her driven from the chariot and under attack, comfort her in the words, “Return,” peacemaker, “return, return, and we shall look upon you.” That is to say, “Do not be afraid of your pursuers but hold fast the doctrine, proclaim the message of the doctrine, have no fear of the chariot, do not be afraid of war, called peacemaker as you are. In fact, if you persist in your preaching, we shall see your kingdom.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6
[AD 735] Bede on Song of Solomon 6:13
What will you see in the Shulammite, etc.? It is as if he is openly saying, "Indeed, you lament that the Synagogue has been estranged for so long, and you pray for her to return to me, and it delights you to see her face adorned for me. But you should know that the time is near when you will see nothing in her of the old infidelity and aversion, but only works of virtues and spiritual struggles. So what, then, will you see in the Shulammite," he says, "except the dances of the camps, that is, the army of peace? For in choruses the voices of singers resonate together; in camps, the hands of those who love to fight. So what, then, will you see in her, except the choruses of the elect, who with heart and soul united proclaim the praises of their Creator? And they are indeed the choruses of the camps, because by serving the Creator they repel and disturb all the enemy's ranks." He says this and turns with his customary sweetness to praise the Church itself, which he rejoiced was concerned for the salvation of the Synagogue, thus adding:

Source: Commentary on the Song of Songs