Folio 94v - the adamas stone, continued.
and in his hand was an adamant stone in the midst of the people of Israel' (compare Amos, 7:7).
But a creature cannot prevail against its creator, and for this reason Christ is the adamas stone. He stands on a wall of such stone, on the holy and living stones of which heavenly Jerusalem is built. These are the Apostles, the prophets and the martyrs, over whom neither fire, nor the sword nor the teeth of beasts could prevail. All the saints are called adamantine by the prophet, after that one true stone, just as Christians are named after Christ.
The prophet says: 'I saw a man standing on a wall of adamant, and behold in his hand was an adamant stone', that is, the son of God and the son of man who deigned to take flesh in Mary's womb. The man held the stone in his hand, signifying the glory of his divinity, as Daniel testifies, saying: 'I looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in baldachin' (see Daniel, 10:5).
The man in the text signifies the majesty of the divine nature; the baldachin represents carnal man, whose form Christ saw fit to assume. For 'baldachin' is taken to mean linen, clothing which has its origin in the earth. Of Christ being called a man, blessed Peter, the Apostle, says: 'Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord made manifest to you' (see Acts, 2:22). And the blessed Paul says: 'I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ' (2 Corinthians, 11:2). In order that we should know more clearly that it is Christ of whom he speaks, Paul says: 'Do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me?' (see 2 Corinthians, 13:3).
The mountain in the east, therefore, on which, according to Physiologus, the adamant stone is found, signifies the Lord our father unbegotten, from whom all things spring. He says that mountain is high and that his glory is inaccessible, just as the Apostle
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Commentary
Text
The adamas stone.
Comment
This folio marks the end of the high quality twelfth-century parchment.
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
et in manu eius lapidem adamantem in medio\ populi Israel. Creatori autem creatura prevalere non potest\ et ideo adamas Christus est. Stat autem super murum ada\ mantium super sanctos et vivos lapides, de quibus edifica\tur celestis Jerusalem. Hii sunt apostoli prophete et martires quibus neque\ ignis, neque gladius neque bestiarum dentes prevalere\ potuerunt. Ex illo vero adamante omnes sancti adamanti\ni lapides a propheta dicti sunt, sicut de nomine Christi Christiani\ nominantur. Nam quia propheta dicit: Vidi virum stantem\ super murum adamantium, ecce inquid in manu eius\ adamas, id est filius dei et filius hominis qui in utero\ Marie carnem assumere dignatus est ipsum tenet in\ manu in gloria divinitatis sue, sicut testatur de ipso\ Daniel dicens: Vidi, et ecce inquid vir indutus\ baldin. Vir autem qui dicitur deitatis significat maies\tatem, baldin vero carnalem hominem, quem in\duere dignatus est. Baldin enim lineum interpretatur in\dumentum quod de terra nascitur. De viri appella\cione beatus Petrus apostolus dicit: Jesum inquid Nazarenum\ dominum n[v]obis manifestum. Nec non et beatus Paulus di\cit: Desponsavi enim vos uni viro virg[i]nem castam\ exhibere Christo, et ut manifestius agnoscamus quia [quod] ipse\ Christus de quo dixerit testatur ipse Paulus dicens: An\ experimentum eius queritis qui in me loquitur Christus?\ Ergo mons quem dicit Phisiologus orientalis in\ quo lapis adamas invenitur, dominum patrem ingenitum\ significat, ex quo omnia oriuntur. Montem vero al\tum et inaccessibilem gloriam dicit sicut ait apostolusTranslation
and in his hand was an adamant stone in the midst of the people of Israel' (compare Amos, 7:7). But a creature cannot prevail against its creator, and for this reason Christ is the adamas stone. He stands on a wall of such stone, on the holy and living stones of which heavenly Jerusalem is built. These are the Apostles, the prophets and the martyrs, over whom neither fire, nor the sword nor the teeth of beasts could prevail. All the saints are called adamantine by the prophet, after that one true stone, just as Christians are named after Christ. The prophet says: 'I saw a man standing on a wall of adamant, and behold in his hand was an adamant stone', that is, the son of God and the son of man who deigned to take flesh in Mary's womb. The man held the stone in his hand, signifying the glory of his divinity, as Daniel testifies, saying: 'I looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in baldachin' (see Daniel, 10:5). The man in the text signifies the majesty of the divine nature; the baldachin represents carnal man, whose form Christ saw fit to assume. For 'baldachin' is taken to mean linen, clothing which has its origin in the earth. Of Christ being called a man, blessed Peter, the Apostle, says: 'Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord made manifest to you' (see Acts, 2:22). And the blessed Paul says: 'I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ' (2 Corinthians, 11:2). In order that we should know more clearly that it is Christ of whom he speaks, Paul says: 'Do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me?' (see 2 Corinthians, 13:3). The mountain in the east, therefore, on which, according to Physiologus, the adamant stone is found, signifies the Lord our father unbegotten, from whom all things spring. He says that mountain is high and that his glory is inaccessible, just as the Apostle
