224 Ulisse Aldrovandi

When, however, we read in Genesis of Jacob’s head placed upon a stone, we should understand it as the leadership of Christ’s followers resting upon Christ himself, just as through the "head and tail" mentioned in Isaiah, we are to understand Christ, who is the beginning and the end. Likewise, the severed head of John the Baptist signifies Christ being taken away from the Jews and from the Law. In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ’s head is anointed so that man may learn to bind God to himself through noble deeds; and when, in the same Gospel, a crown of thorns is placed upon Christ’s head, it signifies God being delivered over to be struck by human sins as if by so many thorns. In Leviticus, the priest’s head was not shaved—a mystical teaching that wisdom should by no means be separated from priests, so they might be able to rebuke the vices of the laity. Similarly, in that same book, the bare head of a leper can indicate the loss of the "helmet of salvation," or the soul being separated from Christ. In Proverbs, when grace is said to be added to the head, the *Glossa Ordinaria* explains this as the granting of the doctrine of the New Testament along with the hope of the Heavenly Kingdom. Finally, a covered head in the history of the Books of Kings can denote sorrow, for it was the custom of those in mourning to veil their heads.

If we turn our thoughts to the forehead, we find in Exodus that a golden plate inscribed with the name of God was customarily placed upon the priest’s forehead. As the *Glossa Ordinaria* explains, this signifies the internal thoughts of the heart, or the confession made through speech and deed, with which the faithful must be filled. We also read in the Sacred Scriptures that Goliath’s forehead was struck; the mystical sense of this is said to be that those who are not fortified by the sign of the cross are the ones who are struck down and perish, since the forehead can represent the mind, as Lauretus asserts in his *Sylva Allegoriarum*.

Next is the eye, which according to Goropius was called *Oog* in the first language, derived from *Hog*, meaning "high." Therefore, the mystical sense is that we must be mindful that our eyes were given to us by the supreme Creator so that we might perpetually contemplate heavenly things. However, it should be noted that in mystical doctrine, the eyes can take on both a good and a bad meaning. In the first sense, God is understood through the eye: for just as the eye in the microcosm (that is, in man) governs him, so God governs all things in the macrocosm, seeing and moderating everything. Or we might say that just as the eye is a receptacle for light, so God is called not only a spring of light, but light itself, according to the words of John: "The light was in the world."

Furthermore, the eyes of the bridegroom in the Song of Songs, likened to the pools of Heshbon, signify the perfect vision and knowledge of all things—even before they come to pass—which resides in Christ, the head of the Church. In this "head," signified by the bridegroom, the ideas of all things are found; thus, the eyes of the bridegroom are not without reason compared to the waters of a pool, representing these ideal rationales. Indeed, it is called the pool of Heshbon, which means "knowledge," since ideas are the devised reasons for producing things, all of which were in the Word, as Saint Augustine interprets. Unless, perhaps, we wish to assert that the eye of God signifies grace and favor; for whenever God looks upon someone, He immediately imparts His grace to them. In worldly matters, however, the eye signifies the effect of desire, as men are ensnared by love through their eyes. And what if the Lord’s commandments are represented by eyes? For we read in the Psalmist: "The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes."

Similarly, in the Apocalypse, eyes are said to be like a flame of fire, signifying God’s commandments. And when in the thirty-third Psalm we read that "the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous," then, according to the mind of Basil, the eyes of the Lord are the angelic virtues that are said to protect mankind. In another sense, when we read in the sixteenth Psalm, "keep me as the apple of your eye," the pupil is said to indicate the spiritual senses.

Furthermore, in mystical matters, kindness and mercy are referred to the eyes. Thus we read in Deuteronomy: "Let your eye spare him," where "eye" is taken to mean mercy. Likewise, the eyes of the Lord in the thirty-second Psalm show His mercy and kindness. In Genesis, the eye of Joseph foreshadows the kindness of Christ; indeed, in the same book, Isaac "lifting his eyes" suggested Christ looking toward the salvation of the human race. For when we read in Isaiah, "The Lord has prepared His arm in the eyes of all nations," it is asserted because the salvation to be acquired through Christ was set before everyone. The "eyes" in the Church are also said to