History of Monsters 231

... Moses’ raised hands in Exodus represent prayers and orations joined with actions; or they represent the hands of Christ, who achieved the most holy redemption of the human race on the Cross. The stone cut away without human help in Daniel was a symbol of the birth of Christ, who was formed in the womb of the ever-virgin Mary without human intervention. Furthermore, in that same prophet, the hand writing on the wall depicts Christ as judge and condemner. Likewise, the hand of Abraham extended toward the sword, as recorded in Genesis, signifies the execution of God the Father’s zeal toward his Son for the sake of the human race.

The human hands beneath the wings of living creatures, as seen in Ezekiel, reveal the active life depending on the contemplative one. Finally, the washing of hands in the Holy Scriptures reveals purity and innocence. This is gathered from Deuteronomy; where, if a corpse was found and the perpetrator of the murder was unknown, the elders of the city would go to the polluted place in a deserted valley and sacrifice while washing their hands, so that by this means both they and all the people might be absolved. Similarly, the Psalmist declares that he will surround the altar of the Lord if he has first washed his hands among the innocent. Also Pilate, when he wished to erase the crime of the wicked sentence passed against Christ, washed his hands before the people to testify to his innocence. For in ancient times it was customary that those who wanted to demonstrate they were free of some crime, and had given no consent to the committed outrages, would wash their hands in a gathering of many people; they believed that through that physical cleanliness of the hands, they could likewise show the brilliance of their soul.

On the other hand, hands are also used in an opposite sense and repeatedly signify scourges. In this sense we read in Zephaniah: "I will stretch out my hand over Judah, and over all the inhabitants of Israel, and I will destroy the remnants of Baal from this place." For this reason, Blessed Job, speaking of his calamities and hardships, says: "The hand of the Lord has touched me." Indeed, elsewhere in the Holy Scriptures, where it says, "You have laid your hand heavily upon me," this is to be understood as a scourge and punishment.

When the Philistines, in the history of the Kings, brought the Ark of the Lord into the temple of the idol Dagon, the next day Dagon fell to the ground with his hands cut off; for this reason, learned interpreters foresee that when the doctrine of Christ reached the Gentiles, the hands of the idols would be cut off—that is, the illusions with which mortal eyes were mocked would be dissipated, and the power of demons would thereafter be abolished. Those who know right actions but never strive to perceive their fruit are described in the 113th Psalm as having "hands, but they do not feel." Moses’ leprous hand placed in his bosom, as read in Exodus, can represent the hidden and seemingly useless works of the Jews; though according to others, this hand of Moses could be a symbol of Christ in the bosom of the Father, where the nature of His Divinity shone brightly, but because He had in some way departed from that bosom by taking on flesh, He was reckoned among the wicked, only to return to the Father's bosom through the Resurrection.

Joseph’s hands upon the eyes of his father in Genesis may suggest King Jeroboam descending from him, who is said to have placed his hand over the eyes of Israel when he drove the people to idolatry. The violent hand in Job was a symbol of the power of the Gentiles against Christ. Likewise, the hands of the impious in the same book are explained as the Jews, ministers of demons, who dragged Christ to his tortures. Finally, Pilate’s washed hands in Matthew prophesy that the works of the nations are cleansed through Christ.

The word "fingers" in the plural can signify the Prophets, through whom the Divine Spirit, by his inspiration, wrote the books of the Law. Therefore, looking to this, the Psalmist (according to the mind of some) said: "I will see your Heavens, the works of your fingers." Many interpret "Heavens" as the prompting of the Prophets, led by which they spread so many wonderful oracles about divine and human things. A finger, therefore, is mostly taken for the Divine Spirit in the Holy Scriptures. For Christ said in the Gospel: "If I by the finger of God cast out demons, surely the kingdom of God will come upon you." Saint Gregory explains this "finger" as the Divine Spirit; and not without reason, since where Saint Mark writes "by the finger of God," another Evangelist reads "by the Spirit of God." Finally, he who weighed the mass of the earth with three fingers in Solomon; this of the most holy Tri-