History of Monsters. 233

...least are said to bend, specifically those who are filled with remarkable strength; for this is recorded in the *History of Kings*: "I have left for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed their knees to Baal." Therefore, since this idol was a symbol of sin, the men who did not bend their knees indicated those who were firm in their faith. On the other hand, those who bowed their knees before Joseph, as established in Genesis, foreshadowed the bending of the mind's knees before Christ.

The legs of the Bridegroom in the *Song of Songs* represent the Apostles, through whom the Bridegroom—that is, Christ—traveled the entire world, while they disseminated the most holy faith of Christ among the peoples through divine discourse, as Saint Gregory explains. Likewise, according to ancient custom, Christ's legs were not broken; for as Abbot Robert observes, these legs of Christ were symbols of mercy and truth, two marble columns that can be weakened or broken by no one. Finally, the "uncovered legs" mentioned in Isaiah denote the exposure of the foulness of crimes, as Saint Gregory explained in his moral teachings. To these may be added the buttocks, which in the sacred pages represent the part of the human prone to sin. Similarly, uncovered buttocks in Isaiah signify ignominy.

We have now come to the feet, which are not excluded from mystical doctrine. According to Goropius, in the "primeval language," the foot was called *Voet*, a word that means "to nourish." This is attributed to the Divine Spirit, who, with his fiery heat, cherishes and nourishes what the Father planted and the Son healed. In God, the feet demonstrate the divine nature and the stability of eternity; under these feet, in the seventeenth Psalm, darkness is said to be placed, because the manner of the flesh assumed by God was hidden and unknown. The feet also show the firmness of God's power, for Isaiah wrote: "Heaven is my throne, and the Earth is my footstool."

Furthermore, mystical doctrine assigns feet to the Angels, which can reveal their mobility, or rather the swiftness of their eternal course as they hasten toward divine matters. Thus, when it is read in Exodus, "He touched my feet," some understand this as referring to Angels. The feet of the soul are said to be its primary powers—namely, the intellect and the will—by which it hastens toward good or evil. Consequently, the "bound feet" in Matthew designate impeded powers. In a similar vein, the fettered feet in Plato, as Ficino interprets them, show those who are commanded not to be led or to progress, but to be carried away by a certain violence. The Psalmist looked to this when he said, "My foot has stood in the right way," alluding to the intellect and thought; for just as our feet carry us wherever we go, so do our thoughts draw us toward the performance of good or evil.

The feet of Christ designate His humanity, which is also represented by the feet of the lamb in Exodus. Indeed, Christ's feet, which run to conciliate peace, are represented in the Church by the Apostles, preachers, and those endowed with a humble spirit who exercise themselves daily in works of mercy. Finally, Christ's feet, washed and anointed by the sinful woman in Luke, can demonstrate mercy and judgment; or even, according to the opinion of Clement of Alexandria, they signify the Apostles, anointed with prophetic foreknowledge, who shared the sweet ointment of the Divine Spirit. The feet of the Saints, which the Lord preserves in the *History of Kings*, manifest fortitude and humility of mind; for we are kept safe by fortitude in adversity and by humility in prosperity.

Now we must consider what shod or barefoot feet portend. Indeed, the Lord commanded the Apostles, as they set out to disseminate the Gospel doctrine, to strip themselves of their shoes; since they were to announce the perpetuity of a most blessed life, they ought to lack every sign of mortality—for a shoe possesses something of mortality, being fashioned from the skins of dead animals. Hence, as Pierio Valeriano reports, the Egyptian priests wore shoes prepared from papyrus to avoid this. Likewise, when Moses was about to approach the mountain of God, he was commanded to remove the shoes from his feet, as it is essential for one who wishes to stand in a holy place to carry nothing of mortality with him. Although some interpret Moses's bare feet in Exodus as the "latter times" in which the Synagogue was dismissed from the Law so that Christ might teach her, a little further on in Exodus, shod feet demonstrate right actions with their proper attributes; therefore, they must shrink from nakedness so that the works may achieve their rightful effect.