590 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. XVII.
willbringtheholyand righteousmen toHim ; accordingto
iThess.theApostle'swords,We shallbe caughtup togetherin the
*.17- cloudsto meet Christin theair. AMBROSE. Or outofthe
same bed ofhuman infirmity,one isleft,thatis,rejected,an
otheristakenup,thatis,iscaughttomeet Christintheair.
By thetwogrindingtogether,he seemstoimplythepoorand
the oppressed.To which belongswhat follows.Two men
shallbe in thefield,fyc.For in thesethereis no slight
difference.For some nobly bear up againstthe burden
of poverty,leadinga lowlybut honestlife,and theseshall
be takenup ; but the othersare veryactiveinwickedness,
and theyshallbe left.Or thosegrindingatthe millseem
torepresentsuch asseeknourishmentfromhiddensources,
and from secretplacesdraw forththingsopenly to view.
And perhapstheworldisa kindof cornmill,inwhichthe
soulisshutup as ina bodilyprison.And inthiscornmill
eitherthe synagogueor the soulexposedto sin,likethe
wheatjsoftenedby grinding,and spoiltby toogreatmoisture,
cannotseparatetheoutwardfromthe innerparts,and sois
leftbecauseitsflourdissatisfies.But the holyChurch,or
"thesoulwhichisnotsoiledby thestainsofsin,whichgrinds
such wheat as is ripenedby the heatof the eternalsun,
presentsto God a good flourfrom the secretshrinesofthe
heart. Who thetwo men inthefieldarewe may discoverif
we consider,thattherearetwo mindsinus,one oftheouter
man whichwastethaway,theotheroftheinnerman whichis
renewedby theSacrament. Thesearethenthelabourersin
the field,the one of which by diligencebringsforthgood
fruit,the otherby idlenesslosesthatwhich he has. Or
thosewho arecomparedwe may interprettobe two nations,
one of which being faithfulistaken,the otherbeingun
faithfulisleft.
Aug.de AUG. Or therearethreeclassesof men hererepresented.
^e ^rstiscomPosedofthosewho prefertheireaseandquiet,
and busy not themselvesin secularor ecclesiasticalcon
cerns. And thisquietlifeof theirsissignifiedby thebed.
The nextclassembracesthosewho beingplacedamong the
peoplearegovernedby teachers.And suchHe hasdescribed
by the name of women, becauseitisbestforthem to be
ruledby theadviceof thosewho aresetoverthem; andHe