VER. 24 26. ST. LUKE. 407 ORIGEN. That is,to thosewho are of Israel,whom he saw possessingnothing divinein them, but desolate,and vacant forhim to take up his abode there; aud so it follows,And when he came, he findethit swept and garnished. AMBROSE. For Israelbeing adorned with a mere outward and super ficialbeauty, remains inwardly the more pollutedin her heart. For she never quenched or allayedher firesin the water of the sacred fountain,and rightlydid the unclean spiritreturn to her, bringing with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. Hence itfollows,And he goeth and taketh with him seven other spiritsmore wicked than himself,and they enterin and dwell there. Seeing that in truth she has sacrilegiouslyprofaned the seven weeks of the Law, (i.e.from Easterto Pentecost,)and the mystery of the eighth day. Therefore as upon us is multipliedthe seven-foldgiftsof the Spirit,so upon them fallsthe whole accumulated attackof the unclean spirits.For the number seven isfrequentlytaken to mean the whole. CHEYS. Now the evilspiritswho dwellin the soulsof the Chry«. Jews, are worse than those in former times. For then the fajJitt3' Jews raged against the Prophets, now they liftup their hands againstthe Lord of the Prophets,and thereforesuf feredworse things from Vespasian and Titus than in Egypt and Babylon. Hence itfollows,And thelaststaleof thatman isworse than theformer. Then too they had with them the Providence of God, and the grace offthe Holy Spirit;but now they are deprivedeven of thisprotection,so that there is now a greaterlack of virtue,and theirsorrows are more intense,and the tyranny of the evilspiritsmore terrible. CYRIL. The laststatealsoisworse than the first,accord ing to the words of the Apostle,It were betternot to have 2Pet.2..2i. known theway of truth,than aftertheyhave known itto turn back from it. BEDE. This may also be taken to referto certainhereticsor schismatics,or even to a bad Catholic, from whom at the time of his baptism the evilspirithad gone out. And he wanders about in dry places,thatis,his craftydevice is to try the he:irtsof the faithful,which have been purged of allunstableand transientknowledge, ifhe can plant in them any where the footstepsof his iniquity. But he says,I willreturn to my house whence I came out.