Bede : He also sent out a dove after him, to see if the waters had ceased upon the face of the earth; but when she did not find where her foot might rest, she returned to him in the ark. For the waters were over the whole earth; and he extended his hand, and having caught her, brought her into the ark. The dove, as we have said, signifies the spiritual and simple mind of the elect, who, with the window of heavenly contemplation opened to them, reject all things that revolve in the lower regions the more cautiously, the higher they see the joys that remain forever. For such persons, like this dove, so despise all worldly allurements as if flying above them, that they do not care even to touch them with the last vestiges of their mind, as it is impossible for them to find true rest in this world, both its adversities and its prosperities being carried away like flowing waters, wandering and uncertain. Moreover, they strive not only to remain themselves within the boundaries of the Church, but also, as much as they can, to bring others into it by their example or exhortation; hence it is rightly added. — Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron) Augustine of Hippo : ON THE DOVE. — We can also ask why the dove found no place to settle if the summits of the mountains had already appeared, as is clear from the order in which things are told. (Cf. Genesis 8:5) And the previous question seems to be resolved by saying that the author, as a recapitulation, later narrated the things that had happened before, or rather because the earth had not yet dried up. [Augustine of Hippo, Question on Genesis, PL 34, — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 13 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)