Every natural occurrence--an eclipse of the sun, a comet, or even a
fire--stood for something else; it was the symbol of a spiritual event
concealed behind a phenomenon. The allegorical interpretation of the
Bible was carried to the point of abstruseness because every word was
considered of necessity to have an unfathomably profound meaning. The
following amazing interpretation is by the highly-gifted German poet and
mystic, Suso: "Among the great number of Solomon's wives was a black
woman whom the king loved above all others. Now what does the Holy Ghost
mean by this? The charming black woman in whom God delights more than in
any other, is a man patiently bearing the trials which God sends him."
Abelard's interpretation of the black woman is even worse; he maintained
that though she was black outside, her bones, that is her character,
were white. A really remarkable deed of bad taste was committed by the
monk, Matfre Ermengau, the author of the _Breviari d'Amor_, at a time
when civilisation had already made considerable strides.
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