My delicate ones have gone rough ways, and were taken away as a flock caught of the enemies.
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Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
How great is the providence of the Lord! Where there is a fruit of a softer quality, the thickness of the leaves offers a more protective covering for its defense, as we see in the example of the fig tree. Therefore the more delicate creatures must be protected from the other sturdier ones, as the same Lord teaches by the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, “Like these good figs, thus I will regard the deported ones of Judah that I have sent from this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good and will fix my eyes on them for their good.” In fact, when they were exposed to offenses he encircled them, so to speak, with a more protective covering of his mercy so that those tender fruits would not perish prematurely. Moreover, he later on also says about them, “The creatures of my possession have walked rough ways,” and he says more to them further on, “Be brave, my children, and cry to the Lord.” This is the sole inviolable protection, the impregnable defense against all the storms and the injuries. Where there are delicate fruits, the protection and the defense of the leaves is thicker; on the contrary, where there are more resistant fruits, there the leaves are more delicate, as in the case of the apple. - "Hexameron 5.14.59"
