The mandrakes give a fragrance, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.
All Commentaries on Song of Songs 7:13 Go To Song of Songs 7
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Actually, what has always been condemned by the church is the perverse opinion of those who dare to dissolve the unity of marriage. Listen again to the voice of holy church: “Come, my brother, let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages; let us go out early to the vineyards, and see whether the vines have budded.” A field may produce many fruits, but the best field is one richly productive of both fruits and flowers. The church is a field of this sort, fecund in diversity.
