His legs are pillars of marble, set upon bases of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
Read Chapter 5
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Who indeed but Christ could dare to claim the church as his bride, whom he alone, and none other, has called from Libanus, saying, “Come here from Lebanon, my bride; come here from Lebanon”? Or of whom else could the church have said, “His throat is sweetness, and he is altogether desirable”? And seeing that we entered upon this discussion from speaking of the shoes of his feet, to whom else but the Word of God incarnate can those words apply? “His legs are pillars of marble, set upon bases of gold.” For Christ alone walks in the souls and makes his path in the minds of his saints, in which, as upon bases of gold and foundations of precious stone the heavenly Word has left his footprints ineffaceably impressed. - "On the Christian Faith 3.10.74"
“His legs are pillars of marble.” These are clearly foundations, for whoever builds does so upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. He aptly praises the legs after the belly, who says that marble is set upon bases of gold. Peter and John are pillars of the church, for example, who had Christ, called by a golden name, as their foundation. And they are marble, for Paul also calls them a pillar, surely on account of their stability and consistency, sustaining and supporting the common body of the church, moreover, with their enlightened lives and their saving doctrine. But the charity with which we love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves also supports the common body of the church, as though on pillars of marble. For whoever is perfected in these two commandments becomes a pillar and support of the church, such that the whole body of the church rests upon this double virtue, as though on legs. The golden foundation contains the unwavering and unchanged base o...
A pillar must rest on the foundation of truth. Truth is golden, and its bases are the bridegroom’s legs adorning his hands and head. The foundation may be interpreted as marble. We understand by the Song’s words that the body’s legs are marble pillars, that is, those persons who support and bear the body of the church by exemplary lives and sound words. Through them the base of our faith is firm, the course of virtue is completed, and the entire body is raised on high by our longing for God’s promise. Truth and stability guide the church’s body. Gold represents truth, which, according to Paul, is called the foundation of the divine edifice. … Christ is the truth upon whom are founded the legs, or pillars of the church. - "Homilies on the Song of Songs 14"
