for entrance into glory, to which the way was not yet opened out in the Old Law, since the price had not yet been paid.  Matrimony did indeed exist under the Old Law, as a function of nature, but not as the sacrament of the union of Christ with the Church, for that union was not as yet brought about.  Hence under the Old Law it was allowable to give a bill of divorce, which is contrary to the nature of the sacrament.

Reply Obj. 4:  As already stated, the purifications of the Old Law were ordained for the removal of impediments to the divine worship:  which worship is twofold; viz. spiritual, consisting in devotion of the mind to God; and corporal, consisting in sacrifices, oblations, and so forth.  Now men are hindered in the spiritual worship by sins, whereby men were said to be polluted, for instance, by idolatry, murder, adultery, or incest.  From such pollutions men were purified by certain sacrifices, offered either for the whole community in general, or also for the sins of individuals; not that those carnal sacrifices had of themselves the power of expiating sin; but that they signified that expiation of sins which was to be effected by Christ, and of which those of old became partakers by protesting their faith in the Redeemer, while taking part in the figurative sacrifices.

The impediments to external worship consisted in certain bodily uncleannesses; which were considered in the first place as existing in man, and consequently in other animals also, and in man’s clothes, dwelling-place, and vessels.  In man himself uncleanness was considered as arising partly from himself and partly from contact with unclean things.  Anything proceeding from man was reputed unclean that was already subject to corruption, or exposed thereto:  and consequently since death is a kind of corruption, the human corpse was considered unclean.  In like manner, since leprosy arises from corruption of the humors, which break out externally and infect other persons, therefore were lepers also considered unclean; and, again, women suffering from a flow of blood, whether from weakness, or from nature (either at the monthly course or at the time of conception); and, for the same reason, men were reputed unclean if they suffered from a flow of seed, whether due to weakness, to nocturnal pollution, or to sexual intercourse.  Because every humor issuing from man in the aforesaid ways involves some unclean infection.  Again, man contracted uncleanness by touching any unclean thing whatever.

Now there was both a literal and a figurative reason for these uncleannesses.  The literal reason was taken from the reverence due to those things that belong to the divine worship:  both because men are not wont, when unclean, to touch precious things:  and in order that by rarely approaching sacred things they might have greater respect for them.  For since man could seldom avoid all the aforesaid uncleannesses, the result was that men could seldom approach to touch