egotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish,
but may have life everlasting." Consequently the chief sacrifice is
that whereby Christ Himself "delivered Himself . . . to God for an
odor of sweetness" (Eph. 5:2). And for this reason all the other
sacrifices of the Old Law were offered up in order to foreshadow this
one individual and paramount sacrifice--the imperfect forecasting the
perfect. Hence the Apostle says (Heb. 10:11) that the priest of the
Old Law "often" offered "the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins: but" Christ offered "one sacrifice for sins, for ever."
And since the reason of the figure is taken from that which the
figure represents, therefore the reasons of the figurative sacrifices
of the Old Law should be taken from the true sacrifice of Christ.

Reply Obj. 1: God did not wish these sacrifices to be offered to Him
on account of the things themselves that were offered, as though He
stood in need of them: wherefore it is written (Isa. 1:11): "I desire
not holocausts of rams, and fat of fatlings, and blood of calves and
lambs and buckgoats." But, as stated above, He wished them to be
offered to Him, in order to prevent idolatry; in order to signify the
right ordering of man's mind to God; and in order to represent the
mystery of the Redemption of man by Christ.

Reply Obj. 2: In all the respects mentioned above (ad 1), there was a
suitable reason for these animals, rather than others, being offered
in sacrifice to God. First, in order to prevent idolatry. Because
idolaters offered all other animals to their gods, or made use of
them in their sorceries: while the Egyptians (among whom the people
had been dwelling) considered it abominable to slay these animals,
wherefore they used not to offer them in sacrifice to their gods.
Hence it is written (Ex. 8:26): "We shall sacrifice the abominations
of the Egyptians to the Lord our God." For they worshipped the sheep;
they reverenced the ram (because demons appeared under the form
thereof); while they employed oxen for agriculture, which was
reckoned by them as something sacred.

Secondly, this was suitable for the aforesaid right ordering of man's
mind to God: and in two ways. First, because it is chiefly by means
of these animals that human life is sustained: and moreover they are
most clean, and partake of a most clean food: whereas other animals
are either wild, and not deputed to ordinary use among men: or, if
they be tame,