Deuteronomy 26

Deuteronomy 26:14

Augustine of Hippo: What does it mean that, among those things that are ordered to say to man, who was commanded to deliver tithes and give or consecrate anything else, thus fulfilling all the commandments, is ordered to say the following, praising and recommending : I have not given any of these things to a dead person? Are the so-called “parentalia” festivals that Gentiles usually observe banned? — QUESTIONS ON DEUTERONOMY, Q. 47 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Deuteronomy 26:18

Clement of Alexandria: These are evidently symbolic—hands, of action; heart, of deliberation; mouth, of speech. There is an excellent text on the subject of the penitent: “You have chosen God today to be your God, and the Lord has chosen you today to be his people.” God makes his own the person who is eager to serve truth and reality and comes as a suppliant. Even if he is only one in number, he is honored on equal terms with the whole people. He is a part of the people. He becomes the complement of the people once he is reestablished out of his previous position, and the whole in fact takes its name from the part. — The Stromata Book 2