I. Is It Lawful To Honor Her? 169 of the early heretics as having "abused greatly these words of Matthew, gathering against the honor of the Blessed Virgin, that a thing denied with special circumstance doth import an opposite affirmation when once that circumstance is expired."224 To express Hooker's idea in plainer words, when a thing is said not to have occurred until another event had happened, it does not necessarily follow that it did occur after that event took place. The Scripture says that the raven went forth from the ark, "and did not return till the waters were dried up upon the earth"225 — that is, it never returned. "Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death."226 He did not, of course, see him after death. "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand [170] until I make thy enemies thy footstool."227 These words apply to our Savior, who did not cease to sit at the right of God after His enemies were subdued. Second — But Jesus is called Mary's first-born Son, and does not a first-born always imply the subsequent birth of other children to the same mother? By no means; for the name of firstborn was given to the first son of every Jewish mother, whether other children followed or not. We find this epithet applied to Machir, for instance, who was the only son of Manasses.228 Third — But is not mention frequently made of the brethren of Jesus?229 Fortunately the Gospels themselves will enable us to trace the maternity of those who are called His brothers, not to the Blessed Virgin, but to another Mary. St. Matthew mentions, by name, James and Joseph among the brethren of Jesus;230 and the same Evangelist and also St. Mark tell us that among those who were present at the Crucifixion were Mary Magdalen and 224 Book V„ ch. xlv. 225 Gen. viii. 7. 226 Kings xv .35 227 Ps. cix. 228 Josue xvii. 1. 229 Matt. xii. 46; xiii. 55, 56. 230 Ibid.