Scripture, they say, is fertile and thus bears multiple meanings. I acknowledge that Scripture is the most rich and inexhaustible fount of all wisdom. But I deny that its fertility consists in the various meanings which anyone may fasten to it at his pleasure. Therefore let us know that the true meaning of Scripture is the genuine and simple one [verum sensum scripturae, qui germanus et simplex], and let us embrace and hold it tightly. Let us not merely neglect as doubtful, but boldly set aside as deadly corruptions, those pretended expositions which lead us away from the literal sense.
From his commentary on Galatians in Greene-McCreight, K. (1999). Ad Litteram: How Augustine, Calvin, and Barth Read the "Plain Sense" of Genesis 1-3. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing. Pg. 97
