But in a mystical sense, the first maid means the wavering, the second, the assent, the third man is the act. This is the threefold denial which the remembrance of the word of the Lord washes away through tears. The cock then crows for us when some preacher stirs up our hearts by repentance to compunction. We then begin to weep, when we are set on fire within by the spark of knowledge, and we go forth, when we cast out what we were within.
Reproduced in full. Translation: Oxford 1841 (Newman), public domain (Public domain).