{"slug":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-fragmenta-in-canticum-canticorum","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-fragmenta-in-canticum-canticorum","title":"Fragmenta in Canticum canticorum","title_source":"Fragmenta in Canticum canticorum","author":"Cyril of Alexandria","genre":"commentary","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T07:08:31Z","cost_usd":0.007049},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-fragmenta-in-canticum-canticorum","work_id":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-fragmenta-in-canticum-canticorum","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Cyril%20of%20Alexandria_PG%2068-77/Fragmenta%20in%20Canticum%20canticorum.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":13,"english_words":3333,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":13629,"commentary_units":78,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":3,"ambiguities":23,"work_notes":4,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-fragmenta-in-canticum-canticorum","abstract":"The Fragmenta in Canticum canticorum by Cyril of Alexandria survives only in excerpts preserved in Greek catenae and florilegia, with no continuous manuscript tradition. Cyril (c. 378–444) likely composed this allegorical commentary on the Song of Songs late in his career, though the fragmentary state precludes precise dating. The fragments are ordered by catena compilers, not the author, making reconstruction of Cyril's original sequence or argument impossible. His allegorical reading interprets the Song's female figures as souls drawn to Christ, influencing later Byzantine exegesis but rarely cited in the Latin West.","historical_context":"Cyril of Alexandria, patriarch from 412 to 444, was a central figure in the Christological controversies of the early fifth century, notably opposing Nestorius at the Council of Ephesus (431). His commentary on the Song of Songs, likely written late in his career, reflects the Alexandrian allegorical tradition exemplified by Origen and Philo. The work survives only in fragments from catenae and florilegia, compiled by Byzantine scholars who excerpted passages for liturgical or doctrinal purposes. No continuous manuscript tradition exists, and the original sequence is lost. The fragments show Cyril using typology to interpret the Song's erotic imagery as the soul's union with Christ, a method that influenced later Byzantine exegetes like Maximus the Confessor but had limited circulation in the Latin West due to linguistic and theological barriers.","significance":"Cyril's fragments represent a key witness to Alexandrian allegorical exegesis of the Song of Songs, bridging Origen's approach and later Byzantine mysticism. They demonstrate how patristic authors used the Song to articulate Christological and ecclesiological themes, particularly the soul's longing for Christ. The fragments' survival in catenae also illuminates the transmission of patristic texts through Byzantine compilation practices.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 378–444","event":"Life of Cyril of Alexandria"},{"date":"412–444","event":"Cyril serves as Patriarch of Alexandria"},{"date":"431","event":"Council of Ephesus; Cyril opposes Nestorius"},{"date":"5th c.","event":"Probable composition of Cyril's Song of Songs commentary (late career)"},{"date":"6th–10th c.","event":"Fragments preserved in Byzantine catenae and florilegia"},{"date":"20th–21st c.","event":"Modern critical editions of the fragments"}],"relations":[{"work":"Song of Songs (Septuagint)","relation":"Biblical text commented upon","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Origen's Commentary on the Song of Songs","relation":"Precedent in Alexandrian allegorical tradition","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Cyril of Alexandria's other exegetical works","relation":"Part of Cyril's broader exegetical corpus","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Catenae and florilegia (e.g., Procopius of Gaza)","relation":"Transmission medium preserving the fragments","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Maximus the Confessor's Mystagogy","relation":"Later Byzantine exegesis influenced by Cyril's allegorical method","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The text survives only in fragments from catenae and florilegia; no continuous manuscript tradition exists.","Precise dating of the commentary is impossible; it is likely late in Cyril's career but not securely dated.","The fragments are ordered by catena compilers, not by Cyril, so the original sequence and argument cannot be reconstructed.","Attribution of some fragments to Cyril may be uncertain due to the nature of catena transmission."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000482,"generated":"2026-11-15T07:08:31Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Cyril%20of%20Alexandria_PG%2068-77/Fragmenta%20in%20Canticum%20canticorum.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-fragmenta-in-canticum-canticorum","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":13,"translated":13,"commentary_passages":13,"commentary_units":78,"english_words":3333,"source_letters":13629,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives only in fragments, chiefly from catenae and florilegia; no continuous manuscript tradition exists.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378–444) likely composed this commentary late in his career, but the fragmentary state precludes precise dating.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Cyril’s allegorical reading of the Song of Songs influenced later Byzantine exegesis, though his fragments were not widely cited in the Latin West.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition cannot reconstruct Cyril’s original sequence or argument; the fragments are ordered by the catena compiler, not the author.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: commentary in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 13 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"3 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":13},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΚΥΡΙΛΛΟΥ ΑΛΕΧΑΝΔΡΕΙΑΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΑΣΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΑΣΜΑΤΩΝ ΑΠΟΣΠΑΣΜΑΤΙΑ Μῦρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σου.\n\nΔηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τοῦ Μονογενοῦς κληθεῖσαν ἐπωνυμίαν, καθ' ὃ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη εὐωδιάζουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν αὐτοῦ φέροντα προσηγορίαν. Διὰ τοῦτο νεάνιδες, κ.τ.λ. Νεᾶνις ἦν καὶ Παῦλος, Πάντα, λέγων, ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστῷ. Διὸ καὶ λίαν ἠγάπησε φάσκων· Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρήσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Πῶς δὲ αὐτὸν εἵλκυσαν; Ἀκολουθήσασαι τοῖς ἴχνεσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν ἀπολαύσασαι μύρων. Εἰ δὲ δραμοῦμεν, ἔχων [ ἔχον] τῶν νεανίδων ὁ λόγος, κατὰ τὸ ὀπίσω Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ πορευσόμεθα. Ἥντινα βασιλείαν ταμιεῖον ἐν ταῖς παροῦσι προσαγορεύει. Ἔθεντό με φυλάκισσαν, κ.τ.λ. Τάχα δὲ κατηγορεῖ ἑαυτῆς, ὅτι τὸν ἴδιον οὐκ ἐφύλαξεν ἀμπελῶνα, πορθεῖν αὐτὸν ἀφεῖσα πάντα τὸν παραπορευόμενον τὴν ὁδόν· λυμήνασθαί τε αὐτὸν ἦν ἐκ δρυμοῦ, καὶ μονιὸν ἄγριον κατανεμήσασθαι αὐτόν. Τάχα δὲ καὶ δοξάζει τὸν Θεὸν, ὅτι μὴ δυνηθεῖσα φυλάξαι τὸν ἴδιον ἀμπελῶνα, τῷ μήτε γεωργῆσαι μήτε φυλάξαι ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον προέκοψεν, ὡς πολλοὺς ἀμπελῶνας δυνηθῆναι φυλάξαι. Ἤγουν υἱοὺς μητρὸς αὐτῆς λέγει τῆς Συναγωγῆς, τοὺς Γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαίους οἵτινες ἐπολέμουν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς Χριστὸν, τηρεῖν ἐντελλόμενοι τὴν κατὰ τὸν νόμον λατρείαν· αὕτη γὰρ ἀμπελών.","english":"Of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, on the Song of Songs, fragments. Your name is ointment poured out.\n\nIt also signifies the appellation of the Only-Begotten invoked among all the nations, in that all the nations are fragrant toward him, bearing his name. Therefore, maidens, etc. Paul also was a maiden, saying, I am strong in all things through Christ who strengthens me. Hence he also loved exceedingly, saying, Who will separate us from the love of Christ? How did they draw him? By following in his footsteps and enjoying the ointments of the Gospels. If we run, the word of the maidens says, we will go after the Lord God. This kingdom he calls a treasury in the present context. They placed me as a guard, etc. Perhaps she accuses herself, that she did not guard her own vineyard, having allowed every passerby on the road to ravage it; and it was possible for it to be damaged by a thicket, and for a wild beast to consume it. Perhaps she also glorifies God, that, not having been able to guard her own vineyard, because she neither cultivated nor guarded it, she advanced so far as to be able to guard many vineyards. Or she calls the sons of her mother, the Synagogue, the Scribes and Pharisees who warred against those believing in Christ, commanding them to keep the worship according to the law; for this is the vineyard.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Μῦρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σου","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Your name is ointment poured out' is a direct citation from Song 1:3 (LXX), where the beloved's name is likened to spilled ointment, evoking fragrance and diffusion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστῷ","severity":"info","text":"Cyril attributes to Paul the claim 'I am strong in all things through Christ who strengthens me,' which is not a direct biblical quotation but a paraphrase of Pauline themes (cf. Phil 4:13; Eph 6:10).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρήσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The rhetorical question 'Who will separate us from the love of Christ?' echoes Paul's language in Rom 8:35-39, though not a verbatim citation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Συναγωγή","severity":"info","text":"Cyril identifies 'the Synagogue' as the mother of the Scribes and Pharisees, reflecting a common patristic trope that contrasts the Synagogue (as the old covenant) with the Church (as the new).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"νεάνιδες","severity":"info","text":"The term 'maidens' (νεάνιδες) is a leitmotif in Cyril's commentary, here applied to Paul and other faithful, indicating a typological reading of the Song's female figures as souls drawn to Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔθεντό με φυλάκισσαν","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'They placed me as a guard' is fragmentary; the Greek text breaks off with κ.τ.λ., and the following interpretation is conjectural ('perhaps she accuses herself').","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is a catena fragment; the phrase 'κ.τ.λ.' indicates omitted material, making the exact referent of 'they placed me as a guard' uncertain.","The identity of the speaker in the vineyard allegory (the Synagogue or the Church) is ambiguous; Cyril offers two possible readings."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ταύτην, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐφύλαξα· ἅτινα γὰρ ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν, ὥς φησιν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος. Ὡς περιβαλλομένη ἐπ' ἀγέλαις ἑταίρων σου. Ἑταίρους αὐτοῦ τοὺς ἀποστόλους καλεῖ. Ἔφη γάρ· Οὐκ ἔτι λέγω ὑμᾶς δούλους, ἀλλὰ φίλους· φίλοι γάρ ἐστε. Περιβαλλομένη δὲ λέγει Καλυπτομένη· λέγοντος Παύλου, ὅτι Ἄχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας, ἡνίκα ἀναγινώσκεται Μωϋσῆς, κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν κεῖται. Φωνὴ οὖν, ἡ μετανοοῦσα Συναγωγὴ πρὸς Χριστόν· Δήλωσόν μοι σαυτὸν, ὅπως μὴ [ μοι] τῶν ἑταίρων σου ποιμαίνων τὰς Ἐκκλησίας, ἐγὼ ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν μείνω τὸ κάλυμμα ἔχουσα. Ἐὰν μὴ γνῷς σεαυτήν. Ἤγουν, εἰ μὴ μετανοήσῃς, φησὶν, ὀπίσω τῶν ἐθνῶν εὑρεθήσῃ· ἅτε μὴ ἔχουσα καρποὺς δικαιοσύνης, ἄκαρπος μένουσα, καὶ ὀπίσω ποιμνίων ὧν ἐμαυτῷ συνεστησάμην. Τῇ ἵππῳ μου ὡμοίωσά σε. Ἤγουν δεξαμένη τὴν ἐμὴν, ὦ Ἐκκλησία, πίστιν, τοῖς ἀποστόλοις εἰκάσθης· περὶ ὧν τὸ, Ἐπιβήσῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους σου, καὶ ἡ ἱππασία σου σωτηρία· οἳ καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἁρμάτων εὐτρεπίσθησαν τοῦ νοητοῦ Φαραώ. Σιαγόνες σου ὡς τρυγόνος. Ἤγουν τὴν αἰδὼ τὴν πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον παρίστησι διὰ τῆς τρυγόνος. Ἐρυθραὶ γὰρ τῆς τρυγόνος αἱ σιαγόνες.","english":"But I, he says, did not keep this; for whatever profits I had, I have considered loss through Christ, as the blessed Paul says. \"As one enveloped among the flocks of your companions.\" He calls his companions the apostles. For he said: \"I no longer call you slaves, but friends; for you are friends.\" And \"enveloped\" means \"covered,\" as Paul says: \"Until this very day, when Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart.\" Therefore, the voice is the repentant Synagogue speaking to Christ: \"Reveal yourself to me, so that while your companions shepherd the Churches, I may not remain with the veil upon my heart.\" \"If you do not know yourself.\" That is, if you do not repent, he says, you will be found behind the nations, since you have no fruits of righteousness, remaining barren, and behind the flocks which I established for myself. \"I compared you to my horse.\" That is, having received my faith, O Church, you were likened to the apostles, concerning whom it is said: \"You will mount your horses, and your horsemanship is salvation,\" who were also prepared against the chariots of the spiritual Pharaoh. \"Your cheeks are like a turtledove's.\" That is, through the turtledove she represents the modesty toward the bridegroom; for the cheeks of the turtledove are red.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἄχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας, ἡνίκα ἀναγινώσκεται Μωϋσῆς, κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν κεῖται","severity":"info","text":"Cyril alludes to 2 Corinthians 3:14-15, where Paul speaks of a veil on the heart when Moses is read, interpreting it as Jewish blindness.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐκ ἔτι λέγω ὑμᾶς δούλους, ἀλλὰ φίλους· φίλοι γάρ ἐστε","severity":"info","text":"Cyril cites a saying of Christ not found in the canonical Gospels; it may derive from an apocryphal tradition or oral teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"περιβαλλομένη","severity":"info","text":"Cyril glosses περιβαλλομένη as καλυπτομένη ('covered'), linking the LXX verb to Paul's veil imagery and the Synagogue's concealment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Συναγωγὴ","severity":"info","text":"The repentant Synagogue (Συναγωγή) is a personified figure in early Christian exegesis, representing the Jewish people who must convert to the Church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπιβήσῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους σου, καὶ ἡ ἱππασία σου σωτηρία","severity":"info","text":"This citation is not from the canonical Bible; it may be a lost Christian hymn or a paraphrase of Exodus 15:1 or Habakkuk 3:8.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Φωνὴ οὖν, ἡ μετανοοῦσα Συναγωγὴ πρὸς Χριστόν","severity":"info","text":"Cyril identifies the speaker as the repentant Synagogue addressing Christ, framing the Song of Songs as a dialogue between Israel and the divine bridegroom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the sayings attributed to Christ and Paul is uncertain; they may be paraphrases or from non-canonical traditions.","The identity of the 'horse' and 'horsemanship' citation is unclear; it may be a lost text or a conflation of Old Testament passages."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Τῇ δὲ Συναγωγῇ τοὐναντίον, Ὄψις πόρνης ἐγένετό σοι, ἀπηναισχύντησας πρὸς πάντας. Λέγει τράχηλον τὸ ὑποτακτικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς· πῶς γὰρ κόσμος καλὸς, αὐχὴν μελετήσας φέρειν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸν ζυγόν. Ἤγουν ἀργύριον μὲν ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ συνήθως, ἡ θεία διδασκαλία· χρυσίον δὲ, τὰ θεῖα χαρίσματα. Πάντα δὲ, πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας Χριστοῦ, ὁμοιώματα ἦν καὶ σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, ἀγαθῶν. Ἀναστὰς δὲ Χριστὸς τὰ τέλεια τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δεδώρηται· πρὸ δὲ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὁμοιώματα εἴχομεν, παρὰ τῶν ἐπαίνων αὐτοῦ, τοῦ τε νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν. Νάρδῳ καὶ ἀποδέσμῳ στακτῆς ὁ ἐνταφιασμὸς σημαίνεται Χριστοῦ· ἃ Νικόδημος φέρων ἐνετύλιξε τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ. Μαστοὺς δὲ φέρει τὰς δύο Διαθήκας ἡ νύμφη, ὧν ὁ Χριστὸς ἀνὰ μέσον αὐλίζεται. Καλὴν αὐτήν φησιν, οὐχ ὡς\n\nπρότερον ἐν γυναιξὶ λέγων μόνον, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ ὡς πλησίον αὐτοῦ, ἀναδιπλασιάζει τῆς νύμφης ὁ νυμφίος τὸν ἔπαινον, τό τε θεωρητικὸν αὐτῆς ἐπαινῶν καὶ τὸ πρακτικόν. Ὀφθαλμοὺς δὲ τοὺς εἰς νοῦν καὶ καρδίαν φησίν· καὶ περιστερᾶς τὸ διορατικοὺς, καθ' ὃ καὶ εἰς Πνεῦμα λαμβάνεται. Λέγει οὖν ὡς ἐδέξατο νοῦν ἡ νύμφη μόνον ὁρῶντα Θεόν. Ὀφθαλμοὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄκακοι καὶ ὀξυδερκεῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι. Ἐγὼ ἄνθος τοῦ πεδίου, κρίνον τῶν κοιλάδων. Ὡς δεξαμένη ἡ νύμφη τὸν ἄνωθεν ὑετὸν, καὶ τεκοῦσα τὴν ἀρετὴν, ἄνθει ἑαυτὴν παραβάλλει πεδίου· δείκνυσι δὲ ὅσον ὠφέλησεν ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημία, ὅσου γε καὶ τὰς κοιλάδας τὰς ἀνεπιτηδείους πρὸς ἅπαντα σπόρον, τοιούτων μεστὰς ἔδειξεν ἀνθέων. Κοιλάδα γὰρ λέγει τὴν ἀποκοιλανθεῖσαν ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκησάντων αὐτὴν πάλαι δαιμόνων.","english":"To the Synagogue, on the contrary, \"A harlot's face came to you, you became shameless toward all.\" He calls the neck the submissive part of the soul; for how is it a beautiful ornament, having practiced bearing the yoke of Christ. Or, silver in Scripture is customarily divine teaching; gold, divine gifts. And all things, before the coming of Christ, were likenesses and shadows of the future good things, according to the Apostle. But Christ, having risen, has bestowed perfect things upon men; before the resurrection we had likenesses, from his praises, both of the law and the prophets. By nard and a bundle of myrrh the burial of Christ is signified; which Nicodemus, bearing, wrapped his body. The bride bears the two Testaments as breasts, between which Christ dwells. He calls her beautiful, not as\n\nbefore, saying only among women, but now also as near him, the bridegroom redoubles his praise of the bride, praising both her contemplative and her practical aspect. He calls eyes those for mind and heart; and of a dove, the sharp-sighted, according to which it is also taken for Spirit. He says, then, that the bride received a mind seeing only God. Eyes are also the innocent and sharp-sighted teachers of the Church. \"I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys.\" The bride, having received the rain from above and given birth to virtue, compares herself to a flower of the plain; and she shows how much the coming of Christ benefited, how it showed even the valleys, unsuitable for any sowing, full of such flowers. For he calls a valley that which was hollowed out by the demons that once inhabited it.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"Συναγωγῇ","severity":"info","text":"Here 'Synagogue' is personified as the antithesis of the Church, a common trope in patristic exegesis contrasting the old covenant with the new.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὄψις πόρνης ἐγένετό σοι","severity":"info","text":"This phrase likely echoes a prophetic rebuke of Israel as a harlot, e.g., Hosea 2–3, though not a direct quotation; Cyril applies it to the Synagogue.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Νάρδῳ καὶ ἀποδέσμῳ στακτῆς","severity":"info","text":"Nard and myrrh were burial spices; Cyril connects them to Nicodemus wrapping Christ's body, referencing John 19:39–40, a detail not in the canonical Gospels but in apocryphal tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Μαστοὺς ... τὰς δύο Διαθήκας","severity":"info","text":"Cyril interprets the bride's breasts as the two Testaments, with Christ dwelling between them—a chiastic image linking the Song's erotic imagery to salvation history.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"περιστερᾶς","severity":"info","text":"The dove (περιστερά) symbolizes the Holy Spirit in early Christian exegesis; Cyril here associates it with sharp-sightedness and the Spirit's gift of discernment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"κοιλάδα ... ἀποκοιλανθεῖσαν ... δαιμόνων","severity":"info","text":"Cyril's allegory of valleys hollowed by demons reflects a late antique demonological cosmology, where abandoned places were thought to be demonic haunts, purified by Christ's coming.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Ὄψις πόρνης ἐγένετό σοι' is not a direct biblical citation; its source is unclear, possibly a lost homiletic tradition.","The reference to Nicodemus wrapping Christ's body with nard and myrrh is not in the canonical Gospels; it may derive from apocryphal passion narratives."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις. Τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς με ἀσφαλίσατε λόγοις· οὗτοι γὰρ ἡμῖν εὐωδιάζουσι Χριστόν. Συνταχθείην δὲ, φησὶ, κἀγὼ μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ· ὡς γὰρ αὐτὸς μῆλον, οὕτως σύσσωμοι καὶ συμμέτοχοι αὐτοῦ μῆλα. Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ, κ.τ.λ. Εὐώνυμος ὁ νόμος, δεξιὰ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. Ἢ καὶ εὐώνυμος ὁ παρὼν βίος, δεξιὰ ὁ μέλλων, ἥτις με περιλήψεται ὅταν τοῖς ἐκ δεξιῶν εἴπῃ· Δεῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου. Λέγει δὲ καὶ ἑτέρωθι· Μῆκος βίου καὶ ἔτη ζωῆς, ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς σοφίας· ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀριστερᾷ, πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα. Δεξιὰ γοῦν αὐτῆς ἡ τῶν θείων ἐπιστήμη, ἐξ ἧς ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή· ἀριστερὰ δὲ ἡ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων γνῶσις, ἐξ ὧν πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα. Λέγει τοίνυν, ὅτι Ὑπερέχει ὁ νοῦς μου τὰ ἀνθρώπινα· καὶ ἡ θεία γνῶσις καλύψει με. Καὶ γὰρ εἴρηται πάλιν· Τίμησον αὐτὴν, ἵνα σε περιλάβῃ. Δείκνυσι τοίνυν, ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ νυμφίος καὶ τοξότης ἡμῶν ἐστι, νύμφη τε καὶ βέλος ἡ κεκαθαρμένη ψυχή· ὡς βέλος οὖν πρὸς τὸν ἀγαθὸν εὐθύνει σκοπόν. Ὡς νύμφην εἰς κοινωνίαν ἀναλαμβάνει τῆς ἀφθάρτου ἀϊδιότητος, μῆκος βίου καὶ ἔτη ζωῆς, διὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς χαριζόμενος· διὰ δὲ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς, τὸν τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν πλοῦτον καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξαν, ἧς οἱ τὴν τοῦ κόσμου ζητοῦντες δόξαν ἀμέτοχοι γίνονται. Διὰ τοῦτό φησιν, ὅτι Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν μου, δι' ἧς εὐθύνεται ὑπὸ τὸν σκοπὸν τὸ βέλος· ἡ δὲ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ πρὸς ἑαυτόν με διαλαβοῦσα καὶ ἐφελκυσαμένη, κούφην με πρὸς ἄνω φορὰν ἀπεργάζεται· κἀκεῖ πεμπομένην, καὶ τοῦ τοξότου μὴ χωριζομένην, μᾶλλον ἐπαναπαύεσθαι. Εἶτα πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ τρέπει τὸν λόγον.","english":"Heap me up with apples.\" Secure me with the words of the Gospels; for these make Christ fragrant for us. And let me, he says, be counted among his saints; for just as he is an apple, so his fellow members and co-sharers are apples. \"His left hand,\" etc. The Law is the left hand, the Gospel the right. Or also the present life is the left hand, the future life the right, which will embrace me when he says to those on the right: \"Come, the blessed of my Father.\" And he says elsewhere: \"Length of life and years of life are on the right of wisdom; on the left are wealth and glory.\" So the right of her is the knowledge of divine things, from which comes eternal life; the left is the knowledge of human things, from which come wealth and glory. He says, therefore, that my mind surpasses human things; and divine knowledge will cover me. For it is said again: \"Honor her, so that she may embrace you.\" He shows, therefore, that the same one is both our bridegroom and our archer, and the purified soul is both bride and arrow; as an arrow, then, it is directed toward the good target. As a bride, he takes her up into communion of incorruptible eternity, granting length of life and years of life through the right hand; and through the left hand, the wealth of eternal goods and the glory of God, of which those who seek the glory of the world become partakers. For this reason he says that his left hand is upon my head, through which the arrow is directed toward the target; and his right hand, taking hold of me and drawing me to itself, makes me light for upward motion; and being sent there, and not separated from the archer, I rather rest. Then he turns the speech to the daughters of the upper Jerusalem.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις","severity":"info","text":"The verb στοιβάζω (to heap up) is rare; Cyril interprets it as 'secure' (ἀσφαλίζω), shifting from physical piling to spiritual fortification with Gospel words.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου","severity":"info","text":"Cyril alludes to an eschatological invitation, likely echoing Matthew 25:34 or a liturgical formula; the exact source is not cited in the fragment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν μου","severity":"info","text":"Cyril allegorizes the Song's left-hand/right-hand imagery as Law vs. Gospel, or present vs. future life, a common patristic typology for salvation history.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"τοξότης","severity":"info","text":"The archer-bridegroom metaphor (τοξότης) is unusual; Cyril merges erotic and martial imagery to depict the soul as both arrow and bride, directed toward God.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἶτα πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ τρέπει τὸν λόγον","severity":"info","text":"This sentence marks a rhetorical shift: Cyril turns from the individual soul to the collective 'daughters of the upper Jerusalem,' i.e., the church or saints.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ, κ.τ.λ.","severity":"caution","text":"The abbreviation κ.τ.λ. (καὶ τὰ λοιπά) indicates a lacuna in the transmitted text; the full biblical lemma is not preserved, so the referent of 'his left hand' is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ, κ.τ.λ.' is truncated; the original biblical context (likely Song 2:6) is not fully recoverable from this fragment.","The identity of 'the daughters of the upper Jerusalem' is ambiguous: they may be angelic beings, the church, or the souls of the blessed."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Ὁ δὲ λόγος παράκλησίς ἐστιν ἐν ὅρκῳ προσαγομένη, τοῦ πλεονάζειν καὶ ἐπαύξειν ἀεὶ τὴν ἀγάπην, ἕως ἂν ἐνεργὸν ἑαυτοῦ ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα, ὁ θέλων πάντας ἀνθρώπους σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν. Διὰ μὲν τοῦ εὐωνύμου τὰ τοῦ παρόντος βίου αἰνίττεται, ὡς ἔοικε, καλὰ, ὧν τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἤδη ἔχει· διὰ δὲ τῆς δεξιᾶς, τὴν τῶν μελλόντων ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις προσδοκίαν· ὧν τὴν χρῆσιν ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις, ὡς λέλεκται, καὶ ἐλπίσι προσκεῖσθαί φησιν. Εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ φάναι, τῇ μὲν δεξιᾷ περιλαμβάνεσθαι, τῇ δὲ ἀριστερᾷ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐπαναπαύεσθαι· δεῖ γὰρ τὰ τοῦ παρόντος βίου κἂν πολὺ νομίζηται χρηστὰ καὶ περίβλεπτα, ὑποτετάχθαι τῇ κεφαλῇ τῆς τελείας ψυχῆς, μόνην τὴν ἀναγκαίαν χρείαν παρέχοντα τῷ σώματι, ὡς τὸ προσκεφάλαιον τῇ κεφαλῇ. Τὰ δὲ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, ἐπειδὴ θεῖα ὄντα ἐπάνω τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐφέστηκε φύσεως, διὰ τῆς περιλήψεως τὸ ὑπερέχον ᾐνίξατο, Τάχα δὲ, ἐπειδήπερ αἱ χεῖρες πράξεών εἰσι σύμβολον· αἱ δὲ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς χειρὸς πράξεις τὰ τοῦ σώματος σημαίνουσιν, αἱ δὲ τῆς δεξιᾶς, τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς· δεξιὰ ὄντα τὸν ἀμείνω κλῆρον εἴληχε, περιέχονται τὰς σωματικὰς ἀνάγκας. Ὡς γὰρ ἡ περιλαμβάνουσα χεὶρ καὶ ἐπάνω ἐστὶ καὶ ἐντὸς ἀγκάλην ἔχει τὸ περιληφθὲν, οὕτως αἱ πρὸς τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς μελλούσης ζωῆς ἀποτεταγμέναι πράξεις, πᾶν κίνημα τοῦ σώματος ἄλογον περισφίγγουσαι, εὔτακτον καὶ συνδεδεμένην φυλάττουσι τὴν ζωήν· οὐδ' ἑνὸς ἐπιβουλεύειν δυναμένου τῇ περιληφθείσῃ ὑπὸ τοῦ νυμφίου ψυχῇ.","english":"The word is an exhortation brought under oath, that love may always increase and grow, until he who wishes all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth makes his will effective. Through the left side, it seems, the goods of the present life are hinted at, the enjoyment of which he already has; through the right, the expectation of future things in promises; the use of which, as has been said, he says lies in promises and hopes. And it is well said that he is embraced by the right hand, while the head rests on the left; for the goods of the present life, even if they are thought to be very pleasant and conspicuous, must be subordinated to the head of the perfect soul, providing only the necessary service to the body, as a pillow does to the head. But the things of the future age, since they are divine and stand above human nature, he hinted at their superiority through the embrace. Perhaps, however, since hands are a symbol of actions, and the actions of the left hand signify those of the body, while those of the right signify those of the soul—the right having received the better lot—the bodily necessities are encompassed. For just as the embracing hand is both above and holds the embraced within its arm, so actions directed toward the goal of the future life, constraining every irrational movement of the body, keep life orderly and bound together, with no one able to plot against the soul embraced by the bridegroom.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"λόγος","severity":"info","text":"The λόγος here refers to the preceding scriptural passage (Song 2:6), interpreted as an exhortation under oath.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"εὐώνυμος","severity":"info","text":"εὐώνυμος (left) is a euphemism for the unlucky side; Cyril uses it to denote the present life, contrasting with the right hand as the future life.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"προσκεφάλαιον","severity":"info","text":"The pillow (προσκεφάλαιον) metaphor for subordination of bodily goods to the soul reflects contemporary ascetic and philosophical commonplaces.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"τάχα δέ","severity":"info","text":"τάχα δέ introduces an alternative allegorical interpretation, a common structural marker in Cyril's exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"χεῖρες","severity":"info","text":"The symbolism of hands as actions (πράξεις) parallels Philo and earlier Alexandrian allegory, distinguishing bodily from psychic deeds.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"νυμφίος","severity":"info","text":"The bridegroom (νυμφίος) is Christ; this nuptial imagery was central in later Christian mystical readings of the Song.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The referent of 'the word' (λόγος) is not explicit in the Greek; it is taken as the preceding scriptural verse. The phrase 'under oath' (ἐν ὅρκῳ) may be a textual corruption or a rare usage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν τῶν δραματικῶς ἐπαγομένων σαφηνίαν, μέχρι τοῦ, Ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὡραία. Καὶ δῆλον ὡς ἡ νύμφη τοῦ Λόγου ψυχὴ, ἤγουν Ἐκκλησία Χριστοῦ, φωνῆς πρὶν νοῆσαι αὐτὴν ὡς θείας ἀντιλαμβάνεται, ὅπερ πάσχομεν οἱ πιστοὶ, πρὶν νοῆσαι τὰς νομικὰς καὶ προφητικὰς φωνὰς, ὡς θείας χάριτος πλήρεις καταπληττόμενοι. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ, Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου, προστεταγμένον τῆς μακρόθεν ἐπιφανείας τοῦ Λόγου· ὃν ἰδοῦσα μεγάλων θεωρημάτων ἁπτόμενον, μετὰ τοῦ μηδὲ τῶν βραχυτέρων καταφρονεῖν, φησίν· Ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούς. Δι' ὅλου δὲ τοῦ λόγου, τινὰ μὲν ὡς παρόντι λέγεται τῷ νυμφίῳ· τινὰ δὲ ὥσπερ ζητουμένου παρὰ τῆς νύμφης· ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν προβλημάτων ποτὲ μέν τινα ζητοῦμεν ἀποροῦντες τῆς λύσεως· ποτὲ δὲ τῆς λύσεως ἀπολαύομεν, τοῦ νυμφίου Λόγου καταυγάζοντος ἡμῶν τὰς καρδίας. Εἶτα πάλιν ἀποροῦμεν ἐν ἑτέροις, καὶ πάλιν ἡμῖν ἐπιφαίνεται· καὶ τοῦτο πολλάκις, μέχρι τελειωθέντες τοῦ νυμφίου τύχωμεν οὐ μόνον ἐρχομένου πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ μονὴν ποιουμένου. Καὶ ἡ Ἐκκλησία ποθεῖ μὲν ἐγκαταλειπομένη τοῖς πειρασμοῖς, ἐπιφαίνεται δὲ αὐτῇ τοῖς χαρίσμασι. Διό φησιν· Ἰδοὺ, φησὶν, οὗτος ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη.","english":"These things are for the clarification of what is dramatically introduced, up to the point, \"Your voice is sweet, and your appearance is beautiful.\" And it is clear that the Bride of the Word is the soul, that is, the Church of Christ, which perceives a voice before understanding it as divine, which we the faithful experience, being struck with awe before understanding the legal and prophetic voices as full of divine grace. Such is the meaning of, \"The voice of my beloved,\" commanded from the distant epiphany of the Word; whom, seeing him engaged in great speculations while not disdaining even the lesser ones, she says: \"Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.\" Throughout the discourse, some things are said as if to the bridegroom present; others as if sought by the bride, since sometimes we seek some of the problems, being at a loss for the solution; at other times we enjoy the solution, when the bridegroom Word illuminates our hearts. Then again we are at a loss in other matters, and again he appears to us; and this happens many times, until, perfected, we obtain the bridegroom not only coming to us, but also making his abode. And the Church longs, being abandoned in trials, but he appears to her in gifts. Therefore she says: \"Behold,\" she says, \"this one comes leaping upon the mountains.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν τῶν δραματικῶς ἐπαγομένων σαφηνίαν","severity":"info","text":"Cyril introduces a hermeneutical principle: the dramatic elements of the Song are to be clarified as allegory for the soul or Church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"νύμφη τοῦ Λόγου ψυχὴ, ἤγουν Ἐκκλησία Χριστοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The bride is identified as the soul, i.e., the Church of Christ, a standard Alexandrian identification of the Song's female figure.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου","severity":"info","text":"Cyril cites Song 2:8 (LXX: 'Voice of my beloved'), interpreting it as the distant epiphany of the Word that strikes the faithful with awe before understanding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούς","severity":"info","text":"Cyril quotes Song 2:8 (LXX: 'Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills'), interpreting it as the Word's engagement in both great and lesser speculations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Δι' ὅλου δὲ τοῦ λόγου, τινὰ μὲν ὡς παρόντι λέγεται τῷ νυμφίῳ· τινὰ δὲ ὥσπερ ζητουμένου","severity":"info","text":"Cyril notes the Song's dialogical structure: some words are addressed to the bridegroom as present, others as sought, mirroring the soul's alternation between perplexity and illumination.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"μέχρι τελειωθέντες τοῦ νυμφίου τύχωμεν","severity":"info","text":"Cyril describes a progressive perfection: the soul repeatedly experiences the Word's epiphany until it attains not only his coming but his permanent abode, reflecting a spiritual ascent motif.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'προστεταγμένον τῆς μακρόθεν ἐπιφανείας' is ambiguous: it may mean 'commanded from the distant epiphany' or 'ordered as a command of the distant epiphany'; the translation takes it as the former."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Ἔρχεται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ δίκτυα τὰ πετασμένα ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ πλησίον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας· ἅπερ σχίσας, καταφρονητικῶς αὐτῶν ἐπιβαίνειν διδάσκει. Τῇ ὑπερβάσῃ Ἐκκλησίᾳ πάντα χειμῶνα πειρασμοῦ, τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ ἀέρος δείκνυται, καὶ τὸ ἐγγίζειν τὸ θέρος, περὶ οὗ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς· Τὸ θέρος καὶ ἔαρ. Ὤφθη γὰρ αὐτῇ ἄνθη, καὶ ἤγγισεν ἡ παντελὴς, κάθαρσις, καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ὀνομαζομένης. Ἐκκύπτων διὰ τῶν δικτύων. Ἴσως δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐδήλωσεν διὰ τῆς ἁλιευτικῆς τέχνης. Ταῦτα τοίνυν ἀκούει τοῦ Λόγου ἡ Ἐκκλησία διὰ τῶν προφητικῶν θυρίδων καὶ τῶν νομικῶν δικτύων δεχομένη τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας αὐγήν· ἔτι συνεστῶτος τοῦ τυπικοῦ τῆς διδασκαλίας τοίχου, τοῦ νόμου λέγω, τοῦ τὴν σκιὰν ποιοῦντος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων δεικνύντος· οὗ ὀπίσω στᾶσα ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐχομένη τοῦ τόπου ὕστερον ἐπιλάμπει. Ἢ καὶ τὸ τῆς τομῆς ἔφη τοῦ νοητοῦ θερισμοῦ· περὶ οὗ ὁ Σωτήρ φησιν· Ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς. Ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας, ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος. Ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας, ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος. ἀσφάλεια διὰ τοῦ προτειχίσματος δηλουμένη· ἔνθα γενομένη, φησὶ, τεύξῃ πάσης ἐπικουρίας. Ἀπόστρεψον. Αἰτεῖ τὸν νυμφίον, τὴν ἄκαρπον ἀπολεῖψαι Συναγωγὴν, καὶ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς κοίλης καὶ τεταπεινωμένης πάλαι καὶ εἰδωλολατρούσης ψυχῆς ἐπὶ οὐράνιον ὕψος ἀναβάντας. Ἐπὶ κοίτην μου ἐν νυξὶν ἐζήτησα. Τὰς γυναῖκας δηλοῖ, τὰς ἐλθούσας μιᾷ Σαββάτων ὄρθρου βαθέως ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ μὴ εὑρούσας αὐτόν.","english":"He also comes upon the nets spread by the Evil One near the Church; and having torn them, he teaches to tread upon them contemptuously. To the Church that has passed through every winter of trial, the signs of the air are shown, and the approach of summer, concerning which it is said in the Psalms: \"The summer and the spring.\" For flowers appeared to her, and the complete purification drew near, the season of the so-called cutting. Peeping through the nets. Perhaps he also indicated the apostles through the art of fishing. So then the Church hears these things from the Word, receiving the radiance of truth through the prophetic windows and the legal nets, while the typological wall of teaching—I mean the law, which casts the shadow of future goods, not showing the very image of things—still stands; behind which the truth, standing and holding to the place, later shines forth. Or he spoke of the cutting of the spiritual harvest, concerning which the Savior says: \"The harvest is plentiful.\" In the shelter of the rock, clinging to the forewall. In the shelter of the rock, clinging to the forewall; security indicated by the forewall; where, having come, she says, you will obtain every assistance. Turn away. She asks the bridegroom to leave behind the barren Synagogue and to come to those who, from the hollow and formerly humbled and idol-worshipping soul, have ascended to heavenly height. \"I sought you on my bed in the nights.\" This indicates the women who came at deep dawn on the first day of the week to the tomb of Jesus and did not find him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸ θέρος καὶ ἔαρ","severity":"info","text":"Cyril cites a phrase from the Psalms, likely Psalm 74:4 LXX (τὸ θέρος καὶ ἔαρ), to link the Church's passage through trial to the arrival of spiritual summer.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'the harvest is plentiful' is attributed to the Savior; it may echo Matthew 9:37 or a similar logion, though the exact source is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"τῆς τομῆς","severity":"info","text":"The term 'cutting' (τομή) likely refers to the pruning of vines or the harvest, used metaphorically for spiritual purification or the separation of the faithful from the wicked.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τῆς πέτρας","severity":"info","text":"The 'rock' and 'forewall' (προτείχισμα) evoke protective imagery, possibly from the Song of Songs or early Christian exegesis of the Church as a refuge; Cyril interprets them as symbols of security.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"τὰς γυναῖκας ... ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμα","severity":"info","text":"Cyril identifies the women seeking the bridegroom on the bed at night with the women at Jesus' tomb on Easter morning, a typological reading linking the Song of Songs to the resurrection narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐκκύπτων διὰ τῶν δικτύων","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'peeping through the nets' is ambiguous: it may refer to the bridegroom or the Church; the Greek participle ἐκκύπτων could be masculine or neuter, and the syntax is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The referent of 'peeping through the nets' (ἐκκύπτων) is unclear: possibly the bridegroom (Christ) or the Church; the participle's gender is ambiguous.","The phrase 'the cutting' (τῆς τομῆς) may refer to either harvest or pruning, and its exact scriptural or liturgical background is not specified.","The citation 'the harvest is plentiful' is not directly traceable to a canonical verse; it may be a paraphrase or apocryphal saying."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Τὸ οὖν, ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην, ἢ ἀπὸ κοίτης φησὶν, ἢ κοίτην ἑαυτῆς τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου μνῆμα καλεῖ, καθ' ὃ συνθαπτόμεθα αὐτῷ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ εὗρεν αὐτὸν, ἀκούσασα· Οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε· ἠγέρθη γάρ. Καὶ εὗρον αὐτὴν οἱ τηροῦντες ἄγγελοι, οὓς καὶ ἐρωτᾷ· Ποῦ τεθείκατε τὸν Κύριον; Ἀλλὰ παρελθούσῃ τοὺς ἐρωτηθέντας, ὑπήντησε λέγων· Χαίρετε. Διό φησιν ὡς μικρὸν παρῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἕως εὗρον, καὶ οὐκ ἀφήσω αὐτόν. Ἐκράτησε γὰρ οὗτος πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἤκουσε· Μή μου ἅπτου. Οἶκον δὲ μητρὸς τὴν συναγωγὴν ἀποστόλων φησὶ, εἰς ἣν ἀπελθοῦσα εὐαγγελίζετο τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν ἀνάστασιν. Τεθυμιαμένη σμύρναν καὶ λίβανον. Σμύρνα μὲν, ὅτε συντέθαπται διὰ τοῦ λιβάνου· λίβανος δὲ, ὅτε συναναστὰς αὐτῷ κεκοινώνηκε τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ οὐ μόνοις τούτοις ἡ ἐκκλησιαστικὴ τεθυμίασται ψυχὴ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ποικίλοις γνώσεως θεωρήμασιν. Ὁ γὰρ ἄκρως διαιρῶν καὶ μέχρι τοῦ τυχόντος λεπτῶς ἐρευνῶν τὰ πράγματα, λέγοιτ' ἂν μυρεψός πως εἶναι, λεπτύνων καὶ εἰς κόνιν ἄγων πάντα τὰ τῆς εὐωδίας λόγια· ἃ νῦν ἡ νύμφη λέγεται τεθυμιᾶσθαι.","english":"Therefore, when it says \"upon the bed\" or \"from the bed,\" it calls the Lord's tomb her bed, in which we are buried with him. But she did not find him, having heard: \"He is not here; for he has risen.\" And the watching angels found her, whom she also asks: \"Where have you placed the Lord?\" But when she had passed by those she questioned, he met her, saying: \"Rejoice.\" Hence it says that she passed a little way from them until she found, and I will not let him go. For he grasped his feet and heard: \"Do not touch me.\" And \"house of the mother\" means the assembly of the apostles, to which she went and proclaimed the resurrection of Christ. She was perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. Myrrh, when she is buried together through the frankincense; frankincense, when she has risen with him and partaken of his divinity. And the ecclesiastical soul is perfumed not only with these, but also with various speculations of knowledge. For one who distinguishes to the utmost and minutely examines matters even to the smallest detail might be called a perfumer, so to speak, refining and reducing to dust all the words of fragrance with which the bride is said to be perfumed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"κοίτην","severity":"info","text":"Cyril interprets 'bed' (κοίτην) as the Lord's tomb, a symbolic reading common in patristic exegesis of the Song of Songs.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε· ἠγέρθη γάρ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'He is not here; for he has risen' echoes the angelic announcement at the empty tomb, as in Matthew 28:6 and John 20:13.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Χαίρετε","severity":"info","text":"The greeting 'Rejoice' (Χαίρετε) recalls the risen Christ's words to the myrrh-bearing women, e.g., Matthew 28:9.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"οἶκον μητρὸς","severity":"info","text":"Cyril glosses 'house of the mother' as the assembly of the apostles, a typological identification of the Church as mother.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"μυρεψός","severity":"info","text":"The term 'perfumer' (μυρεψός) is used metaphorically for the exegete who refines scriptural words into fine knowledge.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"σμύρναν καὶ λίβανον","severity":"info","text":"Myrrh and frankincense were funerary and liturgical aromatics; Cyril allegorizes them as burial with Christ and participation in his divinity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The referent of 'she' shifts between the bride (Church) and Mary Magdalene; Cyril conflates them typologically.","The phrase 'ἀπὸ κοίτης' may be a variant reading or a gloss; the text does not specify."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Τάχα δὲ καὶ ὁ μὴ κατὰ σάρκα βιοὺς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα, μηδαμῶς παχυνθεὶς τὴν καρδίαν, τὸ ποικίλον καὶ παντοδαπὸν σῶζον τῆς εὐωδίας, εὐωδίαν ἀπὸ πάντων ποιεῖ τῶν νῦν οὕτως ὀνομαζομένων κονιορτῶν μυρεψοῦ. Λέγοι δ' ἄν τις καὶ ὡς ἡ ἁγία καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικὴ ψυχὴ, τὸ τέκνον ποτὲ ἔρημον Θεοῦ, ἀπὸ συναγωγῆς ἐθνῶν ἀναβαίνει ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου· καταλιποῦσα μὲν δόγματα καὶ λόγους καὶ πράξεις, τὰ ἔρημα Θεοῦ, ἀναβαίνουσα ἐπὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἡ πνευματικὴ δὲ συνάφεια νοείσθω χρυσίον, ἡ τιμία καὶ θεία. Καὶ τὴν κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον γὰρ κιβωτὸν ἔσωθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν, χρυσίον ὑπήλειφεν εἰς ἐμφάνειαν τῆς θείας ἑνώσεως. Ἐπιβαίνει δὲ πορφύρα τῷ πλήθει τῶν εἰς βασιλείαν κληθέντων. Ἐπὰν δέ τις πιστεύσῃ, δέχεται τῇ καρδίᾳ Χριστὸν, ὅς ἐστι τίμιος μαργαρίτης. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ φορεῖον, φησὶν, ἐκ τῶν θυγατέρων πεποίηται τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ διὰ μόνην ἀγάπην· Οὕτω γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλεν Υἱόν· ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ' ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.","english":"Perhaps also the one who does not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, never having thickened his heart, preserving the varied and manifold fragrance, makes a fragrance from all the things now called dust of the perfumer. And one might say that the holy and ecclesiastical soul, once a child bereft of God, ascends from the synagogue of the nations, from the desert, having left behind doctrines and words and deeds that are bereft of God, ascending to those of God. And let the spiritual union be understood as gold, precious and divine. For even the ark in the desert, within and without, was smeared with gold for the manifestation of the divine union. And purple is placed upon the multitude of those called to the kingdom. And when someone believes, he receives Christ in his heart, who is a precious pearl. But also the litter, it says, is made from the daughters of Jerusalem for the sake of love alone. For God so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"κονιορτῶν μυρεψοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'dust of the perfumer' likely refers to the aromatic powders used in preparing perfumes, symbolizing the varied fragrances of spiritual life.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"συναγωγῆς ἐθνῶν","severity":"info","text":"'Synagogue of the nations' here denotes the assembly of Gentiles, contrasting with the Church as the holy and ecclesiastical soul.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπὸ συναγωγῆς ἐθνῶν ἀναβαίνει","severity":"info","text":"The ascent from the desert echoes Exodus imagery, possibly alluding to the Israelites' journey from Egypt, a type of the soul's spiritual progress.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλεν Υἱόν","severity":"info","text":"This directly quotes John 3:16, emphasizing God's love in sending his only-begotten Son for the world's salvation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"κιβωτὸν","severity":"info","text":"The ark in the desert refers to the Ark of the Covenant, plated with gold to signify divine union, a typological symbol of Christ's incarnation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπὰν δέ τις πιστεύσῃ","severity":"info","text":"This clause introduces a conditional statement, shifting from general spiritual allegory to the individual act of faith, receiving Christ as a pearl.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τὸ ποικίλον καὶ παντοδαπὸν σῶζον τῆς εὐωδίας' is ambiguous: it may mean preserving the varied fragrance or saving it from corruption.","The identity of 'τὸ τέκνον ποτὲ ἔρημον Θεοῦ' is unclear: it could refer to the soul or the Church as a child once abandoned by God."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία φησὶ τό· Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε. Ἡμέραν δὲ νυμφεύσεως τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πάθους καλεῖ, καθ' ἣν ἐνυμφεύσατο τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ. Ἡ σιωπὴ αὐτῆς σημαίνει τὴν εἰς ἅπαν ὑπακοὴν κατὰ τὸ, Σιώπα καὶ ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ. Ἢ καὶ δύο νεβροὶ, ἡ ἠθικὴ καὶ δογματικὴ διδασκαλία, οἱ δύο τῆς νύμφης μαστοί· ἐξ ὧν οἱ τρεφόμενοι ὀξύτητι βλέπουσι πρὸς Θεόν. Ῥῖνα δὲ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν καὶ εὐαγγελικῶν λόγων τὴν εὐωδίαν, ἅπερ νεμόμεθα μέχρι συντελείας. Δεῦρο ἀπὸ Λιβάνου, νύμφη. Διδάσκει ἡμᾶς πόθεν ἡ νύμφη, καὶ ὅτι ἐξ εἰδωλολατρείας ἔρχεται. Κατείδωλον γὰρ ὄρος ὁ Λίβανος· ὅθεν ἐλεύσῃ, φησίν· διελεύσῃ δὲ διὰ τοῦ νόμου· ἀγνοοῦσα γὰρ αὐτὸν, τὸ Χριστοῦ κατηχήθης μυστήριον. Ἐκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς, ἀδελφή μου νύμφη. Ἤγουν εἰς πόθον ἡμᾶς ἤγαγες σεαυτῆς, ἑνὶ ῥήματι τῆς ὁμολογίας, ὅπερ ἔσχες ὀρθῶς, ὁρῶσα τοῖς ἔνδον ὀφθαλμοῖς σου. Ὑποταγεῖσα γὰρ ἐνθέματι τοῦ τραχήλου σου, τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐποίησας. Ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν φίλων τοῦ νυμφίου, ἀγγελικῶν, φημὶ, δυνάμεων, λέγεται πρὸς αὐτήν. Διττῆς γὰρ οὔσης τῆς ὀπτικῆς ἐνεργείας, καὶ τῆς μὲν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁρώσης, τῆς δὲ ἑτέρας περὶ τὰ μάταια πλανωμένης, ἐπειδὴ περὶ μόνην τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὴν φύσιν ἀνέῳκται τῆς νύμφης ὁ καθαρὸς ὀφθαλμὸς, ἀργεῖ δὲ ὁ ἕτερος, τούτου χάριν ἑνὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν προσάγουσιν οἱ φίλοι τὸν ἔπαινον· ἀδελφὴν μὲν αὐτὴν καλοῦντες, διὰ τῆς ἀπαθείας συγγένειαν· νύμφην δὲ, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Λόγον συνάφειαν.","english":"The Church from the Gentiles says: \"Come out and see.\" She calls the day of the passion the day of the wedding, on which she was wedded to the Church through his blood. Her silence signifies obedience in everything, according to: \"Be silent and listen, Israel.\" Or the two fawns are the ethical and doctrinal teaching, the two breasts of the bride; from which those who are nourished see with sharpness toward God. The nose is the fragrance of the apostolic and evangelical words, which we graze upon until the end. \"Come from Lebanon, bride.\" It teaches us whence the bride comes, and that she comes from idolatry. For Mount Lebanon is full of idols; \"whence you will come,\" it says; \"you will pass through the law\"; for, being ignorant of it, you were catechized in the mystery of Christ. \"You have heartened us, my sister bride.\" That is, you have led us into desire for yourself, by one word of confession, which you held rightly, seeing with your inner eyes. For, having submitted to the yoke of your neck, you made the confession. These things are said to her by the friends of the bridegroom, I mean the angelic powers. For since there is a double visual activity, one seeing the truth and the other wandering about vain things, because the pure eye of the bride has been opened only to the nature of the good, while the other is idle, for this reason the friends bring praise to one of the eyes; calling her sister, through kinship by dispassion; and bride, through union with the Word.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Come out and see' is not a direct biblical quotation but echoes the Song of Songs 3:11, where the beloved is invited to view the lilies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἡμέραν νυμφεύσεως","severity":"info","text":"Cyril identifies the 'day of the wedding' with the day of Christ's passion, interpreting the Song of Songs as an allegory of Christ's union with the Church through his blood.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Λίβανος","severity":"info","text":"Mount Lebanon is described as 'full of idols' (κατείδωλον), reflecting a patristic trope that Lebanon, a source of timber for pagan temples, symbolizes idolatry.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Διττῆς γὰρ οὔσης τῆς ὀπτικῆς ἐνεργείας","severity":"info","text":"Cyril introduces a double visual activity (διττῆς ὀπτικῆς ἐνεργείας) to explain why the bride is praised for only one eye, a structural move that allegorizes the Song's erotic imagery.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀδελφὴν μὲν αὐτὴν καλοῦντες","severity":"info","text":"The bride is called 'sister' due to kinship through dispassion (ἀπάθεια) and 'bride' through union with the Word, reflecting Origenist ascetic ideals influential in Cyril's exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"δύο νεβροὶ","severity":"caution","text":"The 'two fawns' (δύο νεβροὶ) are interpreted as ethical and doctrinal teaching, but the Coptic text may be corrupt; the Greek suggests a possible lacuna or misreading.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε' is not a direct biblical citation; its source is unclear. The 'two fawns' (δύο νεβροὶ) may be a textual corruption or a unique allegorical reading."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Ἐπεὶ οὖν, φησὶν, ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου εἶς ἐν τῷ πρὸς τὸ ἒν βλέπειν, καὶ ψυχὴ μία διὰ τὸ μὴ πρὸς διαφόρους διαθέσεις μερίζεσθαι, καὶ ἡ θέσις τοῦ τραχήλου σου τὸ τέλειον ἔχει, τὸν θεῖον ζυγὸν ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς ἀραμένη (τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἐνθέματι τραχήλου σου, εἶτ' οὖν ὁ τοῦ Κυρίου ζυγὸς), τούτου χάριν ὁμολογοῦμεν ὅτι τοῖς θαύμασιν ἡμᾶς ἐκαρδίωσας· ὅπερ ἐστὶ ψυχήν τινα καὶ διάνοιαν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς κατανόησιν δι' ἑαυτῆς ἡμῖν ἐνεποίησας. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν σοὶ τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον, ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ, κατανοοῦμεν· διὰ δὲ τῆς δευτερώσεως ἀξιοπιστίαν προτιθέασι τῷ λεγομένῳ.\n\nΚῆπος κεκλεισμένος. Κέκλεισται μὲν τῷ κόσμῳ, τῷ δὲ ἐπουρανίῳ νυμφίῳ ἠνέῳκται. Ἡ δὲ πηγὴ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ἐσφράγισται, ᾧ χριόμεθα μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα. Αἱ γὰρ ἀρεταὶ μὲν διὰ τῶν ἀρωμάτων σημαίνονται. Ξύλα δὲ τοῦ Λιβάνου τοὺς προφήτας φησίν. Διὰ δὲ τῆς σμύρνης καὶ τῆς ἀλόης, ὅτι ἐνταφιασθεὶς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκοινώνησε τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν ἁγίοις· κατελθὼν γὰρ εἰς ᾅδου τούτους ἀνήγαγεν. Ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ, φησὶ, τὸν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων ἀναδεχόμενος θάνατον· ἀγρυπνεῖ δὲ ἡ καρδία, καθ' ὃ ὡς Θεὸς τὸν ᾅδην ἐσκύλευσεν. Ἤγουν, τί πεποίηκεν ὁ ἀδελφιδός σου, ἢ τί ἀπὸ ἀδελφιδοῦ σου ἔχεις; Τὰ στάζοντα σμύρναν λέγει τὰ ὁμολογοῦντα χείλη τὸν θάνατον. Κνῆμαι αὐτοῦ στύλοι μαρμάρινοι. Εἶεν δ' ἂν οὗτοι καὶ βάσεις. Οἱ γὰρ οἰκοδομούμενοι ἐποικοδομοῦνται τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν. Ἀκολούθως τὰς κνήμας μετὰ τὴν κοιλίαν ἐπαινεῖ, ἅς φησι στύλους εἶναι","english":"Since, then, it says, your eye is one in looking to the one, and the soul is one because it is not divided among various dispositions, and the position of your neck has perfection, having taken up the divine yoke upon itself (for this is the setting of your neck, that is, the yoke of the Lord), for this reason we confess that you have captivated us with wonders, which is that you have implanted in us a soul and mind for the understanding of the light through yourself. For in you we perceive the sun of righteousness, as in a mirror; and through the repetition they lend credibility to what is said.\n\nA garden enclosed. It is closed to the world, but opened to the heavenly bridegroom. The spring is sealed by the Holy Spirit, with which we are anointed after baptism. For the virtues are signified by the spices. The woods of Lebanon, it says, are the prophets. Through the myrrh and the aloe, that Christ, having been entombed, communed with the saints who preceded him; for having descended into Hades, he brought them up. On the cross, it says, he underwent death for the sake of men; the heart keeps watch, in that as God he plundered Hades. Or, what has your little brother done, or what do you have from your little brother? The lips dripping myrrh, it says, are those confessing death. His shins are marble pillars. These would also be bases. For those who are built are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Consequently, it praises the shins after the belly, which it says are pillars.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"κῆπος κεκλεισμένος","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'garden enclosed' is interpreted allegorically: closed to the world, open to the heavenly bridegroom, a common trope in early Christian exegesis of the Song of Songs.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"δευτέρωσις","severity":"info","text":"The term 'δευτέρωσις' (repetition) likely refers to a second citation or a repeated formula that reinforces the argument's credibility, a rhetorical device.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'sun of righteousness' echoes Malachi 4:2 (LXX) and is a Christological title, here used to describe the bride as a mirror reflecting Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"σμύρνα καὶ ἀλόη","severity":"info","text":"Myrrh and aloe were funerary spices; Cyril uses them to allegorize Christ's entombment and his descent into Hades to rescue the saints, a key soteriological theme.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"κνῆμαι αὐτοῦ στύλοι μαρμάρινοι","severity":"info","text":"The description of the beloved's shins as marble pillars is part of a bodily allegory, where the pillars represent the foundation of apostles and prophets, linking the physical to the ecclesial.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀδελφιδός","severity":"caution","text":"The term 'ἀδελφιδός' (little brother) is ambiguous; it may refer to a literal sibling or be a term of endearment for the bridegroom, but Cyril's interpretation is unclear here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'little brother' (ἀδελφιδός) is not specified; it may be a familial or affectionate term.","The transition from the first paragraph to the second is abrupt, possibly indicating a lacuna or a shift in source material."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"μαρμαρίνους τεθεμελιωμένους ἐπὶ βάσεις χρυσᾶς. Στύλοι δὲ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, οἷον Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἳ θεμέλιον τὸν Χριστὸν χρυσὸν λεχθέντα. Μαρμάρινοι δὲ, οὕσπερ εἶπε Παῦλος ἑδραίωμα· διὰ τὸ ἑδραῖον καὶ ἀσάλευτον, καὶ τῷ λαμπρῷ βίῳ καὶ τῷ ὑγιαίνοντι λόγῳ τὸ κοινὸν σῶμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας βαστάζοντές τε καὶ ἐρείδοντες. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπᾷν ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας, καὶ τὸν πλησίον ὡς ἑαυτὸν, ὡς διὰ στύλων μαρμαρίνων, τὸ κοινὸν σῶμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας βαστάζειν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς δυσὶ ταύταις τελειωθεὶς ἐντολαῖς, στύλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας κατασκευάζεται· ὥστε τοῖς δυσὶ τούτοις κατορθώμασιν, ὅλον τὸ σῶμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καθάπερ κνήμαις τισὶν ἐπερείδεσθαι, τοῦ χρυσίου θεμελίου τῆς κατὰ πίστιν βάσεως τὸ ἀκλινὲς καὶ ἀμετάθετον καὶ τὸ ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ πάγιον τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἐμποιοῦντος.\n\nἘγὼ αὐτῷ τὴν πίστιν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμοὶ τὴν βασιλείαν. Ποιμαίνει δὲ ἐν τῇ καθαρότητι τῶν Γραφῶν καὶ τῶν ἁγίων δογμάτων. Ἀπὸ τῶν ἀπειθούντων σοι τοὺς σοὺς ἀπόστρεψον ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ κλῖνον· αὐτοὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, τὴν ἀγάπην ἐξήγειράν μοι [ σε]. Ἔργον τεχνίτου Τεχνίτην δὲ τὸν δημιουργὸν ὀνομάζει Χριστόν· ὡς γὰρ ὑπήκοος γέγονεν, οὕτως ἡ Ἐκκλησία. Λέγει δὲ καὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν ὑποταγήν· τῆς ψυχῆς ταύτης ὑποτεταγμένης τῇ πίστει, τοῦ δὲ σώματος τῇ σωφροσύνῃ. Δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἱερατεῖον αὐτῆς λέγων· Μὴ ὑστερούμενος κράματι, δηλονότι τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αἵματι· τοῦτο γὰρ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἐν χερσίν. Τράχηλον δὲ αὐτῆς τοὺς διακόνους τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγει, διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν βαστάζειν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὴν κεφαλήν.","english":"founded of marble upon golden bases. And pillars of the Church, such as Peter and John, who have Christ as their foundation, called gold. And of marble, as Paul called a foundation; because of their steadfastness and immovability, and by their bright life and sound reason they bear up and support the common body of the Church. But also to love God with the whole heart, and one's neighbor as oneself, as through pillars of marble, to bear up the common body of the Church. For he who is perfected in these two commandments is made a pillar and foundation of the Church; so that by these two achievements the whole body of the Church is supported as on some legs, the golden foundation of the faith-based base instilling in the thoughts unswervingness and immutability and steadfastness in every good.\n\nI give him faith, and he gives me the kingdom. And he shepherds in the purity of the Scriptures and the holy doctrines. Turn your eyes away from those who disobey you, and incline them to me; for they, it says, aroused love in me [for you]. Work of a craftsman. And he calls the craftsman the Creator Christ; for as he became obedient, so also the Church. And he speaks of her self-control and her submission; this soul being subject to faith, and the body to self-control. And he also indicates her priesthood, saying: Not lacking in mixture, evidently of the blood of Christ; for this is in the hands of the priests. And he calls her neck the deacons of Christ, because they bear the head of the Church for Christ.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"μαρμάρινοι","severity":"info","text":"The term 'marble' (μαρμάρινοι) is used metaphorically for steadfastness and brightness of life, echoing Paul's language of 'firmness' (ἑδραίωμα).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης","severity":"info","text":"Peter and John are named as pillars of the Church, a common typology in patristic exegesis, though no specific verse is cited.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"χρυσᾶς βάσεις","severity":"info","text":"The 'golden bases' symbolize Christ as the foundation of faith, a motif in early Christian architectural metaphor for doctrinal stability.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐγὼ αὐτῷ τὴν πίστιν","severity":"info","text":"This passage shifts from architectural imagery to a dialogue between the Church and Christ, emphasizing reciprocal faith and kingship.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"τράχηλον","severity":"info","text":"The 'neck' (τράχηλον) is interpreted as the deacons, who bear the head (Christ) of the Church, a unique allegorical identification.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"αὐτοὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, τὴν ἀγάπην ἐξήγειράν μοι [ σε]","severity":"caution","text":"The bracketed '[σε]' in the Greek suggests a textual variant or scribal addition; the sense is ambiguous between 'aroused love in me' and 'aroused love for you'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'αὐτοὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, τὴν ἀγάπην ἐξήγειράν μοι [ σε]' is textually uncertain; the pronoun 'σε' may be an insertion, affecting the referent of the love."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Βαστάζουσι γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἅγιον σῶμα ἐν καθαρᾷ συνειδήσει, ὁμολογοῦντες αὐτοῦ τὰ μυστήρια. Διόπερ ἐλεφάντινον εἴρηκεν, ὁποίους ὁ Παῦλός φησιν διακόνους σεμνοὺς, μὴ οἴνῳ πολλῷ προσέχοντας. Βασιλεὺς δεδεμένος ἐν παραδρομαῖς. Ἢ καὶ ἄλλως, σύνδεσμον τῆς τῶν λαῶν ἀγάπης ἄγεσθαί φησιν εἰς βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα. Ἢ καὶ ἐν τρυφῇ σου, τῇ ἀγάπῃ σου, διὰ τό τινα καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν δικαίων νομίζεσθαι. Τοῖς δὲ βότρυσιν οἱ μασθοὶ ἀπεικάζονται, τοῖς ἔχουσι τὴν πνευματικὴν εὐφροσύνην. Ἢ ὅτι ἐγὼ τὴν ὁμολογίαν προσάγω, καὶ ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἡ ἐπιστροφὴ αὐτοῦ· ἢ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τῇ δευτέρᾳ, ἢ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Ἁγιάζεται τοίνυν ἡ τροφὴ τῆς νύμφης, συνευωχουμένου Χριστοῦ. Ἤγουν εὔχεται τὴν ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ Σωτῆρος εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ἡ Ἐκκλησία γενέσθαι, κατὰ πρόνοιαν τοῦ διδόντος αὐτὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἵνα θηλάσῃ τὴν Θεοτόκον. Εὑροῦσά σε. Ἤγουν ἔξω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὅπου ἐσταυρώθη. Ἢ τὸν ἐνταφιασμὸν λέγει, ὃν ἤνεγκεν Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Νικόδημος. Ῥοῶν δὲ λέγει τῶν ἁγίων. Περίπτερα αὐτῆς, περίπτερα πυρός. Τὰ τείχη, φησὶν, τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πῦρ ἐστι. Τῷ πνευματικῷ Σαλομὼν ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη· λέγει δὲ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. Τὸ δὲ Βεελαμὼν Ἐν τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν ἑρμηνεύεται. Τίνες δὲ πεπιστεύκασιν, ἢ οἱ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ δεξάμενοι; Ὁ μὲν καθήμενος ἐν κήποις, τὰς Ἐκκλησίας ἐπισκοπεῖ· οἱ ἑταῖροι δὲ προσέχουσιν, οὐδὲ κρίνου σιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν ὁ Υἱὸς ποιεῖ. Ἐπιθυμεῖ δὲ ἡ νύμφη ἀκοῦσαι· Εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ Κυρίου σου. Ἀξιοῖ δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς πονηροὺς ἐκβαλεῖν, Φύγε, λέγουσα, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἐλθεῖν.","english":"For they bear his holy body in a pure conscience, confessing his mysteries. Therefore he has said \"ivory,\" such as Paul calls dignified deacons, not attending much to wine. A king bound in the courses. Or otherwise, he says that a bond of the people's love is led into the royal priesthood. Or in your delight, in your love, because some even of the righteous are considered. The breasts are likened to grape clusters, which possess spiritual joy. Or that I offer the confession, and his return is upon me; either in the second coming, or also from the people of the Jews. Therefore the food of the bride is sanctified, with Christ feasting together. Or rather, the Church prays that the advent of the Savior into Judea may take place, according to the providence of the one who gives him to men, so that the Theotokos may nurse him. Having found you. Or rather, outside Jerusalem where he was crucified. Or he speaks of the entombment, which Joseph and Nicodemus carried out. And he says \"of pomegranates\" of the saints. Its wings, wings of fire. The walls, he says, of the Church are fire. A spiritual Solomon became a vineyard; he means the Church. And \"Beelamon\" is interpreted as \"among those who have believed.\" And who have believed, if not those who have received his commandments? The one sitting in gardens oversees the Churches; the companions attend, and they do not judge, but the Son performs all judgment. The bride desires to hear: \"Enter into the joy of your Lord.\" And she deems it worthy that he also cast out the wicked, saying, \"Flee, to come upon the saints.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐλεφάντινον","severity":"info","text":"Cyril interprets 'ivory' as a metaphor for dignified deacons, referencing Paul's description of deacons who are not given to wine.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Βασιλεὺς δεδεμένος ἐν παραδρομαῖς","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'a king bound in the courses' likely alludes to Song of Songs 7:8, where the beloved is described as bound, here interpreted as a bond of love leading to the royal priesthood.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Θεοτόκον","severity":"info","text":"Cyril refers to the Theotokos (Mother of God) nursing the infant Christ, reflecting the theological emphasis on Mary's divine motherhood, a key theme in Cyril's Christology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Βεελαμών","severity":"info","text":"Cyril glosses 'Beelamon' as meaning 'among those who have believed,' interpreting it as a reference to the faithful who have received Christ's commandments.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts between multiple interpretations (e.g., 'or otherwise,' 'or rather'), typical of Cyril's exegetical method, offering alternative allegorical readings of the Song of Songs.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Cyril's interpretation of the Church as a vineyard of the spiritual Solomon and the walls as fire reflects early Christian allegorical reception of the Song of Songs, emphasizing ecclesiology and eschatology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Βασιλεὺς δεδεμένος ἐν παραδρομαῖς' is ambiguous; it may refer to a king bound in the courses (of time or ritual) or to a bond of love, as Cyril offers both readings.","The reference to 'Beelamon' is obscure; Cyril's etymology ('among those who have believed') is not standard and may reflect a local or variant tradition."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]}]}