{"slug":"khazarzar-procopius-of-gaza-catena-in-canticum-canticorum","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-procopius-of-gaza-catena-in-canticum-canticorum","title":"Catena in Canticum canticorum","title_source":"Catena in Canticum canticorum","author":"Procopius of Gaza","genre":"commentary","date":null,"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-v4.1-flash:floor","provider":"Baidu","generated":"2026-11-15T18:54:39Z","cost_usd":0.022587},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-procopius-of-gaza-catena-in-canticum-canticorum","work_id":"khazarzar-procopius-of-gaza-catena-in-canticum-canticorum","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":null,"url":null},"stats":{"passages":189,"english_words":53334,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":211621,"commentary_units":0,"commentary_kinds":0,"derived_notes":9,"ambiguities":0,"work_notes":0,"external_links":0,"timeline":0},"summary":{},"links":[],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-procopius-of-gaza-catena-in-canticum-canticorum","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":189,"translated":189,"commentary_passages":0,"commentary_units":0,"english_words":53334,"source_letters":211508,"commentary_kinds":0},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[],"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 Greek; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 189 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"7 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","text":"2 scriptural phrase match(es) noted: John 1:29; John 4:10."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":189},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΠΡΟΚΟΠΙΟΥ ΓΑΖΑΙΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΟΥ ΣΟΦΙΣΤΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΑΣΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΑΣΜΑΤΩΝ ΕΞΗΓΗΤΙΚΩΝ ΕΚΛΟΓΩΝ ΕΠΙΤΟΜΗ ΑΠΟ ΦΩΝΗΣ ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ, ΚΑΙ ΚΥΡΙΛΛΟΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΕΙΑΣ, ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΛΩΝΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΑΡΠΑΘΙΟΥ, ΑΠΟΛΙΝΑΡΙΟΥ, ΕΥΣΕΒΙΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΤΕΡΩΝ ΔΙΑΦΟΡΩΝ, ΗΓΟΥΝ ΔΙΔΥΜΟΥ, ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΙΣΙΔΩΡΟΥ, ΘΕΟΔΩΡΗΤΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΥ.\n\n1545 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΠΡΩΤΟΝ.\n\n{Γρηγορίου Νύσσης.} Διὰ τῶν ἐνταῦθα γεγραμμένων νυμφοστολεῖταί πως ἡ ψυχὴ πρὸς τὴν ἄϋλόν τε καὶ πνευματικὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ συζυγίαν· καὶ δεῖται λευχειμονούντων ἀκροατῶν ἀμιάντοις νοήμασιν, ὡς ἐντὸς γενέσθαι τοῦ ἀκηράτου νυμφῶνος. Καὶ ἡ προγραφὴ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τοῦτο προτρέπεται. Ὡς γὰρ τὸ Ἅγιον τῶν ἁγίων ὑπερῆρται τῇ ἁγιότητι, οὔτω τὸ νῦν ᾆσμα ὑπεραίρει τά τε τοῦ Δαβὶδ καὶ τοῦ Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν προφητῶν· ἐν ἐπιθαλαμίου δὲ τρόπῳ τὴν πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ἀνάκρασιν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ὑφηγεῖται ψυχῆς· διὰ ταῦτα ὁ Σολομὼν, ἐμφαίνων διὰ τῶν γαμηλίων ῥημάτων, τήν τε ἄφατον ἐπιθυμίαν τὴν ὀφειλομένην Θεῷ (μείζων πάσης ὀρέξεως ἡ γαμικὴ), καὶ τὴν εἰς ἄκρον ἀπάθειαν· τοσοῦτον γὰρ δεῖ καθαρεύειν τὸν κολλώμενον τῷ Θεῷ, ὡς τὰς ἐμπαθεῖς ὁρμὰς ἀπαθείας ὑπόθεσιν τίθεσθαι. Τάξει δὲ προῆλθεν ὁ Σολομὼν τοιαύτῃ παιδεύων· τῇ γὰρ ἔτι νεαζούσῃ ψυχῇ παροιμίας ὑποθέμενος, κελεύει τῆς σοφίας ἐρᾷν· διὸ καὶ, Υἱέ μου, λέγει πυκνῶς, καὶ μανιάκην ὡς νέῳ καὶ στέφανον ἐπαγγέλλεται· καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέλος τὴν ἀνδρείαν ἐπαινεῖ γυναῖκα· εἶτα τῷ οὔτως εἰσαχθέντι ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαστῇ πάντα καθαιρεῖ, τὰ ῥευστὰ καὶ ματαιότητα λέγων· ὅπως ἂν ἀναπτερώσει πρὸς τὰ μένοντα τὴν ψυχήν·","english":"Of Procopius of Gaza, Christian sophist, an epitome of selected commentaries on the Song of Songs, from the voice of Gregory of Nyssa, and Cyril of Alexandria, and Origen and Philo of Carpasia, Apollinaris, Eusebius of Caesarea and various others, namely Didymus, Saint Isidore, Theodoret and Theophilus.\n\nChapter One.\n\n{Of Gregory of Nyssa.} Through what is written here, the soul is in some way espoused to the immaterial and spiritual union with God; and it needs hearers clothed in white, with undefiled thoughts, so as to enter within the undefiled bridal chamber. For the title itself urges us to this. For just as the Holy of Holies is exalted by its holiness, so the present song excels both those of David and of Moses and of the other prophets; and in the manner of an epithalamium it sets forth the mingling of the human soul with the Divine; for these reasons Solomon, expressing through nuptial words both the ineffable desire owed to God (for the nuptial desire is greater than every longing) and the utmost impassibility; for he who is joined to God ought to be so pure that he makes the passionate impulses a basis for impassibility. And Solomon came forward teaching in such an order as this; for having set proverbs before the soul still young, he commands it to love wisdom; therefore he also says frequently, My son, and promises a necklace as to a youth and a crown; and toward the end he praises the courageous woman; then, for the one thus introduced in Ecclesiastes, he brings everything to nothing, calling things flux and vanity; so that he might wing the soul toward the things that remain;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"καὶ νῦν τὴν οὕτω κεκαθαρμένην αὐτῷ συνάπτει τῷ ὄντως καὶ μόνῳ ἀγαθῷ· τὴν ψυχὴν ἐθέλων, μήτε κολάσεως φόβῳ, μήτε μισθῶν ἐλπίδι· δουλοπρεπῆ γὰρ ἀμφότερα· ἀγάπης δὲ φίλτρῳ προσδραμεῖν τῷ Θεῷ. αʹ. Ἆσμα ᾀσμάτων. {Νείλου.} Τὸ τῶν ᾀσμάτων βιβλίον ἔοικε γυναικὶ φυσικῷ κάλλει φαιδρυνομένῃ, καὶ κόσμῳ πολυτελεῖ τὸ φυσικὸν προσεξησκημένῃ κάλλος, σεμνῇ δὲ τὸ ἦθος καὶ τῷ φαινομένῳ σχήματι, πολὺ κατὰ τὸ κεκρυμμένον ἐναντίως διακειμένῃ. Ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς τοιαύτης γυναικὸς ἡ μὲν ὅψις ἡδονὴν κινεῖ τοῖς ἀκολάστοις, ἡ δὲ πεῖρα διελέγχει τὴν σωφροσύνην οὐ συναινοῦσαν τῇ προχείρῳ σκηνῇ· οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῦ προκειμένου βιβλίου, ἡ μὲν λέξις ἐρωτικότερον ἐσχηματισμένη, δοκεῖ πως δέλεαρ γίνεσθαι τοῖς ἀπαιδεύτοις, ἡ δὲ διάνοια τὸ αὐστηρὸν τῶν μυστηρίων ἀνακαλύπτουσα τοῖς προσεγγίζουσι, τὴν τῶν νοημάτων δυσχέρειαν ἀπαράδεκτον ποιεῖ, διὰ τῆς ἐν τῇ λέξει τέρψεως· καὶ δουλεύειν πείθουσα τῇ τῆς θεωρίας σεμνότητι, ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὸ γράμμα δοκούσης ἐμπαθείας, εὐμηχάνως ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν σημαινομένων δογμάτων ὁδηγούσης μυσταγωγίαν. Φιλησάτω με ἀπὸ φιλημάτων στόματος αὐτοῦ Πηγὴ ζωῆς ἐστι ὁ νυμφίος ὁ βοῶν, \"Εἴ τις διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω·\" ἐκ τοῦ στόματος δὲ αὐτοῦ τῆς ζωῆς ἀνομβροῦσιν οἱ λόγοι· ᾧ σπουδάζει προσερείσουσα τὸ ἴδιον ἡ ψυχὴ στόμα, κατὰ τὸν προφήτην, ἑλκῦσαι πνεῦμα· παντὸς γὰρ ῥύπου καθάρσιον τοῦτο τὸ φίλημα· διό μοι δοκεῖ τῷ λεπρῷ Σίμωνι τὸ τοιοῦτον ὀνειδιστικῶς προσφέρειν ὁ Κύριος, ὅτι \"Φίλημά μοι οὐκ ἔδωκας·\" ἢ γὰρ ἂν ἐκαθάρθης τοῦ πάθους. {Ὠριγένους.} Καὶ ἄλλως· Μὴ διὰ προφητῶν, κ. τ.λ.","english":"And now he joins to himself, as truly and alone good, the soul that has been so purified by him, wishing it to run to God neither by fear of punishment nor by hope of rewards—for both are servile—but by the affection of love. 1. Song of Songs. {Of Nilus.} The book of Songs resembles a woman adorned with natural beauty and, by costly ornament, having added to her natural beauty, modest in character and in outward appearance, yet in what is hidden disposed in much the opposite way. For as in the case of such a woman the sight stirs pleasure in the licentious, but experience convicts her chastity as not consenting to the ready tent; so with the present book, the wording, shaped rather amorously, seems in some way to become a bait for the uneducated, while the meaning, uncovering the severity of the mysteries to those who approach, makes the difficulty of the thoughts unacceptable through the delight in the wording; and persuading them to be slaves to the solemnity of contemplation, from the seeming passionateness about the letter it skilfully leads to the mystic initiation of the doctrines signified. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. The bridegroom is a fountain of life, he who cries, \"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink\"; and from his mouth the words of life rain down; to which the soul hastens to press its own mouth, according to the prophet, to draw in spirit; for this kiss is a cleansing from every stain. Therefore it seems to me that the Lord reproachfully brings this very thing against Simon the leper, saying, \"You gave me no kiss\"; for otherwise you would have been cleansed of the passion. {Of Origen.} And otherwise: not through prophets, etc.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Ὅτι ἀγαθοὶ οἱ μαστοί σου ὑπὲρ οἶνον, [βʹ.] καὶ ὀσμὴ μύρων σου ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀρώματα. {Γρηγορίου.} Τὸ νηπιῶδες δίδαγμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπὲρ τὸ εὔτονον καὶ θερμότατον τοῦ κόσμου σόφισμα· ἐκ δὲ τῆς τοπικῆς\n\nθέσεως τῶν μαστῶν τὴν καρδίαν δηλοῖ καὶ τὴν κεκρυμμένην καὶ ἀπόῤῥητον τῆς θεότητος δύναμιν, δι' ἧς τιθηνεῖται τὴν ἑκάστου δύναμιν καὶ ζωὴν ὁ Θεὸς, κατάλληλον ἑκάστῳ τῶν δεχομένων τὴν τροφὴν χαριζόμενος. {Φίλωνος.} Ἤγουν μαζοὶ, αἱ διαθῆκαι ὑπὲρ τὸν ἐπίγειον λόγον. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Πολλῶν οἴνων ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ κρειττόνων τε καὶ χειρόνων, νῦν τοῖς κρείττοσιν οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου μαστοὶ παρατίθενται· οὐ γὰρ ἂν τοῖς χείροσι συνεκρίθησαν. Ἡ τοίνυν Νύμφη, πολλοῖς καὶ διαφόροις οἴνοις εὐφρανθεῖσα καὶ σχοῦσα παρασκευὴν εἰς τὸ δέξασθαι τοὺς κρείττονας τούτων τοῦ Νυμφίου μαστοὺς, τοῦτό φησιν, προτιμῶσα τούτους οἵνου τοῦ ἐν νόμῳ τε καὶ προφήταις· καὶ τὸ περὶ τῶν μύρων δὲ τῷ περὶ τοῦ οἴνου ταυτόν· ὅρα δὲ, ὡς ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας, ὀσμὴν ἔφη· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς νομικῆς λατρείας, αὐτὰ τέθεικε τὰ ἀρώματα δηλῶν, ἐκείνης μὲν τὸ ὑπερέχον πνευματικὸν, ταύτης δὲ τὸ παχύ. Μύρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὅνομά σου. {Ὠριγένους καὶ Προκοπίου.} Τάχα προφητεύουσα τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν τὸν κόσμον πληρώσασαν δύναμιν, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν· (ὥστε γενέσθαι, κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον, \"οἷς μὲν ὀσμὴ ἐκ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον, οἷς δὲ ζωῆς εἰς ζωὴν\"), εἶπεν ἂν ἡ νύμφη, Διὰ τοῦτο πάντες ἠγάπησάν σε· ἀλλ' οὐ μόνον αἱ νεάνιδες ὁσημέραι ἀνανεούμεναι, καὶ μὴ ἔχουσαι ῥυτίδα ἢ σπῖλον· ἐξεκενώθη δὲ, ὡς μηκέτι σιωπᾶσθαι κατακεκλεισμένον ἐν ἀποῤῥήτοις.","english":"Because your breasts are good beyond wine, and the fragrance of your ointments beyond all spices. {Gregory.} The childlike teaching of God is beyond the world's well-toned and most fervent wisdom; and from the local position of the breasts he indicates the heart and the hidden and ineffable power of the Godhead, through which God nurses the strength and life of each one, granting food suited to each of those who receive it. {Philo.} That is, the breasts are the covenants, beyond the earthly word. {Apollinaris.} Since in Scripture there are many wines, both better and worse, now the bridegroom's breasts are set beside the better ones; for they would not have been compared with the worse. The Bride, then, having been gladdened by many and various wines and having obtained preparation to receive the bridegroom's breasts, which are better than these, says this, preferring them to the wine that is in the law and the prophets; and the matter of the ointments is the same as that of the wine. But observe that in the case of the gospel way of life he said \"fragrance,\" while in the case of the legal worship he set down the spices themselves, indicating the surpassing spiritual quality of the former and the coarseness of the latter. Your name is ointment poured out. {Origen and Procopius.} Perhaps prophesying the power of the name of Christ that filled the world at his coming (so that, according to Paul, \"to some a fragrance from death to death, to others from life to life\"), the bride would have said, Therefore all have loved you; but not only the maidens, who are renewed day by day and have no wrinkle or stain; but it was poured out, so as no longer to be passed over in silence, having been shut up in secrets.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":4,"ref":"p4","source":"{Κυρίλλου.} Δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τοῦ Μονογενοῦς κληθεῖσαν ἐπωνυμίαν, καθ' ὃ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη εὐωδιάζουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν, τὴν αὐτοῦ φέροντα προσηγορίαν. {Γρηγορίου.} Αὐτὸ μὲν τῆς θείας φύσεως τὸ μύρον, εἴτ' οὖν τῆς οὐσίας κατάληψις, ὑπὲρ πᾶν ἐστι ὅνομά τε καὶ νόημα· ἐξ ὧν δὲ θαυμαστῶς ἐνεργῶν ὕλην τοῖς θείοις ὀνόμασι, πιότητά τινα βραχεῖαν τοῦ θείου μύρου σημαίνουσαν· δι' ὧν σοφὸν, δυνατὸν, ἀγαθὸν, ἅγιον, μακάριόν τε καὶ Κριτὴν καὶ Σωτῆρα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα κατονομάζομεν. {Νείλου.} Ὥσπερ τὸ συνεχόμενον μύρον κενούμενον δῆλον γίνεται τῇ εὐωδίᾳ, οὕτω τὸ σὸν ὄνομα, ὦ Νυμφίε, ἔτι σοῦ ὄντος ἐν τοῖς πατρικοῖς κόλποις ἀγνοούμενον, μετὰ τὴν κένωσιν, ἴσα κενωθέντι μύρῳ αὐτόθεν ἔχει τὴν μαρτυρίαν, τῇ τῶν σημείων δυνάμει πιστούμενον· ἀλλ' αἱ μὲν νεάνιδες διὰ τοῦτο ἠγάπησάν σε, ἐπειδὴ παρέλκυσάν σε ἐκ τῶν πατρικῶν κόλπων ἐπιδεόμεναι τῆς σῆς παρουσίας, μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐπιδημίας ὠφέλειαν, μετὰ τὴν τῶν θαυμάτων πεῖραν ἐπιγνοῦσαί σου τὸ ὄνομα, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖν ὀπίσω σου μετὰ τὴν τῆς εὐεργεσίας αἴσθησιν· ἐγὼ δὲ ἡ σοὶ μεμνηστευμένη ἤδη κατὰ τὴν σὴν ἐπιφοίτησιν, τῆς ὀσμῆς τῶν μύρων σου καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας ἀντελαβόμην· καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν μαστῶν σου ὕστερον γνωσθέντων πολλοῖς φθάσασα τὴν γνῶσιν τῇ χάριτι. Δύνανται δὲ καὶ νεάνιδες καὶ λέγεσθαι τὸν Νυμφίον ὀπίσω ἕλκουσαι, ἥ τε αἱμοῤῥοοῦσα καὶ ἡ Χαναναία· ἀμφότεραι γὰρ τὸ ἐκ συμπαθείας εἵλκυσαν μύρον. 1552 {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Τῷ γὰρ ὀνόματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ καθαρίζονται πάντα, ἰῶνται, βαπτίζονται, τὴν ἀληθινὴν ἡμῖν εὐωδίαν ἐνοικίζονται·","english":"{Cyril.} He also makes clear the name of the Only-begotten that was invoked upon all the nations, in that all the nations send forth a sweet fragrance toward him, bearing his own appellation. {Gregory.} The myrrh of the divine nature itself—that is, the comprehension of the essence—is beyond every name and thought; but from those things by which he wondrously works, giving matter to the divine names, it signifies a certain small richness of the divine myrrh; through which we name him wise, powerful, good, holy, blessed, and Judge and Savior and the like. {Nil.} Just as myrrh that is kept enclosed becomes evident when it is poured out through its fragrance, so your name, O Bridegroom, while you were still in the Father's bosom, was unknown; but after the emptying, poured out like myrrh, it has its testimony from that very fact, being confirmed by the power of the signs. But the maidens loved you for this reason, because they drew you out from the Father's bosom, needing your presence, after the benefit of your visitation, after the experience of the wonders, having come to know your name, and to follow after you after the perception of your beneficence. But I, who was already betrothed to you at your coming, received the scent of your myrrh even before your visitation; and I, having come beforehand to the knowledge of your good breasts by grace, which were later known to many. And the maidens can also be said to be those drawing the Bridegroom after them—both the woman with the hemorrhage and the Canaanite woman; for both drew the myrrh from sympathy. {Apollinarius.} For by the name of Christ all things are cleansed, healed, baptized, and are made to dwell in the true fragrance for us.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"λέγει δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ τὸ ἐκχυθὲν ὄνομα τὴν ἔκχυσιν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπὶ πάντας ἐργάζεται, κατὰ τὸ, \"Ἡγιάσθητε καὶ ἐδικαιώθητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν·\" ἅπερ ποιοῦν τοὔνομα, μύρον εἰκότως ἐκκενωθέν. Διὰ τοῦτο νεάνιδες ἠγάπησάν σε· [γʹ] εἵλκυσάν σε· ὀπίσω σου εἰς ὀσμὴν μύρου σου δραμοῦμεν. {Γρηγορίου.} Τίς γὰρ τοιούτου κάλλους ἀνέραστος, εἰ μόνον ὀφθαλμὸν ἔχει τὸν ἐνατενίσαι τῇ ὥρᾳ δυνάμενον; Εἵλκυσαν οὖν αὐτὸν εἰς ἀνταγάπησιν· φησὶν γὰρ ἡ Σοφία· \"Ἐγὼ τοὺς ἐμὲ φιλοῦντας ἀγαπῶ.\" {Κυρίλλου.} Νεᾶνις ἦν καὶ Παῦλος· \"Πάντα, λέγων, ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστῷ,\" διὸ καὶ λίαν ἠγάπησε φάσκων· \"Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ;\" πῶς δὲ αὐτὸν εἵλκυσαν; ἀκολουθήσασαι τοῖς ἴχνεσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν ἀπολαύσασαι μύρων· εἰ δὲ δραμοῦμεν, ἔχων τῶν νεανίδων ὁ λόγος, \"κατὰ τὸ ὀπίσω Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ πορευσόμεθα.\" Εἰσήγαγέ με ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ. {Γρηγορίου.} Αἱ μὲν ἔτι","english":"The Holy Spirit says this also, and the name that was poured out accomplishes the outpouring of the Spirit upon all, according to the saying, \"You were sanctified and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.\" What the name does, then, is reasonably a myrrh poured out. For this reason the maidens loved you; they drew you; behind you we will run at the fragrance of your myrrh. {Gregory.} For who is so devoid of desire for such beauty, if only he has an eye able to gaze upon its season? They drew him, then, to love him in return; for Wisdom says, \"I love those who love me.\" {Cyril.} Paul too was a youth; \"I can do all things,\" he says, \"in Christ who strengthens me,\" and therefore he loved exceedingly, saying, \"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?\" And how did they draw him? By following in his footsteps and enjoying the myrrh of the Gospels. And if we run, the word of the maidens holds, \"we will walk behind the Lord our God.\" The king brought me into his chamber. {Gregory.} The women are still","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":6,"ref":"p6","source":"νηπιάζουσαι προστρέχουσαι τῇ εὐωδίᾳ· ἡ δὲ τελειωθεῖσα νύμφη εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα ὡς ὁ Παῦλος εἰσάγεται καὶ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἤγουν ἀδύνατον τὴν ἀξιέραστον λέγει, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἥντινα βασιλείαν ταμιεῖον ἐν τοῖς παροῦσι προσαγορεύει. {Νείλου.} Ταμιεῖον, τὸ σῶμα λέγει τὸ Κυριακὸν, εἰς ὃ εἰσῆκται ἡ μακαρία ψυχὴ συνοικήσασα τῷ Θεῷ Λόγῳ καὶ συμβασιλεύουσα σὺν αὐτῷ· εἰς ὅπερ παθεῖν ἦν εἰκὸς τὰς ἀπὸ τῆς Συναγωγῆς ὁρώσας αὐτὴν ὡσανεὶ φρυαττομένην, καὶ μετὰ σχήματος σοβαροῦ τὸ, Εἰσήγαγέ με ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ, πρὸς τὰς νεάνιδας λέγουσαν· τοῦτ' εὐσκόπως τῇ γνώμῃ συνειδυῖα, καὶ τὴν κινηθεῖσαν αὐταῖς ἐκ τοῦ διηγήματος ζηλοτυπίαν στοχασαμένη· εἰ τῶν ἐκείναις καθηκόντων ταμιείων τοῦ βασιλέως ἡ δυσμενὴς καὶ μέλαινα ἠξιῶσθαι αὐχεῖ, ὅπερ εἶπον ἂν ἐκεῖναι, ἐξουδενοῦσαι αὐτὴν καὶ χλευάζουσαι, τοῦτο εὐγνωμόνως ὁμολογεῖν αὕτη οὐκ αἰσχύνεται· μετὰ τοῦ προστιθέναι τὴν αἰτίαν, τοῦ εὐλόγως εἰρῆσθαι αὐτὴν παρὰ τοῦ Νυμφίου. Ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν σοί. {Προκοπίου.} Αἱ νεάνιδες τῇ νύμφῃ φασί· Μετάδος τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως· καθάπερ ὁ προσαναπαυσάμενος τῷ στήθει Χριστοῦ, καὶ φιληθεὶς ἐξ αὐτοῦ μετέδωκε τῆς θεολογίας ἡμῖν. {Γρηγορίου.} Διὰ ταύτης τῆς ῥήσεως τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν οἰκονομίαν ἐκκαλύπτει ὁ λόγος· οἱ γὰρ πρῶτοι μαθητευθέντες τῇ χάριτι, καὶ αὐτόπται τοῦ Λόγου γενόμενοι, οὐκ ἂν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀγαθὸν περιώρισαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μετ' ἐκείνους ἐκ διαδόσεως τὴν αὐτὴν ἐποίησαν χάριν·","english":"Becoming like infants, they run to the fragrance; but the perfected bride is led into the innermost chambers, as Paul was, and into the kingdom of heaven. {Of Origen.} That is, he calls the beloved one impossible, etc. {Of Cyril.} This kingdom he here calls a storeroom. {Of Nilus.} He calls the storeroom the Lord's body, into which the blessed soul has entered, having dwelt together with God the Word and reigned together with him; into which it was natural for those from the Synagogue to suffer, who saw her as it were prancing, and with a haughty bearing saying the words, \"The king brought me into his storeroom,\" to the maidens; having prudently understood this in her mind, and having guessed the jealousy stirred up in them by the narrative: if the hostile and black one boasts that she has been deemed worthy of the king's storerooms that belong to those women, which they would have said, despising and mocking her, this she does not shrink from acknowledging with good sense; while adding the reason, that it was reasonably spoken by the Bridegroom. We will exult and be glad in you. {Of Procopius.} The maidens say to the bride: Share your knowledge; just as the one who reclined on the breast of Christ, and was loved by him, shared the knowledge of God with us. {Of Gregory.} Through this saying the Word unveils the economy of the Church; for those first made disciples by grace, and who became eyewitnesses of the Word, would not have confined the good to themselves, but through transmission they made the same grace available to those after them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν νύμφην φασὶν αἱ νεάνιδες τὴν πρώτην διὰ τοῦ κατὰ στόμα τοῦ Λόγου γενέσθαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν πληρωθεῖσαν καὶ τῶν κεκρυμμένων μυστηρίων ἀξιωθεῖσαν· ὅτι Ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν σοί· κοινὴ γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐστι χαρὰ τὸ σὸν ἀγαλλίασμα. Ἀγαπήσωμεν μασθούς σου ὑπὲρ οἶνον, εὐθύτης ἠγάπησέ σε. {Προκοπίου.} Ὡς ἀγαπᾷς σὺ, φασὶν, ὑπὲρ οἶνον τοὺς τοῦ νυμφίου μαστοὺς, οὕτω τοὺς σοὺς ἡμεῖς κατὰ μίμησιν σὴν, δι' ὧν τοὺς νηπίους ἐν Χριστῷ γάλα ποτίζεις. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Διὰ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ ἀνθρωπίνην ἀγαπῶμεν τὴν τῶν σῶν λόγων ἐπιῤῥοήν· ὅτι σε ἠγάπησεν ἡ εὐθύτης ὁ Ἰησοῦς· δι' οὗ τὸ σκολιὸν εἰς ὀρθὸν ἀπευθύνεται· τοιοῦτος ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἤγουν εἰ καὶ νῦν δι' ἀσθένειαν, κ.τ.λ. δʹ. Μέλαινά εἰμι καὶ καλὴ, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλήμ· ὡς σκηνώματα Κηδὰρ, ὡς δέῤῥεις Σαλομών. {Νείλου.} Εἰ καὶ μέλαινα νῦν ὑμῖν εἶναι δοκῶ, σημεῖά τινα τῆς προτέρας ἐπιφέρουσα καταστάσεως, ἴστε ὅτι ὡς ἐπὶ σκηνῆς τῷ Αἰθιοπικῷ δέρματι ἐγκέκρυπται κάλλος ἀμήχανον, ὅπερ ἀναλάμψει ἐν τῷ γαμικῷ λουτρῷ. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἐν γὰρ τῇ κολυμβήθρᾳ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ὅταν με λούειν μέλλῃ, τότε ἀναβήσομαι λαμπρὰ, τὴν ἐπισυμβᾶσαν σκοτεινὴν ποιότητα ἀπονιψαμένη· ὡς καὶ ὑμᾶς τότε ὁρώσας θαμβεῖσθαι καὶ λέγειν· Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα λελευκασμένη; Τί οὖν κομπάζετε, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν πατέρων οἰκειότητι, ἔργοις ἀρνησάμεναι τὴν οἰκειότητα αὐτῶν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως ἀπωσάμεναι δικαίωσιν;","english":"For this reason the maidens say to the bride that she was first filled with good things through the Word's speaking with his mouth, and was deemed worthy of the hidden mysteries: \"For we will exult and be glad in you; for your exultation is our common joy.\" \"We will love your breasts more than wine; uprightness has loved you.\" {Of Procopius.} As you, they say, love the bridegroom's breasts more than wine, so we love yours in imitation of you, through which you give milk to drink to the infants in Christ. {Of Apollinaris.} For this reason we love the flow of your words beyond human measure; because uprightness, Jesus, has loved you; through whom the crooked is made straight; such is the disciple whom Jesus loved. {Of Origen.} That is, even if now through weakness, etc. 4. I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem; like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. {Of Nilus.} Even if I now seem to you to be black, bearing certain marks of my former condition, know that as on a stage, under the Ethiopian skin, an ineffable beauty is hidden, which will shine forth in the bridal bath. {Of Origen.} For in the pool of baptism, when he is about to wash me, then I will come up radiant, having washed away the dark quality that had come upon me; so that you also, seeing it then, will be astonished and say: Who is this who comes up having been made white? Why then do you boast, daughters of Jerusalem, in your kinship with the fathers, having denied that kinship by your deeds, and having thrust away the justification that comes from faith?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Τὸ δὲ, ὡς σκηνώματα Κηδὰρ καὶ δέῤῥεις, τῶν δύο ποιοτήτων τὰς ἀκρότητας ἐν αἷς γέγονε σημαίνει, ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας, τὴν τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας μελανότητα μεταθεμένη, καὶ καλὴ γενομένη ὡς τὰς Σολομῶντος δέῤῥεις· ἢ καὶ σκηνώματα Κηδὰρ τοὺς ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν φησιν· δέῤῥεις δὲ Σολομὼν τοὺς ἐξ Ἰουδαίων συνελθόντας καὶ προστιθέντας τῇ πίστει. {Θεοδωρήτου.} Ἔστιν ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία, μέλαινα μὲν ὡς ἐξηπατημένη καὶ τῇ κρίσει τῶν ἀλόγων κατεσποδωμένη· καλὴ δὲ περιμένουσά σε τὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἥξοντα διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν σωτηρίαν Δεσπότην· δεδήλωκε δὲ κατὰ ταυτὸν, τῆς δυσσεβείας τὸν ζόφον καὶ τὴν δεδομένην ὑπὸ τῆς θείας χάριτος αὐτῇ ὥραν. {Ὠριγένους.} Λέγει δὲ ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία, κ.τ.λ. {Γρηγορίου.} Μὴ θαυμάζετε, φησὶν, ὅτι εὐθύ της ἠγάπησέ με· ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ μέλαιναν οὖσαν ἐλάμπρυνεν, διὰ τὴν ἐφ' οἷς ἐμελανώθην μετάνοιαν· καὶ ὑμεῖς τοίνυν, εἰ καὶ πρώην ὑμῖν τὸ σκότος ἐνῴκησεν (τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ Κηδὰρ), γένεσθε δέῤῥεις τοῦ Σαλομὼν, Χριστοῦ τοῦ εἰρηνικοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς","english":"But the phrase \"like the tents of Kedar and like curtains\" signifies the extremes of the two qualities in which she has been—virtue and vice—having exchanged the blackness of idolatry and become beautiful like the curtains of Solomon; or else he calls the tents of Kedar those from the Gentiles, and the curtains of Solomon those who came together from the Jews and were added to the faith. {Of Theodoret.} There is a Church from the Gentiles, black indeed as having been deceived and reduced to ashes by the judgment of the irrational, but beautiful as awaiting you, the Master who will come from heaven for my salvation; and it has made clear at once both the gloom of impiety and the beauty given to her by divine grace. {Of Origen.} And the Church from the Gentiles says, etc. {Of Gregory.} Do not marvel, he says, that she loved me straightway; but that even when she was black he made her radiant, because of the repentance for the things in which I was blackened; and you therefore, even if darkness formerly dwelt in you (for this is Kedar), become curtains of Solomon, of Christ the peaceful king, and of the light","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"οἰκητήριον· ἀπὸ μέρους γὰρ δέῤῥεις τὴν βασιλικὴν ἔφη σκηνήν. εʹ. Μὴ βλέψητέ με ὅτι εἰμὶ μεμελανωμένη, ὅτι παρέβλεψέ με ὁ ἥλιοσ. {Γρηγορίου.} Τὴν τῶν μαθητευομένων διάνοιαν μὴ τῷ Δημιουργῷ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ σκοτεινοῦ εἴδους ἀνατιθέναι, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἑκάστου προαιρέσει, καί φησιν· Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι μέλαινα ἐκτίσθην, ἀλλ' ὅτι τοιαύτην ὁ πονηρὸς ἀπέδειξεν ἥλιος· περὶ οὗ τὸ ἡμέρας ὁ ἥλιος οὐ συγκαύσει σε. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἢ ὅτι σκοτισθεῖσάν με τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, Χριστὸς παρεῖδε διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν, ὃν Ἥλιον δικαιοσύνης ἀναγορεύουσιν αἱ Γραφαί. Υἱοὶ μητρός μου ἐμαχέσαντο ἐν ἐμοί· ἔθεντό μου φυλάκισσαν ἐν ἀμπελῶσιν· ἀμπελῶνα ἐμὸν οὐκ ἐφύλαξα. {Γρηγορίου.} Υἱοὺς μητρὸς, τοὺς νοητοὺς εἶπεν ἐχθρούς· λογικοὶ γὰρ ὁμοίως, καὶ ἐκ μιᾶς ἅπαντες αἰτίας τῆς θείας φύσεως· οἵτινές με, φησὶν, ἐκβάλλοντες τοῦ καλοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τουτέστι τοῦ παραδείσου, ἔθεντό με φυλάσσειν τοὺς αὐτῶν ἀμπελῶνας, ἐν οἷς βότρυς πικρίας καὶ σταφυλὴ χολῆς καὶ θυμὸς δρακόντων γεωργεῖται· ἐν ἀμπελῶσι δὲ εἶπε διὰ τὸ πολυσχεδὲς τῆς κακίας· μνησθεῖσα δὲ τοῦ πάλαι πτώματος, τὰς νεάνιδας ἀφεῖσα, πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον αὖθις ποιεῖται τὸν λόγον. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἤγουν οἱ διδάσκοντες μαθηταὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} 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·","english":"A dwelling place; for by a part he called the royal tent. 5. Do not look at me because I am blackened, because the sun has looked away from me. {Of Gregory.} Do not attribute the cause of the dark appearance to the Creator, but to each person's own choice, and he says: Do not think that I was created black, but that the evil sun made me such; concerning which [it is written], \"The sun shall not burn you by day.\" {Of Origen.} Or that, having been darkened by sin, Christ looked past me because of unbelief—he whom the Scriptures proclaim the Sun of righteousness. The sons of my mother fought against me; they set me as a keeper in the vineyards; I did not keep my own vineyard. {Of Gregory.} He called the sons of my mother the intelligible enemies; for they are rational alike, and all from one cause, the divine nature; these, he says, casting me out of the good vineyard, that is, out of paradise, set me to keep their vineyards, in which the cluster of bitterness and the grape of gall and the wrath of dragons are cultivated; and he said \"in vineyards\" because of the manifold variety of evil. And remembering the ancient fall, she dismisses the maidens and again makes her speech to the bridegroom. {Of Origen.} Or rather the disciples who teach Christ, etc. {Of Cyril.} And perhaps she accuses herself, that she did not keep her own vineyard, having allowed everyone who passed by on the road to ravage it; and it was [possible] for him to lay it waste from the thicket, and for a wild beast to graze it down.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"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. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Ἀνάγοιτο δ' ἂν ταῦτα καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς πρότερον μὲν τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διώξαντας, ὕστερον δὲ διδάξαντας τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῶν διωχθέντας, ὁποῖος ἦν ὁ Παῦλος· ἑνικῶς γὰρ ἐξέδωκεν ὁ Σύμμαχος εἰπών· Υἱὸς μητρός μου ἐμαχέσατο ἐν ἐμοὶ, ἔθετό με φυλάκισσαν ἐν ἀμπελῶσι, τουτέστι μετὰ τὸ διῶξαι, ἔθετό με φυλάσσειν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἤγουν υἱοὺς μητρὸς αὐτῆς λέγει τῆς συναγωγῆς, τοὺς Γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαίους· οἵτινες ἐπολέμουν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς Χριστόν· τηρεῖν ἐντελλόμενοι τὴν κατὰ τὸν νόμον λατρείαν· αὕτη γὰρ ἀμπελών· ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ταύτην, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐφύλαξα· ἅτινα γὰρ ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν· ὥς φησιν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος. ʹ. Ἀπάγγειλόν μοι ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου, ποῦ ποιμαίνεις, ποῦ κοιτάζεις ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ· μήποτε γένωμαι ὡσεὶ περιβαλλομένη ἐπ' ἀγέλαις ἑταίρων σου. {Γρηγορίου.} Τοὔνομά σου, φησὶν, ἀγνοῶ, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἀγάπης καλῶ· ἀγαπῶ γὰρ εἰκότως τὸν ἀγαπήσαντα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν θέντα ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ· καὶ βούλομαί σου τὴν νομὴν εὑροῦσα ἐμφορηθῆναι τῆς αἰωνίου τρυφῆς, ἧς ὁ μὴ φαγὼν οὐ δύναται εἰς τὴν ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν· ἔνθα με ἀναπαύσεις, ἐν ἀσκίῳ φωτὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως· ἀλλά με δίδαξον πῶς ἔστι τούτων τυχεῖν, μήπως ἀποσφαλεῖσα ταῖς ἀλλοτρίαις ἐμπέσω τῶν σῶν ποιμνίων ἀγέλαις· ἀγωνιᾷ γὰρ εἰς τὸ φυλάξαι μέχρι τέλους ὅπερ ἐκτήσατο κάλλος, καὶ περὶ τούτου πυνθάνεται·","english":"Perhaps he also glorifies God, because having been unable to guard her own vineyard—since she neither cultivated it nor guarded it—she advanced so far as to be able to guard many vineyards. {Of Apollinarius.} These things could also be applied to those who first persecuted the Church and later taught those who had been persecuted by them, such as Paul was; for Symmachus gave it in the singular, saying: The son of my mother fought against me, he set me as a keeper in the vineyards—that is, after persecuting, he set me to guard the commandments of God. {Of Cyril.} Or he calls the sons of her mother—that is, of the synagogue—the scribes and Pharisees, who made war against those who believe in Christ, commanding them to observe the worship according to the law; for this is the vineyard. But I, she says, did not guard it; for the things that were gain to me, these I have counted loss for the sake of Christ, as the blessed Paul says. 9. Tell me, you whom my soul has loved, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; lest I become like one wrapped around among the flocks of your companions. {Of Gregory.} Your name, she says, I do not know, but I call you from love; for I reasonably love the one who loved me and laid down his soul for me; and I wish, having found your pasture, to be filled with the eternal delight, which one who has not eaten cannot enter into life; where you will give me rest, in the unshadowed light of the resurrection. But teach me how these things may be obtained, lest I go astray and fall into the flocks of your sheep that belong to others; for she is anxious about guarding to the end the beauty she has acquired, and she inquires about this.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"ὁ δὲ νυμφίος μείζων πόθον ἐξάπτων ἀναβάλλεται τὴν ἀπόκρισιν· οἱ φίλοι δὲ ἀποκρίνονται τοῦ νυμφίου, καὶ λέγουσι τὰ ἐπαγόμενα, τὸν τρόπον τῆς τῶν προσόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀσφαλείας, διὰ συμβουλῆς ὑφηγούμενοι· ἔστι δὲ κεκαλυμμένος ὁ παρ' ἐκείνων λόγος. {Κυρίλλου.} 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 Μωσῆς, κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν κεῖται.\" Φωνὴ οὖν ἡ μετανοοῦσα συναγωγὴ πρὸς Χριστὸν, Δήλωσόν μοι σαυτὸν, ὅπως μὴ τῶν ἑταίρων σου ποιμαίνων τὰς Ἐκκλησίας, ἐγὼ ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν μείνω τὸ κάλυμμα ἔχουσα. ζʹ. Ἐὰν μὴ γνῷς σεαυτὴν ἡ καλὴ ἐν γυναιξὶν, ἔξελθε σὺ ἐν πτέρναις τῶν ποιμνίων σου, καὶ ποίμαινε τὰς ἐρίφους σου ἐπὶ σκηνώμασι τῶν ποιμένων. {Γρηγορίου.} Τοῦτο φυλακτήριον, τὸ σεαυτὴν ἐπιγνῶναι· ὁ δὲ τοῖς τῶν προοδευσάντων πεπλανημένοις ἴχνεσιν ἀκολουθήσας, λήσεται εἰς","english":"But the bridegroom, kindling a greater desire, postpones the answer; and the friends of the bridegroom answer and speak what follows, setting forth the manner of the security of the good things present by way of counsel; and the word from them is veiled. {Of Cyril.} He calls his companions apostles; for he said: \"No longer do I call you servants, but friends.\" For you are friends. And she, being clothed about, speaks as one veiled, since Paul says: \"That until this present day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart.\" The voice, then, of the synagogue repenting toward Christ: Make yourself known to me, so that I, while your companions shepherd the Churches, may not remain with the veil upon my heart. 7. If you do not know yourself, O fair one among women, go out in the footsteps of the flocks, and shepherd your kids beside the tents of the shepherds. {Of Gregory.} This is a safeguard, to know oneself; but he who has followed the wandering tracks of those who went before will escape notice into","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"ἔριφον ἀντὶ προβάτου μεταβαλών. Τοῦ νυμφίου τοίνυν οἱ φίλοι φασίν· Ὡς ἐκ μελαίνης ψυχὴ γενομένη καλὴ, εἴ σοι μέλλει τοῦ φυλάξαι τὸ κάλλος, μὴ ἀκολούθει πεπλανημένοις, μήποτε προστεθῇς τῇ τῶν ἐρίφων ἀγέλῃ, τῇ λαβούσῃ τὴν στάσιν τὴν ἐξ ἀριστερῶν· ἔστι δὲ σαφεστέρα γραφὴ καὶ τηροῦσα τὴν σύνταξιν· Ἐὰν μὴ γνῷς σεαυτὴν, ἡ καλὴ ἐν γυναιξὶν, ἔξελθε ἐκ τῶν πτερνῶν τοῦ ποιμνίου, καὶ ποιμανεῖς ἐρίφους· ἀντὶ σκηνωμάτων ποιμνίων· ἵνα τὸ ἔξελθε ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐξελεύσῃ. {Φίλωνος.} Ἕτερος τὸν λόγον ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ νυμφίου φησὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς συναγωγαῖς μόνην οὖσαν καλὴν, ὅτι Γνῶθι ποῦ ἦς καὶ ποῦ νῦν εἶ, καὶ παρὰ τίνος ἔχεις τὸ κάλλος· εἰ δὲ σαυτὴν ἀναξίαν τῆς ἐμῆς δόξης ποιεῖς, ποίμαινε τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν τὰς ψυχὰς ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασι τῶν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ βασιλέων. 1560 {Κυρίλλου.} Ἤγουν, εἰ μὴ μετανοήσῃς, φησὶν, ὀπίσω τῶν ἐθνῶν εὑρεθήσῃ· ἅτε μὴ ἔχουσα καρποὺς δικαιοσύνης, ἄκαρπος μένουσα, καὶ ὀπίσω ποιμνίων ὧν ἐμαυτὸν συνεστησάμην. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἔκδοσιν τοῦ Συμμάχου, τοιαύτην ἔχει τὴν ἔννοιαν· Εἰ μήπω τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπέγνωκας ποίμνης, καὶ κατὰ νόμους ἐμοὺς τὸν σεαυτῆς ποιμανεῖς λαὸν, ἐξελθοῦσα τοῖς ποιμνίοις ἀκολούθει. γνώσει γὰρ οὕτως, ὅτι μὴ κατὰ τὴν ποίμνην τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν βαδίζει πρόβατα τὰ ἐμά· οὕτω γὰρ ποιμαινομένη, καὶ τὰ ἑαυτῆς νεαρὰ ποιμαίνουσα θρέμματα, ἅπερ εἶπεν ἐρίφους, γνώσῃ ποῦ νέμει Χριστὸς, καὶ τίνες οἱ ὑπ' αὐτὸν νεμόμενοι, τὸν πνευματικὸν ἔχοντες καὶ κάλλιστον χαρακτῆρα, καθ' ὃν καλὴ ἐν γυναιξὶν ἡ ἐξαίρετος Ἐκκλησία.","english":"Changing a kid for a sheep. The friends of the bridegroom, then, say: Since the soul, having become beautiful out of black, if you intend to keep the beauty, do not follow after those who have gone astray, lest you be added to the herd of kids, to that which has taken its place on the left; but there is a clearer reading that also preserves the construction: If you do not know yourself, O beautiful among women, go out from the heels of the flock, and you will shepherd kids; instead of the tents of flocks; so that \"go out\" stands for \"you will go out.\" {Of Philo.} Another says the word as from the bridegroom to her who alone is beautiful in all the synagogues, that Know where you were and where you now are, and from whom you have your beauty; but if you make yourself unworthy of my glory, shepherd the souls of sinners in the tents of the kings of Israel. 1560 {Of Cyril.} That is, if you do not repent, he says, you will be found after the nations; inasmuch as you have no fruits of righteousness, remaining unfruitful, and after the flocks which I set up for myself. {Of Apollinaris.} But according to the version of Symmachus, it has this meaning: If you have not yet recognized the stamp of my flock, and according to my laws you will shepherd your own people, having gone out, follow the flocks. For thus you will know that my sheep do not walk according to the Jewish flock; for thus, being shepherded and shepherding your own young flocks, which he called kids, you will know where Christ pastures, and who are those pastured under him, having the spiritual and most beautiful stamp, according to which the excellent Church is beautiful among women.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"{Ὠριγένους.} Τὸ πολυθρύλλητον δὲ παρ' Ἕλλησιν ἐπίφθεγμα προείληπται παραδοθὲν τῷ σοφῷ Σολομῶντι, τὸ, Γνῶθι σαυτὸν, κ.τ.λ. ηʹ. Τῇ ἵππῳ μου ἐν ἅρμασι Φαραὼ ὡμοίωσά σε, ἡ πλησίον μου. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἵππους Θεοῦ ἀντιτασσομένη τοῖς ἄρμασι Φαραὼ, δύναμίς τις ἀγγελικὴ καὶ ἀόρατος καταποντίζουσα τὸν Αἰγύπτιον· ᾗ παρεικάζεται ἡ τῷ λουτρῷ κεκαθαρμένη ψυχὴ, πᾶν Αἰγύπτιον νόημα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλλόφυλον κακίαν τοῖς ὕδασι κατακλύζουσα· τὴν οὖν ποτε, φησὶ, γενομένην ἐν ἅρμασι Φαραὼ, τῇ ἵππῳ μου νῦν παρωμοίωσά σε. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. θʹ. Τί ὡραιώθησαν σιαγόνες σου ὡς τρυγόνος; {Γρηγορίου.} Ἐπείπερ ἵππος ἀκόλαστος, τῆς τρυγόνος αὐτὴν ἐκόσμησε σωφροσύνην· ἵππον γὰρ εἶπον, φησὶν, οὐχ ὡς κημοῦ δεομένην καὶ χαλινοῦ· ἐμπρέπει γὰρ ἡ καθαρά σοι ζωή. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἤγουν τὴν αἰδὼ τὴν πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον παρίστησι διὰ τῆς τρυγόνος· ἐρυθραὶ γὰρ τῆς τρυγόνος αἱ σιαγόνες· τῇ δὲ συναγωγῇ τοὐναντίον· \"Ὄψις πόρνης ἐγένετό σοι ἀπανῃσχύντησας πρὸς πάντας.\" {Ὠριγένους.} Ἀλλὰ καὶ μέλη Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησίαν νύμφης ὁ Παῦλός φησιν, κ.τ.λ. Τράχηλός σου ὡς ὁρμίσκοι. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἐπαινεῖ τὸν τράχηλον τὸν ἐν σχήματι κύκλου γυρούμενον; ὃ δὴ περὶ τοὺς γαύρους τῶν πώλων ὁρῶμεν γινόμενον· ἡ γὰρ τῶν ὁρμίσκων μνήμη τὸν κύκλον ἐνδείκνυται, οὗ τὸ σχῆμα ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐχένος δεικνύμενον, εὐπρεπέστερον αὐτοῦ τὸν πῶλον ποιεῖ·","english":"Of Origen. The much-repeated maxim among the Greeks has been taken up beforehand and handed down to the wise Solomon, namely, \"Know yourself,\" etc. 8. To my horse in the chariots of Pharaoh I have likened you, my neighbor. Of Gregory. A horse of God, set in array against the chariots of Pharaoh—some angelic and invisible power that sinks the Egyptian; to which is compared the soul purified by the bath, overwhelming in the waters every Egyptian thought and all alien wickedness. So then, he says, you who once were among the chariots of Pharaoh, I have now likened to my horse. Of Cyril. That is, having received my faith, O Church, you have been made like the apostles; concerning whom is the saying, \"You shall mount upon your horses, and your riding is salvation\"; who also were equipped against the chariots of the spiritual Pharaoh. 9. How beautiful are your cheeks as a turtledove? Of Gregory. Since, being an unbridled horse, he has adorned her with the chastity of the turtledove; for I called her a horse, he says, not as one needing a muzzle and bridle; for your pure life shines forth. Of Cyril. That is, he sets forth the modesty toward the bridegroom through the turtledove; for the cheeks of the turtledove are ruddy; but to the synagogue the opposite: \"You had the look of a harlot, you became shameless before all.\" Of Origen. But Paul also calls the Church a bride, and members of Christ, etc. Your neck as ornaments. Of Gregory. He praises the neck that is curved in the shape of a circle; which indeed we see happening around the proud necks of colts; for the mention of necklaces indicates the circle, whose shape, displayed on the neck, makes the colt more comely.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"ὅρμος δὲ λέγεται, κυρίως μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν παραλίων τόπων, ἐν οἷς ἡ ὄχθη καὶ τὸ ἐντὸς μονοειδῶς κοιλανθεῖσα, ὑποδέχεται τῷ κόλπῳ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ ἀναπαύει δι' ἑαυτῆς τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ πελάγους προσπλέοντας· ἐκ μεταφορᾶς δὲ διὰ τοῦ σχήματος, ὁ περιτραχήλιος κόσμος ὅρμος λέγεται· ὡς δὲ εἰς κύκλου σχῆμα κάμπτων ὁ πῶλος τὸν αὐχένα πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας τῶν ποδῶν βάσεις ὁρῶν, δι' ὧν ἀπρόσκοπόν τε καὶ ἀσφαλῆ ποιεῖται τὸν δρόμον, μήτε τῷ λίθῳ προσπταίων, μήτε κενεμβατῶν ἐν τῷ βόθρῳ· τοῦτο δὲ οὐ μικρὸν εἰς εὐφημίαν ἐστὶ ψυχῆς, τὸ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν βλέπειν· καὶ δι' ἀσφαλείας ἁπάσης πρὸς τὸν θεῖον δρόμον ἐπείγεσθαι· εἰ δὲ ἦν ἑνὶ μόνῳ προσεικασμένη ὁρμίσκῳ, ἀτελὴς πάντως ὁ ἔπαινος ἦν, ὡς οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἔχων· νῦν δὲ πᾶσαν συλλαμβάνει τῷ λόγῳ τῶν ἀρετῶν τὴν μαρτυρίαν, ἡ πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὁρμίσκων ὁμοίωσις. {Διδύμου.}\n\nὉρμίσκοι γὰρ, ἡ καθαρὰ πίστις, ἡ ἀμόλυντος σωφροσύνη, ὁ καθαρὸς βίος· ἤγουν αὐτὸ χρῆμα κόσμος ἐστὶν, ἀλλ' οὐ κόσμιον περικείμενος. {Κυρίλλου.} Λέγει τράχηλον τὸ ὑποτακτικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς· πῶς γὰρ κόσμος καλὸς, αὐχὴν μελετήσας φέρειν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸν ζυγόν; ιʹ, ιαʹ. Ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου ποιήσωμέν σοι μετὰ στιγμάτων τοῦ ἀργυρίου· ἕως οὗ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν ἀνακλίσει αὐτοῦ. {Ὠριγένους.} Τοῦτο δὲ, οὐ πολὺς ἦν οὐδὲ κεχυμένος ὁ ἄργυρος, κ.τ.λ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἄξιον δὲ τοῦτο μὴ παραδραμεῖν ἀθεώρητον· τί δήποτε οὐκ αὐτὸ τὸ χρυσίον εἰς κόσμον παραλαμβάνεται, ἀλλὰ τοῦ χρυσίου τὰ ὁμοιώματα·","english":"A \"hormos\" is properly said of coastal places, in which the shore and the interior, hollowed out uniformly, receives the sea in its bay, and gives rest through itself to those sailing in from the open sea. By metaphor, through the shape, the ornament worn around the neck is called a \"hormos.\" And as the colt, bending its neck into the shape of a circle and looking toward its own footfalls, by which it makes its course without stumbling and safe, neither striking against a stone nor stepping into a pit—this is no small thing for the praise of a soul, to look toward itself and to press on to the divine course with all safety. But if it had been likened to only one ornament, the praise would be altogether incomplete, as not having the same testimony also in the case of the remaining virtues. But now the likeness to the multitude of ornaments gathers up the whole testimony of the virtues in the word. Of Didymus.\n\nFor the ornaments are pure faith, undefiled chastity, a pure life; that is, the very thing is an adornment, but not wearing an adornment. Of Cyril. He calls the neck the submissive part of the soul; for how is it a beautiful adornment, a neck that has practiced bearing the yoke of Christ? 10, 11. We will make for you likenesses of gold with studs of silver, until the king is at his reclining. Of Origen. But this—the silver was not much nor poured out, etc. Of Gregory. But this is worth not passing by unconsidered: why ever is not the gold itself taken for adornment, but the likenesses of the gold?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ ἄργυρος, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκ τῆς ὕλης ταύτης, τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ ἀργυρίου συγκροτούμενα στίγματα· τὸ τοίνυν διὰ τοῦτο δηλούμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ἡ θεία φύσις πάσης ὑπέρκειται καταληπτικῆς διανοίας. Τὸ δὲ περὶ αὐτῆς ἡμῖν ἐγγινόμενον νόημα, ὁμοιώματά ἐστι τοῦ ζητουμένου· οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸ δείκνυσιν ἐκείνου τὸ εἶδος, ὃ οὔτε τις οἶδεν, οὔτε ἰδεῖν δύναται, ἀλλὰ δι' ἐσόπτρου καὶ δι' αἰνίγματος ἔμφασίν τινα σκιαγραφεῖ τοῦ ζητουμένου, ἔκ τινος εἰκασμοῦ ταῖς ψυχαῖς γινόμενον· πᾶς δὲ λόγος τῶν τοιούτων νοημάτων σημαντικὸς, στιγμῆς τινος ἀμεροῦς δύναμιν ἔχει, μὴ δυνάμενος ἐμφῆναι ὅπερ ἡ διάνοια βούλεται· ὡς εἶναι πᾶσαν μὲν διάνοιαν κατωτέραν τῆς ἀληθείας κατανοήσεως· πάντα δὲ λόγον ἑρμηνευτικὸν στιγμὴν βραχεῖαν δοκεῖν, μὴ δυνάμενον τῷ πλάτει τῆς διανοίας ἐπεκτείνεσθαι· τὴν οὖν διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ῥημάτων χειραγωγουμένην ψυχὴν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀλήπτων περίνοιαν, διὰ μόνης πίστεως εἰσοικίζειν ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγει δεῖν τὴν πάντα νοῦν ὑπερέχουσαν φύσιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ παρὰ τῶν φίλων λεγόμενον, ὅτι Σοὶ ποιήσωμεν, ὦ ψυχὴ, τῇ καλῶς πρὸς τὸν ἵππον ἀπεικασθείσῃ, ἰνδάλματά τινα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ ὁμοιώματα· τοιαύτη γὰρ καὶ τοῦ τῶν λόγων ἀργυρίου ἡ δύναμις ὡς ἐναυγάσματα σπινθηροειδῆ δοκεῖν εἶναι τὰ ῥήματα, μὴ δυνάμενα δι' ἀκριβείας ἐμφῆναι τὸ ἐγκείμενον νόημα· σὺ δὲ ταῦτα δεξαμένη, ὑποζύγιόν τε καὶ οἰκητήριον γενήσῃ διὰ πίστεως, τοῦ ἐν σοὶ ἀνακλίνεσθαι μέλλοντος διὰ τῆς ἐν σοὶ κατοικήσεως· τοῦ γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ θρόνος ἔσῃ καὶ οἶκος γενήσῃ·","english":"And not the silver itself, but the marks formed from this material by the likeness of silver; what is therefore signified by this is such as this, that the divine nature is above every comprehending intellect. And the thought of it that arises in us is a likeness of what is sought; for it does not show that form itself, which neither anyone knows nor is able to see, but through a mirror and through a riddle it sketches some reflection of what is sought, coming to souls from some resemblance; and every word that signifies such thoughts has the power of a certain indivisible point, unable to reveal what the mind intends; so that every mind is lower than the comprehension of the truth, and every interpretive word seems a brief point, unable to extend itself to the breadth of the thought. The soul, therefore, led by such words toward the understanding of things that cannot be grasped, he says must, through faith alone, bring within itself the nature that surpasses all mind; and this is what is said by the friends: We will make for you, O soul, who have been well likened to the horse, certain images and likenesses of the truth; for such is also the power of the silver of words, that the words seem to be sparkling gleams, unable to reveal with precision the thought contained in them. But you, having received these things, will become both a beast of burden and a dwelling-place through faith, since he who is to be reclined in you will be so through his dwelling in you; for you will be both a throne and a house for the same one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"ταῦτα τῶν φίλων τοῦ νυμφίου τῇ καθαρᾷ καὶ παρθένῳ χαρισαμένων ψυχῇ, εἶεν δ' ἂν οὗτοι τὰ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν. {Φίλωνος.} Καὶ ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου οἱ μάρτυρες, ὡς χρυσὸς ἐν πυρὶ δοκιμασθέντες· φέροντες ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἐν καιρῷ δὲ εἰρήνης οὐ μόνον ἐν διωγμοῖς· διὰ τὸ ἑλέσθαι τῇ παλιγγενεσίᾳ παραγένηται. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. Νάρδος ἔδωκεν ὀσμὴν αὐτοῦ. {Προκοπίου.} Εὐωδίαν φησὶν ἐκ ποικίλων ἀρετῶν καθάπερ ἐξ ἀνθέων συναγομένην τῇ νύμφῃ· ἐν ἑαυτῇ γὰρ ὀσφραίνεται τῆς εὐωδίας Χριστοῦ· καὶ εἰ τὸ πάθος εἶπεν αὐτοῦ, ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ τὸ ἀλάβαστρον τοῦ μύρου χυθὲν διέδωκε πανταχοῦ τὴν ὀσμήν. {Ὠριγένους.} Τὴν γὰρ τοῦ νυμφίου φησὶν ὀσμὴν, κ.τ.λ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὡς γὰρ ὑμεῖς, φησὶ, τὰ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα, οὐκ αὐτὸ τὸ ἀκήρατον τῆς θεότητος χρυσίον, ἀλλ' ὁμοιώματα διὰ τῶν χωρητικῶν ἡμῖν νοημάτων τοῦ χρυσίου χαρίζεσθε· οὐ τηλαυγεῖ τῷ λόγῳ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐκκαλύπτοντες, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς βραχύτητος τῶν τοῦ λογικοῦ ἀργυρίου στιγμάτων ἐμφάσεις τινὰς παρασχόμενοι τοῦ ζητουμένου, οὕτω κἀγὼ διὰ τῆς ἐπιπνοίας τοῦ ἐμοῦ μύρου, τὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου εὐωδίαν τῇ αἰσθήσει παρεδεξάμην·","english":"These things the friends of the bridegroom have bestowed on the pure and virgin soul, and these would be the ministering spirits sent for service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. {Of Philo.} And the likenesses of gold are the martyrs, as gold tested in fire, bearing in their body the marks of Christ, and also in a time of peace, not only in persecutions, because they have chosen to be present at the regeneration. {Of Cyril.} That is, silver in Scripture is customarily the divine teaching, and gold the divine gifts; and all things before the coming of Christ were likenesses and shadows of the good things to come, according to the Apostle; but Christ, having risen, has bestowed perfect things on men; and before the resurrection we had likenesses, from the praises of him, both the law and the prophets. Nard gave forth its fragrance. {Of Procopius.} He says that a sweet odor gathered from various virtues as from flowers is for the bride; for in herself she smells the sweet odor of Christ; and if he called his passion that, on account of which the alabaster jar of myrrh, poured out, spread its fragrance everywhere. {Of Origen.} For he says the fragrance of the bridegroom, etc. {Of Gregory.} For just as you, he says, the ministering spirits, bestow not the unmingled gold of divinity itself, but likenesses of the gold through the concepts that are comprehensible to us, not revealing the things concerning him with a far-shining word, but through the brevity of the marks of rational silver providing certain intimations of what is sought, so I also, through the inspiration of my myrrh, received the sweet odor of that very one into my perception.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"τοιοῦτον δὲ, μοὶ δοκεῖ, νοῦν ἔχει· Ὥσπερ ἐκ διαφόρων ἀρωμάτων, ἄλλου κατ' ἄλλην ἰδιότητα εὐπνοούντων, τεχνική τις καὶ ἔμμετρος μίξις τὸ τοιοῦτον ἀπεργάζεται μύρον μιᾶς τινος πόας εὐώδους ἐκ τῶν συνεμβαλλομένων, ᾗ ὄνομα νάρδος ἐστὶν,\n\nὅλῳ τῷ κατασκευάσματι περιεχομένης τὸ ὄνομα· οὕτω καὶ εἴ τις πᾶν ἄνθος εὐωδίας ἐκ τῶν ποικίλων τῆς ἀρετῆς λειμώνων ἀνθολογήσας καὶ πάντα ἑαυτοῦ τὸν βίον ἓν μύρον διὰ τῆς τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον ἐπιτηδευμάτων εὐοσμίας ἀπεργασάμενος, διὰ πάντων γένοιτο τέλειος, πρὸς αὐτὸν μὲν τὸν Θεὸν Λόγον, ὡς πρὸς ἡλίου κύκλον ἀτενῶν ἐνιδεῖν φύσιν οὐκ ἔχει, διὰ τὸ ὑπερκείμενον τῆς οὐσίας, ἐν ἑαυτῷ δὲ, καθάπερ ἐν κατόπτρῳ, βλέπειν τὸν ἥλιον· αἱ γὰρ τῆς ἀληθινῆς καὶ θείας ἀρετῆς ἀκτῖνες τῷ κεκαθαρμένῳ βίῳ, διὰ τῆς ἀποῤῥεούσης αὐτῶν ἀπαθείας ἐκλάμπουσαι, ὁρατὸν ποιοῦσιν ἡμῖν τὸν ἀόρατον, καὶ ληπτὸν τὸ ἀπρόσιτον· τῷ ἡμετέρῳ κατόπτρῳ ἐνζωγραφοῦσα τὸν ἥλιον· ἢ καὶ τὸ πάθος αἰνίττεται τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ τὸ ἀλάβαστρον τοῦ μύρου χυθὲν, διέδωκεν τὴν ὀσμήν. ιβʹ. Ἀπόδεσμος τῆς στακτῆς ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ, ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν μαστῶν μου αὐλισθήσεται. {Γρηγορίου.} Διὰ τούτων μείζονα καὶ τελεωτέραν ἐμφαίνει σοφίαν, ἣν κατορθῶσαι μόνον τῶν ἤδη τετελειωμένων ἐστίν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔθος ταῖς φιλοκόσμοις γυναιξὶ μὴ τοῖς ἔξωθεν προκοσμήμασι μόνον ἐπινοεῖν ἑαυταῖς τὸ ἐπὶ τῶν συμβιούντων ἐράσμιον, ἀλλ' ἐπιτηδεύειν διά τινος εὐπνοίας, ἡδίω τὰ σώματα τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἀνδράσι φαίνεσθαι, τὸ καταλλήλως ἐνεργοῦν πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην χρείαν ἄρωμα, ἐντὸς τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἐσθῆτα περιβολῆς ἐγκρύπτουσαι·","english":"Such, it seems to me, is the meaning: Just as from different aromatics, each fragrant according to its own particular quality, a certain skilled and measured blending produces such a myrrh—one fragrant plant being included among the ingredients, whose name is nard, the name being contained in the whole preparation; so too, if someone gathers every flower of fragrance from the varied meadows of virtue and makes his whole life a single myrrh through the sweet savor of his individual pursuits, he would become perfect through all things. But to gaze directly upon God the Word himself, as upon the circle of the sun, he has no natural capacity, because of the transcendence of his essence; yet in himself, as in a mirror, he sees the sun. For the rays of true and divine virtue, shining forth upon a purified life through the impassibility that flows from them, make the invisible visible to us and the inaccessible accessible, painting the sun in our mirror. Or else it hints at the passion of Christ, on account of which the alabaster jar of myrrh was poured out and spread its fragrance. 12. My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh; he shall lodge between my breasts. {Of Gregory.} Through these words he reveals a greater and more perfect wisdom, which it belongs only to those already perfected to achieve. For since it is the custom of women who love adornment not only to devise for themselves what is pleasing to those they live with by outward ornaments, but also to endeavor, by some sweet fragrance, to make their bodies appear more pleasant to their own husbands, they hide within the covering of their clothing the aromatic suited and effective for such a need.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"οὗ τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀτμὸν ἐκδιδόντος, καὶ τὸ σῶμα τῇ τοῦ ἀρώματος εὐπνοίᾳ συγκαταχρώννυται τοῦ ἐμοῦ αὐχένος ἀπόδεσμος, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ στήθους εὐωδιάζων τὸ σῶμα· αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Κύριος, οὐχ ἕτερον ἄρωμα· στακτὴ γὰρ γενόμενος ἔγκειται τῷ ἀποδέσμῳ τῆς συνειδήσεως αὐτῇ μου τῇ καρδίᾳ νῦν αὐλιζόμενος, οἱονεὶ ἐν τῷ βαθεῖ καὶ μεσαιτάτῳ, ἐν ᾧ τόπῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν θησαυρίζεται, καὶ ζωπυρεῖ τὰ τοῦ σώματος μέλη· μηδὲ μιᾶς ἀνομίας τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγάπην ἀποψυχούσης· στακτὴ δὲ γέγονεν, ὡς ἄτευκτος ἐπὶ πόκον, καὶ ὡσεὶ σταγόνες στάζουσαι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν· λέγει δὲ καὶ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς, \"Σμύρνα καὶ στακτὴ καὶ κασία ἀπὸ ἱματίων σου·\" μή ποτε οὖν τοῦ Δεσποτικοῦ θανάτου σύμβολον ἡ στακτὴ καὶ σμύρνα, ἣν ἀπόδεσμον τῇ ἑαυτῆς περιφέρει καρδίᾳ ἡ νύμφη; {Ὠριγένους.} Εἰποῦσα τὴν νάρδον τοῦ νυμφίου, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} Νάρδῳ καὶ ἀποδέσμῳ στακτῆς, ὁ ἐνταφιασμὸς σημαίνεται Χριστοῦ· ἂ Νικόδημος φέρων ἐνετύλιξε τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ· μαστοὺς δὲ φέρει τὰς δύο διαθήκας ἡ νύμφη, ὧν ὁ Χριστὸς ἀνὰ μέσον αὐλίζεται. ιγʹ. Βότρυς τῆς Κύπρου ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ, ἐν ἀμπελῶσιν Ἐνγαδδί. {Γρηγορίου.} Τίς οὕτω μακάριος ὥστε τὸν ἴδιον καρπὸν βλέπων ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ βότρυϊ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς, ὁρᾷν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος δεσπότην; ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὅσον ηὐξύνθη ἡ ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ νάρδῳ τοῦ νυμφίου ἐπιγνοῦσα τὴν εὔπνοιαν, ἡ στακτὴν αὐτὸν εὐώδη ποιησαμένη, καὶ διαλαβοῦσα τῷ τῆς καρδίας ἐνδέσμῳ τὸ ἄρωμα, ὡς ἂν παραμένῃ αὐτῇ τὸ ἀγαθὸν διὰ παντὸς ἀδιάπνευστον, μήτηρ τοῦ θείου βότρυος γίνεται, τοῦ πρὸς μὲν τοῦ πάθους κυπρίζοντος, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀνθοῦντος, ἐν δὲ τῷ πάθει τὸν οἶνον προχέοντος·","english":"As it gives off its own proper fragrance, the body too is tinged with the sweetness of the aroma—the bundle of my neck, and the body made fragrant upon the breast. He himself is the Lord, not another aromatic; for having become stacte, he lies enclosed in the bundle of my conscience, now lodging in my very heart, as it were in the deep and innermost place where the good is treasured up, and he kindles the members of the body, since not even a single act of lawlessness cools the love according to God. And he has become stacte, as one that drops upon the fleece, and as drops dropping upon the earth. He says also in the Psalms, \"Myrrh and stacte and cassia from your garments.\" Perhaps, then, the stacte and myrrh are a symbol of the Master's death, which the bride carries about as a bundle on her own heart. {Of Origen.} Having spoken of the bridegroom's nard, etc. {Of Cyril.} By nard and the bundle of stacte is signified the burial of Christ, which Nicodemus brought and with which he wrapped his body. And the bride bears breasts—the two covenants—between which Christ lodges. 13. My beloved is to me a cluster of Cyprus grape, in the vineyards of Engaddi. {Of Gregory.} Who is so blessed as, seeing his own fruit in the very cluster of his own soul, to see the master of the vineyard? For behold how greatly she has grown—she who recognized the sweetness in the bridegroom's own nard, who made him fragrant stacte, and who received the aroma in the bond of her heart, so that the good might remain with her forever unexhaled—she becomes the mother of the divine cluster, of him who through the passion is fragrant as henna, that is, who blooms, and in the passion pours forth the wine.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"ὁ γὰρ τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν εὐφραίνων οἶνος, αἷμα σταφυλῆς μετὰ τὴν τοῦ πάθους οἰκονομίαν γίνεται καὶ ὀνομάζεται· διπλῆς οὖν οὔσης ἐν τῷ βότρυϊ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως, τῆς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἄνθους, ὅταν εὐφραίνῃ τῇ εὐωδίᾳ τὰ αἰσθητήρια, τῆς δὲ διὰ τοῦ τελειωθέντος ἤδη καρποῦ, ὅταν ὑπάρχῃ κατ' ἐξουσίαν, ἢ τῆς βρώσεως κατατρυφᾷν, ἢ συμποσίοις τῷ οἴνῳ φαιδρύνεσθαι· ἐνταῦθα ἡ νύμφη ἔτι τὸν ἀνθοῦντα βότρυν καρποφορεῖ· Κύπρον τὴν οἰνάνθην κατονομάζουσι· τὸ γὰρ γεννηθὲν ἡμῖν παιδίον Ἰησοῦς ἐν τοῖς δεξαμένοις αὐτὸν, διαφόρως προκόπτων σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι, οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ μέτρον ἐν ᾧ γίνεται· καθὼς ἂν ὁ χωρῶν ἱκανότητος ἔχῃ, τοιοῦτος φαίνεται, ἢ νηπιάζων, ἢ προκόπτων, ἢ τελειούμενος, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βότρυος φύσιν· ὃς οὐ πάντοτε μετὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου ὁρᾶται· ἀλλὰ καὶ συνεξαλλάσσει τῷ χρόνῳ τὸ εἶδος, ἀνθῶν, κυπρίζων, τελειούμενος, πεπαινόμενος, οἶνος γινόμενος· οὕτως τοίνυν ὁ τῆς Κύπρου βότρυς ἐστὶ βότρυς οἶνον ἐπαγγελόμενος, οὔπω δὲ οἶνος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ἄνθους γινόμενος· ἡ","english":"For the wine that gladdens our heart becomes and is named the blood of the grape after the economy of the passion. Since, then, the enjoyment in the cluster is twofold—one from the flower, when it gladdens the senses with its fragrance, and the other through the fruit already perfected, when it is at hand to enjoy as food, or to be made cheerful with wine at banquets—here the bride still bears fruit as the flowering cluster. They call the vine-blossom Cyprus; for the child born to us, Jesus, in those who receive him, advancing in different ways in wisdom and stature and grace, is not the same in all, but according to the measure in which he comes to be; insofar as the one who has room for him has capacity, such does he appear—either as an infant, or advancing, or being perfected—according to the nature of the cluster, which is not always seen on the vine with the same appearance, but changes its appearance with the time—flowering, blossoming, being perfected, ripening, becoming wine. Thus, then, the cluster of Cyprus is a cluster promising wine, not yet wine, but becoming so through the flower. The","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":20,"ref":"p20","source":"δὲ ἐλπὶς τὸ ἄνθος ἐστὶ, τὴν ἐσομένην χάριν πιστούμενον· τὴν ὄσφρησιν γὰρ εὐφραίνει ἀντὶ τῆς γεύσεως τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, τοῖς ἀτμοῖς τῶν ἐλπίδων ἡδύνον τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια· ἡ δὲ τοῦ Γαδδὶ προσθήκη σημαίνει τὸν πίονα χῶρον, ᾧ ῥιζωθεῖσα ἡ ἄμπελος, εὔτροφον καὶ ἡδὺν καρπὸν ἀπεργάζεται· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ οἱ τοπικῶς ἱστορήσαντες λέγουσι τὸν κλῆρον τοῦ Γαδδὶ ἐπιτηδείως ἔχειν πρὸς εὐτροφίαν βοτρύων· ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ὁ τῷ νόμῳ Κυρίου σύμφωνον ἔχων τὸ θέλημα, καὶ διὰ πάσης νυκτός τε καὶ ἡμέρας ταύτην τὴν μελέτην ποιούμενος, ἀειθαλὲς γίνεται δένδρον, ταῖς τῶν ὑδάτων ἐπιῤῥοαῖς πιαινόμενος· τούτου χάριν καὶ ἡ τοῦ νυμφίου ἄμπελος ἐν τῷ Γαδδὶ τῷ πίονι τόπῳ ἐῤῥιζωμένη βαθείᾳ τῇ διανοίᾳ διὰ τῶν θείων διδαγμάτων καταρδομένη καὶ αὔξουσα τὸν εὐανθῆ τοῦτον καὶ κυπρίζοντα βότρυν ἐξήνθησε, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ νυμφίου μορφὴν ὁμοιούμενον. Εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸς μὲν ἡ ἄμπελος, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ κλήματα, ἐν αὐτῇ δηλονότι τῇ ἀμπέλῳ καρποφοροῦμεν. {Νείλου.} Βότρυν Κύπρου ἢ τὴν ἀνθοῦσαν λέγει σταφυλὴν, ἢ τὸν ἐκ τῆς Κύπρου βότρυν, ἴσως ἐξαίρετόν τι ἐχούσης τῆς πατρίδος, εὐτοκίᾳ βοτρύων· ὁπότερον δὲ τούτων ἂν λέγηται παρὰ τῆς νύμφης, τῷ ὁπίσω συνᾴδει νοήματι· καὶ γὰρ ἀνθοῦσαν λέγει σταφυλὴν τὸν ἑαυτῆς ἀδελφιδὸν, τοιοῦτο λέγει· ὅτι ἕως ἐστὶν ἐν τοῖς δοκοῦσι περιστατικοῖς, κυπρίζων ἐστὶ βότρυς· πλὴν τῶν δι' ἐλπίδος ἀπεκδεχομένων τὴν τούτου τελείωσιν· ἐμοὶ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἄνθει ὢν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τὴν ἐκ τῆς βρώσεως, ἀλλὰ γοῦν τὴν ἐκ τῆς εὐωδίας παρέχει ἀπόλαυσιν, καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὑποφαίνει εὐφροσύνην·","english":"But hope is the flower, giving assurance of the grace that is to come; for it gladdens the sense of smell instead of taste, by the expectation of good things, sweetening the soul's senses with the vapors of hope. And the addition of \"of Gaddi\" signifies the rich place, in which the vine, having taken root, produces nourishing and sweet fruit; for thus also those who have recorded the places say that the lot of Gaddi is suited to the rich nourishment of clusters. Since, then, he who has his will in agreement with the law of the Lord, and makes this his meditation through every night and day, becomes an ever-green tree, fattened by the inflows of the waters; for this reason also the vine of the bridegroom, having taken root in Gaddi, the rich place, watered deeply in understanding through the divine teachings and growing, has blossomed forth this fair-flowering and fragrant cluster, made like to the form of the bridegroom. For if he is the vine, and we the branches, clearly we bear fruit in that very vine. {Of Nilus.} He calls the cluster of Cyprus either the flowering grape, or the cluster from Cyprus, perhaps because his homeland has some exceptional quality in the fruitfulness of its clusters; whichever of these the bride says, it accords with the thought that follows; for she calls her own beloved a flowering grape, saying this: that while he is among what seem to be circumstances, he is a fragrant cluster; except for those who through hope await his perfection. But to me, even while he is in the flower, he provides enjoyment not indeed from eating, but at least from the fragrance, and shows forth the gladness of the resurrection.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":21,"ref":"p21","source":"τῷ ἄνθει λεληθότως τὸν καρπὸν ὑποκυλίων, καὶ τῇ εὐωδίᾳ τοῦ ἄνθους τέως παραμυθούμενος· ἐν ἀμπελῶσι γάρ ἐστιν ἐν Γαδδὶ, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται, ὀφθαλμὸς πειρατηρίου· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος κρεμάμενος ἐν σταυρῷ ὡς ἐν πειρατηρίῳ τοῖς ἁπάντων ὀφθαλμοῖς, πολλὴν ἀμηχανίαν παρέχων τοῖς ὁρῶσιν· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐσκανδαλίζετο ἡ τελεία ψυχὴ, τελείαν ἔχουσα τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην, καὶ ἐκ τῶν προφητειῶν πεπεισμένη, ὅτι ταῦτα ἔδει γενέσθαι· καὶ γὰρ πολλοὺς, φησὶν, ἢ καὶ πάντας ἐτάραξε τὰ γεγενημένα, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἐμὲ τούτων παρεκίνησεν· οὐδὲ διστάσαι παρεσκεύασεν· εἰ δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην ἐκδοχὴν, βότρυς Κύπρου ἐστὶ, σκεπτέον πῶς τῆς Κύπρου βότρυς ὢν, οὐκ ἐν ἀμπελῶσι Κύπρου, ἀλλ' ἐν Γαδδὶ λέγεται εἶναι· τάχα οὖν ὅτε ἦν ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ Πατρὸς, πρὸ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως, βότρυς ἦν τῆς Κύπρου Θεὸς Λόγος ὤν· ὅτε δὲ τῷ κόσμῳ διὰ σαρκὸς ἐπεδήμησεν, ἐν ἀμπελῶσι γέγονε τῇ Γαδδί· ἐν ᾗ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ πειρατηρίου οὐκ ἔχοντες ἀκριβῆ τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας κατάληψιν, δυσδιάγνωστον ἐποίουν τὸ φαινόμενον, ἰσοῤῥεπῶς τῆς διανοίας ἐφ' ἑκάτερα κινούσης, ἐπί τε τὴν θεϊκὴν ἀξίαν διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν θαυμάτων, ἐπί τε τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐτέλειαν διὰ τὰ πάθη· μετὰ γοῦν τὴν τοιαύτην, ἔν τε ταῖς πράξεσιν, ἔν τε τοῖς δόγμασιν αὐτοῖς ἀκρίβειαν ἀμειβόμενος αὐτὴν ὁ νυμφίος, μᾶλλον δὲ τὰ προσόντα αὐτῇ φησι μαρτυρῶν, Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. ιδʹ. Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, ἡ πλησίον μου, ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, ὀφθαλμοί σου περιστεραί. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἐν μὲν τοῖς φθάσασιν, ἵππου τινὸς εὐμορφίαν τῷ φαινομένῳ προσεμαρτύρησε·","english":"Rolling the fruit unseen beneath the flower, and for the time being soothing by the fragrance of the flower; for it is in the vineyards in Gaddi, which is interpreted, the eye of a place of ambush; for the Lord also, hanging on the cross as in a place of ambush before the eyes of all, furnishing great perplexity to those who see; but the perfect soul was not scandalized, having perfect love toward him, and being persuaded from the prophecies that these things had to happen; for many, he says, or even all, were troubled by what had happened, but none of these things moved me, nor prepared me to doubt. But if also according to the other reading, it is a cluster of Cyprus, one must consider how, being a cluster of Cyprus, he is said to be not in the vineyards of Cyprus but in Gaddi. Perhaps, then, when he was in the bosom of the Father, before the incarnation, he was a cluster of Cyprus, being God the Word; but when he came to the world through the flesh, he came to be in the vineyards of Gaddi; in which the eyes of the place of ambush, not having an exact comprehension of the truth, made what appeared hard to discern, the mind moving in equipoise toward both sides, both toward the divine worthiness because of the greatness of the wonders, and toward the human lowliness because of the sufferings. After such exactness, then, both in deeds and in the doctrines themselves, the bridegroom requiting her, or rather testifying to what belongs to her, says, Behold, you are beautiful, and the rest. 14. Behold, you are beautiful, my neighbor, behold, you are beautiful, your eyes are doves. {Of Gregory.} In the preceding words, he testified to the beauty of a certain horse in what appeared;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":22,"ref":"p22","source":"νῦν δὲ ὡς παρθένου λοιπὸν ἀποδέχεται τὸ ἀναφανὲν κάλλος, καί φησιν· Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, ἡ πλησίον μου· παιδεύει δὲ διὰ τούτων ὁ λόγος, ταύτην εἶναι τοῦ κάλλους τὴν ἐπανάληψιν, τὸ πλησίον τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ γενέσθαι πηγῆς· πρότερον μὲν γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἦς καλή· διότι τοῦ ἀρχετύπου κάλλους ἀποξενωθεῖσα τῇ πονηρᾷ γειτνιάσει τῆς κακίας πρὸς τὸ εἰδεχθὲς ἠλλοιώθης· ἀποστᾶσα δὲ νῦν τῆς τοῦ κακοῦ κοινωνίας, καὶ ἐμοὶ πλησιάσασα τῷ ἀρχετύπῳ κάλλει, καὶ αὐτὴ καλὴ γέγονας, οἷόν τι κάτοπτρον τῷ ἐμῷ χαρακτῆρι ἐμμορφωθεῖσα· εἶτα ἐπισχὼν, καὶ οἷον ἐν προσθήκῃ τινὶ καὶ ἐπιτάσει γενομένην τοῦ κάλλους αὐτὴν θεασάμενος, πάλιν τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπαναλαμβάνει λόγον εἰπών· Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή· ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ τὴν πλησίον ὠνόμασεν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματος τῶν εἰδῶν γνωριζομένην· Ὀφθαλμοί σου γὰρ, φησὶ, περιστεραί· πρότερον μὲν γὰρ ὅτε τῷ ἵππῳ ἀφωμοιώθη, ἐν σιαγόνι τε καὶ τραχήλῳ ὁ ἔπαινος ἦν·\n\nνῦν δὲ ὅτε τὸ ἴδιον αὐτῆς ἀνεφάνη κάλλος, ἡ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν χάρις ἐγκωμιάζεται· ὁ δὲ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἔπαινος, τὸ περιστερᾶς εἶναι τὰ ὄμματα· ἐπειδὴ πρὸς ὃ ἄν τις ἐνατενίσῃ, τούτου δέχεται ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ ὁμοίωμα· καὶ γάρ φασιν οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα φυσιολόγων ἐπιστήμονες, ὡς τὰς τῶν εἰδώλων ἐμπτώσεις δεχόμενος ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς, αἳ τῶν ὁρατῶν ἀποῤῥέουσιν, οὕτως ἐνεργεῖ τὴν ὄψιν· ἢ μηκέτι αἶμα καὶ σάρκα, τουτέστι τὸν σωματικὸν βίον, βλέπουσα νύμφη, ἀλλὰ τῆς σωματικῆς προσπαθείας ἀπηλλαγμένη, εἰκότως τὸ τῆς περιστερᾶς εἶδος ἐν τοῖς ὄμμασιν ἔχειν λέγεται· τουτέστιν τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῆς πνευματικῆς ζωῆς, τῷ διορατικῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐναυγάσασα·","english":"But now, as of a virgin, he accepts the beauty that has been revealed, and says: Behold, you are beautiful, my neighbor. By these words the Logos teaches that this is the repetition of beauty—to come near to the fountain of the beautiful. For formerly, he says, you were not beautiful, because, being estranged from the archetypal beauty and brought near by the evil proximity of wickedness, you were changed into ugliness. But now, having departed from fellowship with evil and drawn near to me, the archetypal beauty, you yourself have become beautiful, having been formed like a mirror into my own impress. Then, pausing and beholding her beauty as it were in some addition and increase, he again repeats the same word, saying: Behold, you are beautiful. But in the former instance he called her \"neighbor\"; here, however, her who is known from the name of her forms; for he says, Your eyes are doves. For formerly, when she was likened to a horse, the praise was in the cheek and the neck.\n\nBut now, when her own beauty has been revealed, the grace of the eyes is praised; and the praise of the eyes is that the eyes are a dove's. Since whatever one gazes upon, one receives its likeness within oneself. For those who are learned in such natural philosophy say that the eye, receiving the impressions of images which flow from visible things, thus accomplishes sight. Or else the bride, no longer looking upon blood and flesh—that is, the bodily life—but released from bodily affection, is reasonably said to have the form of a dove in her eyes; that is, having caused the impress of the spiritual life to shine forth in the discerning part of the soul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":23,"ref":"p23","source":"καὶ ἐπείπερ ὁ καθαρὸς αὐτῆς ὀφθαλμὸς, δεκτικὸς τοῦ τῆς περιστερᾶς χαρακτῆρος γέγονεν, ἤγουν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, διὰ τοῦτο χωρεῖ καὶ τὸ τοῦ νυμφίου κάλλος θεάσασθαι· \"Οὐδεὶς γὰρ δύναται εἰπεῖν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, εἰ μὴ ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.\" 1572 {Νείλου.} Δὶς τὸ καλὴ λέγει· διὸ τὴν ἐν ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αὐτοῖς τῷ τε ἕσω καὶ τῷ ἕξω καθαρότητα· περιστερᾶς δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῆς εἰκότως προσαγορεύει· ἐπειδὴ πάντων τῇ διαφορᾷ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν οἰκονομηθέντων συμμεταβαλλόντων τὴν γνώμην· καὶ ἄλλα μὲν πρὸ τοῦ πάθους, ἄλλα δὲ ἐν τῷ πάθει περὶ αὐτοῦ ὑπολαβόντων· καὶ ἑτεροδόξοις ταῖς κατ' ἐναντιότητα φαντασίαις τὸ ἰσχυρὸν τῆς προαιρέσεως κλονησάντων, πνευματικῶς ἐνόει τὰ τελούμενα· οὐδὲν συμβαινόντων κατὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ὑπόληψιν κρίνουσα· τὸν δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς Θεοῦ δόξαν ἐν ἑκατέρου φυλάξασα τοῖς καιροῖς· πλησίον δὲ αὐτὴν λέγει διὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν, ἐπειδὴ τὸ ἐκείνης ἀνέλαβε σῶμα· καλεῖ δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ ἀδελφὴν, διὰ τὸ τῆς συναφείας ἁγνόν· καὶ νύμφην, διὰ τὸ ἀδιάφθορον· ἀεὶ γὰρ οὖσα νύμφη, ἀκμάζοντα καὶ νεαρὸν ἔχει τὸν πόθον, ἀγαπῶσα καὶ ἀγαπωμένη. {Κυρίλλου.} Καλὴν αὐτήν φησιν, οὐχ ὡς πρότερον 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· περιστερᾶς, τὸ διορατικοὺς, καθὸ καὶ εἰς Πνεῦμα λαμβάνεται· λέγει οὖν ὡς ἐδέξατο νοῦν ἡ νύμφη, μόνον ὁρῶντα Θεόν· ὀφθαλμοὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄκακοι καὶ ὀξυδερκεῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι. ιεʹ, ι ʹ.","english":"And since her pure eye has become receptive of the mark of the dove—that is, of the Holy Spirit—for this reason she has room also to behold the beauty of the bridegroom; for \"no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit.\" {Of Nilus.} Twice he says \"beautiful\"; therefore he praises the purity in both the men themselves, the inner and the outer. And her eyes he fittingly calls \"of a dove,\" since all things, by the difference of the economies concerning him, change their judgment along with them—forming different opinions about him before the passion and different ones in the passion—and by heterodox imaginations, in opposition, they shook the strength of her purpose; but she understood spiritually the things being accomplished, judging nothing by the opinion of the many in the events that happened, and keeping the glory concerning him as God from the beginning in both seasons. And he calls her \"near\" because of the incarnation, since he took up her body; and he calls her also \"sister\" because of the purity of the union, and \"bride\" because of the incorruption; for always being a bride, she has her desire flourishing and fresh, loving and being loved. {Of Cyril.} He calls her beautiful, not as before saying it only among women, but now the bridegroom redoubles the praise of the bride as his near one, praising both her contemplative and her practical part; and \"eyes\" he means those directed to the mind and the heart; \"of a dove,\" the far-seeing, in that it is also taken in reference to the Spirit. He says, then, that the bride received a mind that sees God alone; and the eyes are also the guileless and keen-sighted teachers of the Church. 15, 10.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":24,"ref":"p24","source":"Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὸς, ἀδελφός μου, καί γε ὡραῖος· κλίνη ἡμῶν σύσκιος· δοκοὶ ἡμῶν κέδροι· φατνώματα ἡμῶν κυπάρισσοι. {Φίλωνος.} Ἤγουν καλὸς ἐν νόμῳ, ὡραῖος ἐν προφήταις, ὡραῖος ἐν ἀποστόλοις, καλὸς ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος, ὡραῖος ἐν τοῖς τοῦ μέλλοντος. Προσκλίνη δὲ ἡμῶν σύσκιος, σὺ δὲ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐν θανάτῳ σκέπεις. \"Ἐὰν γὰρ πορευθῶ ἐν μέσῳ σκιᾶς θανάτου, οὐ φοβηθήσομαι κακὰ, ὅτι σὺ μετ' ἐμοῦ εἶ·\" ἐγκαλλωπιζομένη δὲ ἡ νύμφη τῷ οἰκοδομηθέντι αὐτῇ παρὰ τοῦ νυμφίου οἴκῳ, ταῦτά φησιν· δοκοὺς μὲν λέγουσα τοὺς ἁγίους προφήτας· δίκαιος γὰρ ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει, ὡσεὶ κέδρος ἢ ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ πληθυνθήσεται· φατνώματα γὰρ ἡ τῶν σανίδων εὐαρμοστία πρὸς γλυφὴν τεκτόνων ἐπιτηδεία. {Γρηγορίου.} Πάντα γὰρ ὅσα μοι πρότερον ἐν καλοῖς ἐνομίζετο, φησὶν, οἷον δόξα ἢ κάλλος ἢ δυναστεία ἤ τι τοιοῦτον, ἀπεστράφην, καὶ οὐκ ἔτι μοι πεπλάνηται ἡ τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσις, ὥστε παρὰ σὲ, ἀλλ' ὅτι καλὸν οἵεσθαι· σὺ γὰρ ὁ ἀληθὴς καλός· οὐ καλὸς δὲ μόνον, ἀλλ' αὐτὴ τοῦ καλοῦ ἡ οὐσία, ὁ τῆς ἀϊδιότητι τῆς ζωῆς συμπαρατείνων τὴν ὥραν, ᾧ ὄνομα ἡ φιλανθρωπία ἐγένετο· ὡς δὲ ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατείλας ἡμῖν· ἀδελφὸς γὰρ ὁ ἐξ Ἰουδαίων λαὸς τοῦ ἐξ ἐθνῶν σοι προσιόντος, καλῶς διὰ τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ γεγενημένην τῆς θεότητός σου φανέρωσιν, ἀδελφιδὸς τῆς ποθούσης κατωνομάσθης. Εἶτα ἐπήγαγε· Προσκλίνη ἡμῶν σύσκιος· τουτέστιν, ἔγνων σου, ἤτοι γνώσεται ἡ ἀνθρωπεία φύσις σύσκιον τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ γενόμενον· ἦλθες γὰρ σὺ, φησὶν, ὁ καλὸς ἀδελφιδὸς, ὡραῖος πρὸς τῇ κλίνῃ ἡμῶν σύσκιος γενόμενος· ὡραῖος, ἀλλ' ὡς χωροῦμεν δέξασθαι·","english":"Behold, you are beautiful, my brother, and indeed lovely; our bed is shaded; our beams are cedars; our paneled ceilings are cypresses. {Of Philo.} That is, beautiful in the law, lovely in the prophets, lovely in the apostles, beautiful in the good things of the present age, lovely in those of the age to come. And our couch is shaded—but you shelter us even in death. \"For though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not fear evils, because you are with me.\" And the bride, taking pride in the house built for her by the bridegroom, says these things, calling the holy prophets beams; for the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and like a cedar in Lebanon shall he be multiplied. For the paneled ceilings are the fitting together of boards, suited for the carving of craftsmen. {Of Gregory.} For all things, she says, that were formerly reckoned beautiful to me—such as glory or beauty or power or anything of that sort—I have turned away from, and my judgment of the beautiful no longer wanders, so as to think anything beautiful besides you; for you are the true beautiful—not only beautiful, but the very essence of the beautiful, extending your beauty along with the eternity of life, whose name became loving-kindness; as one who rose up for us from Judah. For the people from the Jews is a brother to the one from the Gentiles who comes to you; rightly, because of the manifestation of your divinity that came to be in the flesh, you were named the brother of the one who longs for you. Then she added: Our couch is shaded—that is, I have known you, or human nature will know you who have become shaded in the economy of salvation. For you came, she says, the beautiful brother, lovely, having become shaded at our couch—lovely, but insofar as we are able to receive it.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":25,"ref":"p25","source":"καὶ γὰρ ἡ πρὸς τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα ἐπανάπαυσίς σου, συνεσκίασε τῇ σαρκὶ τὴν θεότητα· ἐπεὶ τίς ἂν ὑπέστησε τὴν ἐμφάνειαν; Κλίνην δὲ ὀνομάζει, ὡς νύμφη, τῇ\n\nτροπικῇ σημασίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ἀνάκρασιν, καὶ κοινωνίαν ἀνθρωπίνης οὐσίας ἑρμηνεύουσα· ταύτην δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἄλλως ἦν δυνατὸν γενέσθαι, εἰ μὴ διὰ τοῦ συσκίου ἡμῖν φανῆναι τὸν Κύριον· ὃς οὐ νυμφίος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἰκοδόμος ἐστίν· αὐτὸν ἡμῖν καὶ τεχνιτεύων τὸν οἶκον, καὶ ὕλη τῆς τέχνης γενόμενος· ὄροφον γὰρ ἐπιβάλλει τῷ οἴκῳ, διὰ τῆς ἀσήπτου ὕλης καλλωπίζων τὸ ἔργον· τοιαύτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κέδρος καὶ ἡ κυπάρισσος· κέδροι μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ ἐπιμήκεις εἶναι τῷ πλάτει τοῦ οἴκου τῷ ὀρόφῳ διαλαμβάνουσι· κυπάρισσοι δὲ διὰ τῆς γενομένης φατνώσεως, τὴν ἔνδοθεν τοῦ οἴκου κατασκευὴν ὡραΐζουσιν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ Κύριος βροχὴν ὀνομάζει τὰς ποικίλας τῶν πειρασμῶν προσβολὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ καλῶς τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν οἰκοδομήσαντος· ὅτι κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ, καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ, καὶ ἀπαθὲς ἔμεινεν ἐν τούτοις τὰ οἰκοδομήματα· χρεία τοιούτων ἡμῖν δοκῶν, αἵτινές εἰσιν αἱ ἀρεταὶ αἳ τὰς πειρασμῶν ἐπιῤῥοὰς οὐ προσίενται, στερεαὶ οὖσαι καὶ ἀνένδοτοι· καὶ τὸ πρὸς κακίαν ἀμέθεκτον ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς διασώζουσαι· μήποτε μαλακισθέντες διὰ τῆς τῶν παθημάτων ἐμπτώσεως, κοῖλοι γενώμεθα, καὶ τὴν ἐπιῤῥοὴν τῶν τοιούτων ὑδάτων ἔξωθεν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν εἰσρέουσαν ἐντὸς τῶν ταμιείων παραδεξώμεθα, δι' ὧν φθείρεται ἡμῖν τὰ ἀπόθετα·","english":"For your rest in relation to humanity has overshadowed the divinity with the flesh; since who could have endured the manifestation? And he calls it a bed, as a bride, interpreting by the figurative meaning the mingling with the Divine and the communion of human substance; and this could not have come about otherwise, unless the Lord had appeared to us through the shadowed things; who is not only a bridegroom but also a builder: crafting the house for us himself, and becoming the material of the craft. For he lays a roof upon the house, adorning the work through incorruptible material; and such is the cedar and the cypress. For cedars, because they are long, span the roof across the width of the house; and cypresses, through the paneling that is made, beautify the inner construction of the house. For since in the Gospel the Lord calls the varied assaults of temptations a rain, in the case of the one who built the house well upon the rock—that the rain descended, and the winds blew, and the rivers came, and the buildings remained unaffected in these things—there is need for us of such beams, which are the virtues that do not admit the influxes of temptations, being solid and unyielding, and preserving unshared participation in evil amid temptations; lest at some time, softened by the fall of sufferings, we become hollow, and receive the influx of such waters flowing in from outside upon the heart within our storehouses, through which our stored treasures are corrupted.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":26,"ref":"p26","source":"αἰνίττεται δὲ διὰ τῶν δοκῶν καὶ τοῦ φατνώματος ὁ λόγος, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εὔρυθμός τις καὶ διάγλυφος σανίδων πῆξις, τὸ τῆς ὀρόφου κάλλος διαποικίλλουσα· καὶ τῆς εὐπνοίας τῆς φυσικῶς παρακολουθούσης τῇ κυπαρίσσῳ, ἥτις καὶ σηπεδόνος ἐστὶν ἀπαράδεκτος, καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν τεκτονικὴν φιλοτεχνίαν ἐπιτήδειος· τῷ μὴ μόνον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ τὰς ἀρετὰς ἐν ἕξει κατορθοῦσθαι κατὰ τὸ ἄδολον, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τῆς κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον εὐσχημοσύνης ἀμελῶς ἔχειν· χρὴ γὰρ προνοεῖν καλὰ ἐνώπιον Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων· καὶ Θεῷ μὲν πεφανερῶσθαι, ἀνθρώπους δὲ πείθειν καὶ καλὴν μαρτυρίαν ἔχειν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν· λάμπειν τε τοῖς φωτεινοῖς ἔργοις ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ εὐσχημόνως περιπατεῖν πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν· ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ φατνώματα τὰ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ εὐωδίας, ἧς αἴνιγμά ἐστιν ἡ κυπάρισσος ἐν τῇ εὐσχημοσύνῃ τοῦ βίου φιλοτεχνούμενα. {Νείλου.} Συγγνωμόνως πάλιν αὐτὴ, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐκπλησσομένη, ἐπὶ τῷ ἀκοῦσαι καλὴ παρὰ τοῦ νυμφίου· μόνῳ γὰρ ἐκείνῳ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐπίκλησιν ἁρμόζειν ἐνόμιζε, θνητῷ δὲ οὐδενί· εὐθέως ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἀναστρέφει τὴν μαρτυρίαν· Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὸς ὁ ἀδελφιδός μου, λέγουσα, καί γε ὡραῖος πρὸς, ἀντὶ τοῦ, περισσῶς· οὕτω γάρ τισι διαιρεῖν ἔδοξε· καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο Ἡ κλίνη ἡμῶν σύσκιος· τὸ σῶμα λέγοντες τὸ κοινὸν, ἐν ᾧ ἀνεπαύοντο ἀμφότεροι, ὅ τε Θεὸς Λόγος καὶ ἡ μακαρία ψυχή· φειδομένου τοῦ νυμφίου ὕπαιθρον αὐτὴν ἔχειν· μὴ πάλιν ἐξ ἐπηρείας τοῦ ἐναντίου ἡλίου ἀκτῖνος πάθῃ τι τῆς παλαιᾶς μελανότητος· κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἑτέραν διαίρεσιν, οὕτω νοηθήσεται·","english":"Through the beams and the paneling the account hints at that well-ordered and carved fitting-together of planks, variegating the beauty of the ceiling; and at the good fragrance that naturally attends the cypress, which is also immune to rot and suited to every kind of carpentry craftsmanship; [hinting] that the virtues are to be successfully achieved in the soul not only in a state of purity, but that one should not be careless of the seemliness that appears outwardly; for one must take thought for what is noble before God and humans; and to be manifest to God, but to persuade humans and have a good testimony from those outside; and to shine with luminous works before humans, and to walk seemly toward those outside. These are the panelings wrought through the fragrance of Christ, of which the cypress is a riddle, crafted in the seemliness of life. {Of Nilus.} Again she speaks with forbearance, or rather struck with amazement, at hearing \"beautiful\" from the bridegroom; for she thought that such an appellation belonged to him alone, and to no mortal. She immediately turns the testimony back upon him: \"Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved,\" she says, \"and indeed comely\" — instead of \"exceedingly\"; for thus it seemed good to some to divide it. And after this, \"Our bed is shady,\" meaning the common body in which both rested, both God the Word and the blessed soul; the bridegroom sparing her from having it in the open, lest again, from the assault of the opposing sun, she suffer something of the old blackness. According to the other division, it will be understood thus:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":27,"ref":"p27","source":"ὡσανεὶ τῆς νύμφης λεγούσης, ὅτι Ὦ νυμφίε, σὺ μόνος ἂν ἐνδίκως λέγοιο καλὸς καί γε ὡραῖος, μὴ ἐπίκτητον, ἀλλὰ φυσικὸν ἔχων τὸ κάλλος· καὶ πρὸς κλίνῃ δὲ ἡμῶν γενόμενος, ὡραῖος εἶ καὶ σύσκιος, τὴν μὲν θείαν τῆς θεότητος καὶ ἀκραιφνῆ μορφὴν, καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ παραπετάσματι τῇ σαρκὶ, ἐνεργῶν μὲν τὰ τῆς θεότητος ἴδια· διὸ διάγνωστος δὲ γενόμενος διὰ τὴν ἐπικρύπτουσαν τὰ ἐπιτελούμενα παραδόξως τοῦ σώματος περιβολήν. {Ὠριγένους.} Νῦν ἔοικε πρότερον ἐνεωρακέναι τρανότερόν τε τοῦ νυμφίου κάλλει ἡ νύμφη, κ.τ.λ. ΚΕΦΑΛ. Βʹ. αʹ. Ἐγὼ ἄνθος τοῦ πεδίου, κρίνον τῶν κοιλάδων. {Κυρίλλου.} Ὡς δεξαμένη ἡ νύμφη τὸν ἄνωθεν ὑετὸν, καὶ τεκοῦσα τὴν ἀρετὴν, ἄνθει ἑαυτὴν παραβάλλει πεδίου· δείκνυσι δὲ ὅσον ὠφέλησεν ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημία, ὅπου γε καὶ τὰς κοιλάδας τὰς ἀνεπιτηδείους πρὸς ἃ παντασπόρον, τοιούτων μεστὰς ἔδειξεν ἀνθέων· κοιλάδα γὰρ λέγει τὴν ἀποκοιλανθεῖσαν ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκησάντων αὐτὴν πάλαι δαιμόνων. {Φίλωνος.} Ταῦτά φησιν ἡ νύμφη ἀκούσασα παρὰ Ἡσαΐου, \"Ἀγαλλιάσθω ἔρημος, καὶ ὡς κρίνον ἀνθείτω·\" καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, \"Καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ·\" λέγει δ' ἂν ὁ Κύριος ἐπὶ γῆς γεγονέναι, ὡς ἀνθήσωσιν οἱ πιστοὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ· τοῦτο γὰρ","english":"As if the bride were saying, \"O bridegroom, you alone would justly be called fair and handsome, having beauty not acquired but natural; and when you have come to be at our bed, you are handsome and overshadowed, working the things proper to the divinity—the divine and pure form of the Godhead—as though under a curtain by the flesh; therefore you became discernible through the body's covering that paradoxically conceals the things being accomplished.\" {Of Origen.} Now the bride seems to have previously seen more clearly the beauty of the bridegroom, etc. CHAPTER 2, 1. \"I am the flower of the field, a lily of the valleys.\" {Of Cyril.} As the bride, having received the rain from above and having brought forth virtue, compares herself to a flower of the field; and she shows how much the coming of Christ benefited, seeing that even the valleys, which were unsuitable for every seed, he showed to be full of such flowers; for he calls \"valley\" that which was hollowed out by the demons who formerly dwelt in it. {Of Philo.} The bride says these things having heard from Isaiah, \"Let the wilderness rejoice, and let it blossom as a lily;\" and from the Lord, \"Consider the lilies of the field;\" and the Lord would be saying that he has come to be on earth so that the faithful might blossom also in Hades; for this","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":28,"ref":"p28","source":"κοιλάδων κρίνον ὅ ἐστι νεκρός. {Γρηγορίου.} Ταῦτα ἡ νύμφη περὶ ἑαυτῆς διεξέρχεται λέγουσα· Ἐγὼ μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ κλίνῃ ἡμῶν τὸν νυμφίον συσκιασθέντα τῷ σώματι, ὃς ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν οἶκον ἐμὲ, ταῖς τῶν ἀρετῶν κέδροις ὠρόφωσε, γέγονε, φησὶν, ἄνθος εὔοσμόν τε καὶ καθαρὸν καὶ λαμπρὸν, ἐκ τῆς ἐν τῷ πλάτει ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τοῦ πεδίου, εὐχροίας τε καὶ εὐωδίας, τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθέων διαφέρον, ὃ λέγεται κρίνον, τὴν τῆς σωφροσύνης ἀπαστράπτον μαρμαρυγήν· τὸ πεδίον τοῦτο συγκρίσει τῆς οὐρανίας ἁψῖδος κοιλὰς ὀνομάζεται· ἐν ᾧ ἡ γεωργηθεῖσα καλῶς ἐκ τοῦ κοίλου πρὸς τὸ ὕψος ἐκδίδοται, ὡς καὶ τοῦ κρίνου ἡ φύσις· ὡς ἂν ἐν μετεώρῳ καθαρὸν αὐτῇ διαμένῃ τὸ κάλλος τῇ πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἐπιμιξίᾳ μὴ μολυνόμενον, μηδὲ συμπνιγόμενον ταῖς ἀκάνθαις τοῦ βίου, ταῖς πονηραῖς δυνάμεσιν· ἃς τοῦ διαβόλου θυγατέρας κατὰ τὸ σιωπόμενον ᾐνίξατο. {Νείλου.} Κρίνον ἑαυτὴν, φησὶν, ἢ διὰ τὸ ἐμπρέπειν ταῖς διὰ ταπεινότητα πράξεων ἢ νοημάτων κοίλαις ὀνομαζομέναις, φαιδρῶς ἐν ἑκατέροις κεκοσμημένη καὶ λάμπουσα· ἢ ὅτι κρίνειν μέλλει τὰς τοιαύτας ψυχὰς ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ἐκ συγκρίσεως τῶν ἰδίων κατορθωμάτων, οὐδὲν ἔχουσα ἐν τῇ φύσει πλέον ἐκείνων ὡς Νινευῖται, καὶ βασίλισσα Νότου κατακρινεῖ τὴν ἄπιστον γενεάν· ἄνθος δὲ τοῦ πεδίου εἶναι λέγεται, τάχα μὲν τῶν κοιλάδων σημαινουσῶν, καὶ διὰ τὸ ταπεινὸν καὶ ἀγεώργητον, καὶ διὰ τὸ πληθυντικῶς ὀνομάζεσθαι τὰ ἐκ βάθους ἀσεβείας εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἐλθόντα ἔθνη· τοῦ δὲ πεδίου τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τὸ ἐξομαλεῖσθαι πρὸς ἐπιτηδειότητα γεωργίας, τοῖς προφητικοῖς καὶ νομικοῖς παιδεύμασιν·","english":"A lily of the valleys, which is a dead man. {Of Gregory.} The bride recounts these things about herself, saying: I, after the bridegroom had come to be in our bed, overshadowed in the body—he who built me, the house, in himself, and roofed it with the cedars of the virtues—have become, she says, a flower both fragrant and pure and bright, from the human nature in the breadth of the plain, excellent in color and in fragrance, surpassing the other flowers, which is called a lily, flashing forth the gleam of chastity. This plain, in comparison with the heavenly vault, is called valleys; in which the well-cultivated soul is sent up from the hollow toward the height, as is also the nature of the lily; so that in a lofty place its beauty might remain pure for it, not defiled by mingling with the earth, nor choked by the thorns of life, the evil powers; which he hinted at, in what is passed over in silence, as the daughters of the devil. {Of Nilus.} She calls herself a lily, he says, either because she is conspicuous among those called valleys through the humility of deeds or of thoughts, brightly adorned and shining in both; or because she is going to judge such souls in the age to come by comparison with her own achievements, having nothing more in her nature than they—as the Ninevites, and the queen of the South will condemn the unbelieving generation. And she is said to be a flower of the plain, perhaps meaning the valleys, both because of its lowliness and because it is uncultivated, and because the nations that came from the depth of impiety to knowledge are named in the plural; but the plain is Israel's, because it is made level for the suitability of cultivation by the prophetic and legal instructions.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":29,"ref":"p29","source":"καλῶς δὲ καὶ τούτων οὐχὶ καρπὸς ἀλλ' ἄνθος εἶναι λέγεται· οὔπω γὰρ τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ τὴν γῆν ἀνατέμνει ἄροτρον, ὅπερ ἐπέθηκε τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ὡς βουσὶν ὁ Κύριος, ζυγάδην ἐπὶ τὴν γεωργίαν ἀποστείλας αὐτοὺς, οὐδέπω αἵματι πεπότιστο Δεσποτικῷ· διὸ ἄκαρπος ἦν καὶ στείρα. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἄνθος λέγει τὸ ὁδεῦον ἐπὶ τὸ γενέσθαι καρπὸς, κ.τ.λ. βʹ. Ὡς κρίνον ἐν μέσῳ ἀκανθῶν, οὕτω ἡ πλησίον μου ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν θυγατέρων. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὅσην ὁρῶμεν τῆς εἰς τὸ ὕψος ἀνόδου τὴν προκοπὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς γινομένην. Πρώτη ἄνοδος, τὸ πρὸς τὴν καθαιρετικὴν τῆς ἐναντίας δυνάμεως ἵππον ὁμοιωθῆναι. Δευτέρα ἄνοδος, τὸ πλησίον αὐτὴν γενέσθαι, καὶ περιστερᾶς ποιῆσαι τὰ ὄμματα. Τρίτη τοίνυν ἄνοδος τὸ μηκέτι πλησίον, ἀλλ' ἀδελφὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου ὀνομασθῆναι. \"Ὃς ἂν ποιήσῃ, φησὶ, τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, οὗτος ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀδελφή μου, καὶ μήτηρ ἐστίν.\" Ἐπεὶ οὖν γέγονεν ἄνθος, μηδὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκανθηφόρων πειρασμῶν πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι κρίνον παραβλαβεῖσα, ἐπιλαθομένη δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς, πρὸς τὸν ἀληθινὸν εἶδε Πατέρα, διὸ καὶ ἀδελφὴ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ὀνομάζεται, τῷ τῆς υἱοθεσίας πνεύματι πρὸς τὴν συγγένειαν ταύτην μεταποιηθεῖσα, καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τοῦ ψευδωνύμου πατρὸς κοινωνίας ἀπαλλαγεῖσα, πάλιν γίνεται ἑαυτῆς ὑψηλοτέρα, καὶ βλέπει τὸ μυστήριον, διὰ τῶν τῆς περιστερᾶς ὀφθαλμῶν· λέγω δὲ τῷ πνεύματι τῆς προφητείας. Αὕτη τοῦ Νυμφίου ἐστὶν ἡ φωνὴ, μαρτυροῦσα τῇ Νύμφῃ πλέον ὧν ἑαυτῇ προσεμαρτύρησεν·","english":"And well is it said that these things are not a fruit but a flower; for not yet does the plough of the cross cut open the earth—the plough which the Lord laid upon the apostles as upon oxen, sending them out yoked together for the farming—nor had it yet been watered with the Master's blood; therefore it was unfruitful and barren. {Of Origen.} He calls a flower that which is on its way to becoming fruit, etc. 2. As a lily among thorns, so is my neighbor in the midst of the daughters. {Of Gregory.} How great is the progress of the ascent to the height that we see taking place in the soul. The first ascent is to be likened to the horse that casts down the opposing power. The second ascent is to come near, and to make her eyes those of a dove. The third ascent, then, is no longer to be near, but to be named a sister of the Master. \"Whoever,\" he says, \"does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.\" Since, then, she has become a flower, harmed by none of the thorn-bearing temptations in respect of becoming a lily, and having forgotten her people and her father's house, she has looked toward the true Father; therefore she is also named a sister of the Son, having been transformed to this kinship by the spirit of adoption, and having been released from fellowship with the daughters of the falsely named father, she again becomes higher than herself, and sees the mystery through the eyes of the dove—I mean, by the spirit of prophecy. This is the voice of the Bridegroom, bearing witness to the Bride beyond what she bore witness to herself.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":30,"ref":"p30","source":"ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἑαυτὴν εἶπε κρίνον, τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς ψυχὰς κοιλάδας, ἢ μετριοφρονοῦσα, ἢ καὶ ἀγνοήσασα· οὐ πᾶν στοχαζομένη τῆς ἀληθείας τὴν σύγκρισιν ἐποιήσατο αὐτὸς ὁ μᾶλλον εἰδὼς τῶν γινομένων καταστάσεων τὰς ἰδιότητας· καὶ κρίνῳ μὲν ταύτην παρεικάζει, διὰ τὸ μηδόλως τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν σωματικῶν μέριμναν ἀναδέχεσθαι, ἀφροντίστως δὲ τοῖς παρατυχοῦσι, τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἐκπληροῦν χρείαν, ἀταλαίπωρον καὶ αὐτοσχέδιον τὴν διαγωγὴν ἑλομένην διὰ τὴν περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν φροντίδα, ὡς ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις δείκνυται· ἀκάνθαις δὲ τὰς λοιπὰς ὁμοιῶν, διὰ τὸ πᾶσαν τὴν μέριμναν περὶ τὰ βιωτικὰ ἐσχηκέναι· καὶ μηκέτι ἐν ταῖς φροντίσι γενέσθαι ἀκάνθας, ἀλλ' αὐτὰς ἐκείνης τῷ ἐκ πολλῆς τῆς περὶ τὰς μερίμνας σπουδῆς πεποιῆσθαι κατὰ ταύτας. Ὡς μῆλον ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις τοῦ δρυμοῦ, οὕτως ἀδελφιδός μου ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν υἱῶν. {Γρηγορίου.} Τί οὖν ἐστιν ὃ τεθέαται;\n\nΔρυμὸν ὀνομάζει συνήθως ἡ ἁγία Γραφὴ τὸν ὑλώδη τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίον, τὸν τὰ ποικίλα τῶν παθημάτων εἴδη ὑλομανήσαντα, ἐν ᾧ τὰ φθαρτικὰ θηρία φωλεύει καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους λυμαίνεται, ὧν ἡ φύσις ἐν φωτὶ καὶ ἡλίῳ ἀνενέργητος μένουσα, διὰ σκότους τὴν ἰσχὺν ἔχει. Διὰ τοῦτο φύεται ἐν τῷ δρυμῷ τὸ μῆλον· καθὸ μὲν ξύλον τοῖς λοιποῖς ὁμοούσιον ὑπάρχον· \"Ἐπειράσθη γὰρ καθ' ὁμοιότητα πάντων, χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας·\" καθὸ δὲ γλυκαίνει τῷ καρπῷ τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια, πλείονα τὴν πρὸς τὸν δρυμὸν ἔχει παραλλαγήν· ἢ ὅσον ἔχει πρὸς τὰς ἀκάνθας τὸ κρίνον, ὅπερ εὔπνουν ἐστὶ μόνον καὶ τέρπει τῇ θέᾳ· τὸ δὲ μῆλον ἡδὺ πρὸς ὀσμὴν τὴν καὶ γεῦσιν καὶ θέαν.","english":"For since she called herself a lily, and the other souls valleys—either from humility or from ignorance, not measuring the whole comparison by the truth—he himself, who better knows the particular qualities of the states that come to be, made the comparison. And he likens her to a lily because she in no way takes up the care that comes from bodily concerns, but fulfills the body's need without anxiety by whatever comes to hand, having chosen a life free from toil and self-supplied because of her care for the kingdom of heaven, as is shown in the Gospels. But he likens the others to thorns because they have placed all their care upon the things of life; and they are no longer thorns in their cares, but she has made them such by the great zeal of her own care for these things. As an apple among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. {Of Gregory.} What then is it that she has seen?\n\nHoly Scripture customarily calls the wooded life of men a wood—the life that has grown wild with the various forms of passions, in which the destructive beasts lurk and ravage men, whose nature, remaining inactive in light and sun, has its strength through darkness. For this reason the apple grows in the wood: insofar as it is a tree, being of the same nature as the rest—\"for he was tempted in all things by likeness, apart from sin\"—but insofar as it sweetens the senses of the soul by its fruit, it has a greater difference from the wood; or as much as the lily has compared to the thorns, which alone is fragrant and delights by its appearance; but the apple is sweet to smell, and also to taste and sight.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":31,"ref":"p31","source":"Καλῶς οὖν εἶδεν ἡ νύμφη τὸ ἑαυτῆς πρὸς τὸν Δεσπότην διάφορον· ὅτι ἐκεῖνος μὲν ἡμῶν καὶ ὀφθαλμῶν γίνεται χάρις, φῶς γινόμενος, καὶ μύρον ἐν τῇ ὀσφρήσει, καὶ ζωὴ τοῖς ἐσθίουσιν. Ἡ δὲ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις δι' ἀρετῆς τελειωθεῖσα, ἄνθος γίνεται, μόνον οὐ τὸν γεωργὸν τρέφουσα, ἀλλὰ ἑαυτὴν καλλωπίζουσα· τροφὴν δὲ μὴ γεωργοῦσα τῷ χορηγῷ· Τῶν γὰρ ἀγαθῶν μου οὐ χρείαν ἔχεις, ὁ θεοπάτωρ φησίν· κρίνον μὲν οὖν ὡς ἔφημεν ἡ τελειουμένη ψυχὴ, ἑαυτὴν μόνον, ὡς ἔφημεν, καλλωπίζουσα· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ὡς μῆλον γέγονεν ἐν δρυμῷ· ὅτι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐνεκέντρισεν φύσιν, πρὸς τὸ ὡραῖόν τε καὶ εὐῶδες καὶ βρώσιμον· ἡμεῖς γὰρ τῶν ἐκείνου δεόμεθα· διὸ φησὶν ἡ Νύμφη, ὅτι Ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ γλυκὺς ἐν τῷ λάρυγγί μου· καρπὸς δὲ ἡ διδασκαλία, περὶ ἧς λέγει Δαβίδ· \"Ὡς γλυκέα τῷ λάρυγγί μου τὰ λόγιά σου, ὑπὲρ μέλι τῷ στόματί μου!\" Υἱῶν δὲ λέγει οὐ φίλων τινῶν τοῦ Νυμφίου, ἀλλὰ τοῦ σκότους, οἳ καὶ τέκνα ὀργῆς τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τῶν ἔργων ὀνομάζονται. {Νείλου}. Δείκνυσι τὴν ὑπεροχήν· πάντας γὰρ ἀνθρώπους εἶπε ξύλα δρυμοῦ ἡ Νύμφη ὡς ἄκαρπα· μῆλον δὲ εἶπεν ὡς ἔγκαρπον τὸν ἑαυτῆς Νυμφίον. Ἐκείνου γὰρ ἤδη φθάσαντος αὐτὴν τοῖς ἐπαίνοις καὶ κρίνῳ παρεικάσαντος, ὡς ἐν μέσῳ ἀκανθῶν τῶν λοιπῶν γυναικῶν, αὕτη πάλιν ἀνταμείβεται μῆλον αὐτὸν ἐν μέσῳ ξύλων δρυμοῦ προσαγορεύουσα, ὅτι αὐτὸς μὲν ἔγκαρπόν ἐστι φυτὸν, τὰ δὲ ξύλα τοῦ δρυμοῦ ἄκαρπα· καὶ τῷ ἀφ' οὗ ποτίζονται ὕδατι, τὴν πρὸς αὐτὰ διαφορὰν σαφῶς ἐνδεικνύμενος· περὶ μὲν γὰρ τούτων ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστής·","english":"Well then did the bride see her own difference in relation to the Master: that he becomes grace for us even of our eyes, becoming light, and ointment in the sense of smell, and life for those who eat. But human nature, perfected through virtue, becomes a flower, all but nourishing the farmer, but adorning itself; yet not producing food for the provider. For \"you have no need of my good things,\" says the God-fathered one. So the soul being perfected is a lily, as we said, adorning itself only, as we said; but the Lord has become as an apple in the forest, because he grafted human nature toward the beautiful and fragrant and edible. For we are in need of his things; therefore the Bride says, \"His fruit is sweet in my throat\"; and the fruit is the teaching, concerning which David says, \"How sweet to my throat are your words, beyond honey to my mouth!\" And he says \"of the sons,\" not of certain friends of the Bridegroom, but of darkness, who are also named children of wrath by the fellowship of their works. {Of Nilus.} He shows the superiority; for the Bride called all human beings trees of the forest as unfruitful; but she called her own Bridegroom an apple as fruitful. For since he had already anticipated her with praises and likened her to a lily, as among thorns among the other women, she in turn repays him by addressing him as an apple in the midst of trees of the forest, because he is a fruitful plant, but the trees of the forest are unfruitful; and by the water from which they are watered, clearly demonstrating the difference between them. For concerning these things the Ecclesiast...","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":32,"ref":"p32","source":"\"Ἐποιησάμην κολυμβήθρας, φησὶν, ὑδάτων, τοῦ ποτίσαι ἀπ' αὐτῶν δρυμὸν βλαστῶν καὶ τὰ ξύλα·\" περὶ δὲ τούτου Δαβίδ φησι· \"Καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων·\" οὐχ ὅμοιον δὲ ἀεννάοις περιῤῥεόμενον ὕδασι ποτίζεσθαι, καὶ ἐπινοίαις ἀνθρωπίναις ἐν κολυμβήθρᾳ συναχθεῖσιν ἀρδεύεσθαι ὕδασι· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὸν οὐράνιον σημαίνει λόγον, τὸ δὲ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διδασκαλίαν· ἔπειθ' ὥσπερ τὸ μῆλον ἐμπεριεχομένην τῷ δέρματι φυλάττων τὴν εὐωδίαν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἔξω αὐτὴν διαδίδωσιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ θεότης ἐνεκρύπτετο τῷ σώματι· ὅμως τὴν ἐνέργειαν διεδίδου, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἔξω φαινομένου σαρκίου· σκιὰ δὲ ἐν ᾗ ἐπεθύμησεν καθίσαι ἡ Νύμφη, ἐπειδὴ μᾶλλον ἐκ τῶν φύλλων ἡ σκιὰ πέφυκεν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον γίνεσθαι, τῷ συγκραιφνεῖ τῆς τῶν πετάλων ἑνώσεως, τὴν ἡλιακὴν ἀκτῖνα ἀποτειχείζουσα· ὅσα οὖν κατὰ φύσιν τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἐπετέλει ὁ Κυριακὸς ἅνθρωπος ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, καὶ ὅσα φύσεως ἦν ἔργα· ἐπειδὴ μετά τινος ὠφελείας ἐποίει καὶ ταῦτα μέτρον, αὐτοῦ τῆς ὀρέξεως τὸ ἄπληστον, ἀλλὰ τῆς χρείας γινώσκων τὸ αὔταρκες· καρπὸς γὰρ τοῦ μήλου αἱ κατ' ἀρετὴν πράξεις, ὃς καὶ γλυκὺς γεγένηται ἐν τῷ λάρυγγι αὐτῆς· τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς αἴσθησιν εὐφράνας τῇ χρηστῇ ποιότητι τῆς γεύσεως· ἔχει δὲ πρὸς τῇ ἠθικῇ ταύτῃ θεωρίᾳ, καὶ δογματικὴν τὸ ῥητόν. Εἰ γὰρ σκιὰν ἔχει ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ἔστι τινὰ τῶν μελλόντων· τὸ δὲ σῶμα Χριστοῦ, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ ἡ σκιὰ παρυφίσταται, ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ τοῦ νόμου, καὶ ὡς ἐκάθισεν ἡ Νύμφη· οὐκ αὐτὸν τὸν νόμον ποιοῦσα σωματικῶς, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐξ αὐτοῦ σημαινόμενα·","english":"I made pools of water,\" she says, \"to water from them the forest of shoots and the trees.\" And concerning this David says: \"And he shall be like a tree planted by the channels of waters.\" But it is not the same to be watered, flowed over by ever-flowing waters, and to be irrigated by waters gathered by human devices into a pool; for the one signifies the heavenly word, the other human teaching. Then, just as the apple, preserving the fragrance enclosed within its skin, also diffuses it outward, so too the divinity was hidden in the body; nevertheless it diffused its activity, even upon the flesh visible outwardly. And the shade in which the Bride desired to sit, since shade naturally comes about mostly from leaves, blocking the sun's ray by the close union of the petals. Therefore, whatever the Lordly man did by nature of humanity, eating and drinking, and whatever were works of nature—since he did these too with some benefit, not measuring his desire's insatiability, but knowing the sufficiency of need; for the fruit of the apple are the actions according to virtue, which also became sweet in her throat, gladdening the soul's perception by the good quality of the taste. And this saying has, besides this ethical contemplation, also a doctrinal one. For if the law has a shadow of the good things to come, and there are certain of the things to come; and the body is Christ's, from whom the shadow also subsists, in the shadow of the law, and as the Bride sat—not doing the law itself bodily, but the things signified by it—","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":33,"ref":"p33","source":"ἀργοῦσα μὲν τῶν τυπικῶν παραγγελμάτων· ἀργίαν γὰρ ἡ κάθισις σημαίνει, τοῦ καρποῦ δὲ ἀπολαύουσα πλουσίως καὶ τούτῳ ἐνευωχουμένη, καὶ ὀσφρήσει, καὶ γεύσει, καὶ τέρψει καὶ ἀπολαύσει· ἐπειδὴ τροφῆς μὲν ἡ γεῦσις ὄργανον, τέρψεως ἡ ὄσφρησις.\n\n{Ὠριγένους.} Ἔπρεπε τῇ Νύμφῃ, κ.τ.λ. {Φίλωνος.} Ἤγουν υἱῶν τῶν Ἰουδαίων φησὶν, κατὰ τὸ \"Υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα,\" οὓς ὡς ἀκάρπους καὶ ξύλα δρυμοῦ προσωνόμασεν· ὧν ἐν μέσῳ κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸς, ἅτε μετασχηκὼς αἵματος καὶ σαρκὸς, ὧν τὸ μῆλον εἰκὼν ἐν ἑαυτῷ φέρον τὸ ἐρυθρὸν καὶ λευκὸν, καὶ μὲν καὶ εὐωδιάζον. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Τότε δὲ ἀληθῶς γλυκαίνεται τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς μου αἰσθητήρια, ὅταν ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν ἐκ τῶν πειρασμῶν φλογμὸν ἡ τοῦ μήλου σκιὰ διατειχίσῃ, ὡς μὴ ὑπὸ τοῦ τοιούτου ἡλίου συγκαίεσθαι· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ ἄλλως ὡς ὑπὸ τὴν σκιὰν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἀναψύξαι· μὴ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας πρὸς τοῦτο τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναγούσης. δʹ. Εἰσαγάγετέ με εἰς οἶκον τοῦ οἴνου. {Ὠριγένους.} Ταῦτα πρὸς, κ.τ.λ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἢ πῶς τρέχει τὸν καλὸν δρόμον καὶ θεῖον ἡ καλῶς τῇ ἵππῳ παρεικασθεῖσα ψυχή; τοῖς γὰρ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεινομένη, οὐκ ἀρκεῖται τῷ τῆς σοφίας κρατῆρι· ἀλλ' εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν ληνὸν τοῦ μυστικοῦ οἴνου γενέσθαι ποθεῖ· καὶ τὴν ἄμπελον ἐκείνην τὴν τοιοῦτον βότρυν ἐκτρέφουσα. {Νείλου.} Εἰκότως ἀπαιτεῖ ἡ Νύμφη λοιπὸν, τὸ εἰσαχθῆναι εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ οἴνου. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τὸν βότρυν κρεμάμενον, καὶ παρὰ πάντων ἐξουθενηθέντα διὰ τὸ ἔτι κυπρίζοντα, μὴ πᾶσιν ἐπιφαίνειν τὴν τοῦ οἴνου χρῆσιν μόνη τὸ ὕστερον ἀποδειχθησόμενον προεπίστευσεν ἐν τῷ λογισμῷ τὴν τοιαύτην προκαθιδρύσασα εὔνοιαν·","english":"being idle from the typical commandments—for sitting signifies idleness—but enjoying the fruit richly and feasting on it, both by smell and by taste, and by delight and enjoyment; since taste is the organ of nourishment, smell of delight.\n\n{Of Origen.} It was fitting for the Bride, etc. {Of Philo.} That is, he says, of the sons of the Jews, according to \"I have begotten sons,\" whom he called unfruitful and trees of the thicket; in the midst of whom Christ was according to the flesh, as one who partook of blood and flesh, bearing the apple as an image in himself, the red and the white, and indeed fragrant. {Of Apollinaris.} Then truly the senses of my soul are sweetened, when the shadow of the apple fences us off against the flame of temptations, so as not to be scorched by such a sun; and it is not possible otherwise to be refreshed under the shadow of the tree of life, unless desire leads the soul up to this. 4. Bring me into the house of wine. {Of Origen.} These things toward, etc. {Of Gregory.} Or how does the soul, rightly likened to the horse, run the good and divine course? For stretching forward to the things before, it is not satisfied with the mixing-bowl of wisdom, but longs to be at the very winepress of the mystical wine, and to tend that vine which produces such a cluster. {Of Nilus.} With good reason the Bride now demands to be brought into the house of wine. For since she alone, in her reasoning, first believed beforehand the use of the wine that would later be shown, when the cluster hung upon the cross and was despised by all because it was still fragrant, not revealing the use of the wine to all, having established beforehand such goodwill in her reasoning—","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":34,"ref":"p34","source":"ὡς πρὸ καιροῦ τοῦ οἴνου ἐν τῇ κυπριζούσῃ σταφυλῇ θεωρεῖν, ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ ὄντι ἄνω, θεότητα προσμαρτυρεῖν, καὶ τὸ ἐκθλίβεσθαι μέλλον τῆς ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ σταφυλῆς κήρυγμα, ὡς ἤδη λαλούμενον βεβαίως κατέχουσα· κἀκεῖνο παθοῦσα πρὸ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἐκβάσεως, ὅπερ οἱ πολλοὶ μετὰ τὴν ἔκβασιν ἔπαθον· ὅπερ γέρας ἐξαίρετον τῆς τοιαύτης κρίσεως, αἰτεῖ τὴν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ οἴνου εἴσοδον· εἰ δὲ οἶνός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος, οἶκος τοῦ οἴνου εἴη ἂν ὁ Πατήρ· ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ εὑρίσκεται ὁ Λόγος, μετὰ δὲ τὸ γενέσθαι ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ οἴκῳ καλῶς, καὶ ταγῆναι τὴν ἀγάπην ἐπ' αὐτῇ βούλεται, ἀξίαν ἀγάπης ἤδη διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ἔνστασιν γεγενημένην· ὥστε ταγῆναι ἐπ' αὐτῇ τὴν ἀγάπην, μηκέτι ὡς ἔτυχεν αὐτὴν ἀγαπώντων, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς τεταγμένοις καὶ ὡρισμένοις τῶν ἐξ ὀφειλῆς λοιπὸν ἀγαπωμένων οὖσαν, ἀριθμεῖν καὶ ἔχειν. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Καὶ οἶνος εἰς εὐφροσύνην καρδίας κατὰ τὸν ψαλμῳδὸν λέγεται· καὶ οἶνος εὐωδιάζων κατὰ τὸν Ζαχαρίαν. Ἥρμοζε δὲ τῇ ἐπήλυδι νύμφῃ τὸ, Εἰσαγάγετέ με εἰς οἶκον τοῦ οἴνου· οὐ γὰρ ἦν τὸ πρότερον εἴσω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος· μετὰ γὰρ τὰς περὶ τρίτην καὶ ἕκτην καὶ ἐννάτην κληθέντας, ὑπὸ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην αὕτη καλεῖται· ἀκούσασα, \"Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί;\" Πορεύεσθε εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα· ἤργει γὰρ, ὅτι μὴ τὰ οἰκεῖα εἰργάζετο, ἀλλοτρίας ἀμπέλους φυλάττουσα· καὶ λαμβάνει πρῶτον τὴν ἐξ ἀγάπης τιμὴν, τὸν χαρακτῆρα τὸν βασιλικὸν, τὸ δῶρον τὸ πνευματικόν· διὸ καὶ Ἀκύλας, Ἔταξεν ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἀγάπην, φησίν· ἀγάπης γὰρ, τὸ, \"Θέλω τούτῳ τῷ ἐσχάτῳ δοῦναι ὡς καὶ σοί.\" Τάξατε ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἀγάπην.","english":"so as to see the wine before its time in the grape that blossoms with henna, and to attest the divinity in him who is on high upon the cross, and to hold firmly, as already spoken, the proclamation of the grape on the cross that is about to be pressed out; and having suffered that before the outcome of events which many suffered after the outcome—this, the exceptional prize of such judgment, she asks for entrance into the house of wine. And if the wine is the Word, the house of wine would be the Father; for in him the Word is found. And after being well in such a house, she wishes that love be appointed upon her, she who has already become worthy of love through such insistence—so that love be appointed upon her, no longer as by chance loving her, but as being among those appointed and defined who are henceforth loved out of obligation, to count and to have. {Of Apollinarius.} And wine is spoken of for gladness of heart according to the psalmist; and wine giving a sweet savor according to Zechariah. And to the bride who came in it was fitting: Bring me into the house of wine; for she was not previously inside the vineyard. For after those called at the third and sixth and ninth hours, she is called at the eleventh; having heard, \"Why have you stood here all the day idle?\" Go into the vineyard. For she was idle, because she was not working her own things, guarding others' vineyards. And she first receives the honor that comes from love, the royal stamp, the spiritual gift; therefore Aquila also says, He appointed love upon me; for it is love's to say, \"I wish to give to this last as also to you.\" Appoint love upon me.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":35,"ref":"p35","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Ἐντὸς τοῦ ποθουμένου γενομένη, ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον πάλιν ἐξάλλεται, καὶ φησίν· Ἐπείπερ γέγονα ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ οἴνου, ὑποτάξατέ με τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἥ τίς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός· ἢ τάξατε ἐπὶ ἐμὲ τὴν ἀγάπην· ταυτὸν γάρ ἐστι τὸ σημαινόμενον δι' ἑκατέρου, ὅπως ἂν χρήσῃ τῇ ἀναστροφῇ τοῦ λόγου, ἔκ τε τοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν ἀγάπην ταχθῆναι καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ τὴν ἀγάπην αὐτῇ ταχθῆναι· ἢ τάχα καὶ διδασκόμεθα οἵαν ἀνατεθῆναι προσήκει τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ἀγάπην, καὶ ὅπως πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἔχειν· μήποτε ἄτακτός τις καὶ ἀνηλλαγμένη γένηται τῆς ἀγάπης ἡ ἀποπλήρωσις· Θεὸν γὰρ δὴ ἀγαπᾷν ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς καὶ καρδίας καὶ δυνάμεως, τὸν δὲ πλησίον ὡς ἑαυτόν· γυναῖκα δὲ, εἰ μέν τίς ἐστι, καθαρωτέραν ψυχῆς, ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν· ὁ δὲ ἐμπαθέστερος, ὡς τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα· τὸν ἐχθρὸν δὲ, ἐν τῷ μὴ κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ δοῦναι, ἀλλ' εὐεργεσίᾳ τὴν ἀδικίαν ἀμείψασθαι· φησὶν οὖν ἀγάπην τεταγμένην ποιήσατε· μὴ καὶ πάλιν ἐκπέσω, συντηροῦντες τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ῥοπήν· καὶ πῶς μὲν ἀγαπᾷν τὸν Θεὸν χρὴ, πῶς δὲ τὸν πλησίον διδάσκοντα, ἢ καὶ τοῦτο τυχόν ἐστιν ὑπονοῆσαι διὰ τοῦ λόγου·","english":"Having come within the object of her longing, she leaps forth again to something greater, and says: Since I have come to be in the house of wine, set me in order under love, which is God—or, appoint love over me; for the meaning signified by either expression is the same, whichever way you handle the turn of the phrase, whether from being placed under love or from love being placed over her. Or perhaps we are also taught what sort of love ought to be rendered to God, and how we ought to be disposed toward others, lest the fulfillment of love become in any way disorderly and perverted. For we are to love God with all our soul and heart and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves; but a wife, if one has one, more purely than one's own soul, as Christ loved the Church; but one who is more subject to passion, as one's own body; and an enemy, by not returning evil for evil, but repaying injustice with beneficence. She says, then, \"Make love ordered\"—lest I fall away again, preserving the inclination toward the better. And the teaching of how one ought to love God, and how one ought to love one's neighbor—or perhaps this too is what is to be surmised through the saying.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":36,"ref":"p36","source":"ἐπειδὴ ἀγαπηθεῖσα παρὰ τὴν πρώτην διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς, ἐν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐλογίσθην· νῦν δὲ πάλιν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπανῆλθον χάριν δι' ἀγάπης τῷ Δεσπότῃ συναρμοσθεῖσα· κυρώσατέ μοι τὸ διὰ τῆς χάριτος τεταγμένον καὶ ἀμετάστατον, ὑμεῖς οἱ φίλοι τοῦ Νυμφίου, δι' ἐπιμελείας καὶ προσοχῆς ἐν τῷ παγίῳ συντηροῦντές μοι τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μονήν. εʹ. Στηρίσατέ με ἐν μύροισ. {Γρηγορίου.} Τουτέστι ταῖς ἀρεταῖς· καὶ οὐ μόνον τὸ βλέπειν τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ ἐν μετουσίᾳ τοῦ κρείττονος γίνεσθαί ἐστιν ἀρετὴ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἀμετάπτωτον ἐν τῷ καλῷ διασώσασθαι· ὁ τοίνυν στηριχθῆναι βουλόμενος ἐν τοῖς μύροις, τὸ βέβαιον ἐν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς αὐτῷ προσγενέσθαι ζητεῖ· ἀρετὴ γὰρ τὸ μύρον, διότι πάσης δυσωδίας ἁμαρτημάτων κεχώρισται· ἡ γὰρ ἁμαρτία δυσώδης. Διὰ τοῦτο, Στηρίσατέ με ἐν μύροις, στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις· ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ. {Νείλου.} Τάχα, ἢ ὡς ἀμοιβὴν τῶν κατορθωμένων ἀπαιτεῖ τὸ ἐν τούτοις γενέσθαι, ἢ ὡς ἐπιτετρωμένη τῷ πόθῳ, παραμυθίαν ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις καὶ ψυχαγωγίαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐξελύετο ὑπὸ τῆς πρὸς τὸν ἀγαπώμενον μνήμης, στηριχθῆναι μὲν ἐν μύροις τῆς θεωρίας, στοιβασθῆναι δὲ ἐν μήλοις τῶν θαυμάτων τοῦ Νυμφίου καὶ τοῦ καρποῦ τῶν πράξεων ἐπιθυμεῖ· ἐπειδὴ ἡ μὲν θεωρία τῇ τῶν νοημάτων τέρπουσα γλαφυρότητι ὀσμὴ μύρων· ἡ δὲ πρᾶξις μετὰ τοῦ τροφίμου, καὶ τὸ εὐῶδες ἔχει. Ποιεῖ γὰρ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἕργα χαρὰν, τῇ τῶν ἀμοιβῶν ἐλπίδι τὴν συνείδησιν τοῦ ἐργαζομένου εὐφραίνοντα· τινὲς δὲ τὸ, Στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις, περὶ τοῦ θανάτου εἶπον· ὡς τῆς Νύμφης βουλομένης μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀξιωθῆναι ταφῆς·","english":"Since I was loved before the first transgression, I was reckoned among the enemies; but now I have returned again to the same grace, having been joined to the Master through love. Confirm for me what has been appointed through grace and is unchangeable—you, the friends of the Bridegroom—preserving for me, by care and attention, my abiding in the better state, firmly established. 5. Sustain me with myrrh. {Gregory.} That is, with the virtues; and it is a virtue not only to see the good and to come into participation in the better, but also to preserve unchangeably what is good. Therefore, the one who wishes to be sustained in myrrh seeks that stability in the virtues be added to her; for the myrrh is virtue, because it is separated from every foul odor of sins; for sin is foul-smelling. Therefore, Sustain me with myrrh, heap me up with apples, because I am wounded with love. {Nilus.} Perhaps she demands, either as a recompense for her accomplishments, to be in these things, or, as one wounded by longing, consolation, as one might say, and refreshment of soul. For since she was, as it were, being dissolved by the remembrance of the beloved, she desires to be sustained in the myrrh of contemplation, and to be heaped up with the apples of the Bridegroom's wonders and the fruit of actions; since contemplation, delighting by the elegance of its thoughts, is a fragrance of myrrh; while action, along with nourishment, also has a sweet savor. For the works of virtue also produce joy, gladdening the conscience of the one who works by the hope of recompenses. But some have said the words, Heap me up with apples, concerning death; as the Bride desiring to be deemed worthy of burial with the saints.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":37,"ref":"p37","source":"πάντως ἐκείνους μῆλα νοήσαντες τοὺς εἰπόντας· \"Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμέν.\" Στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοισ. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Προκοπίου.} Τοῖς κατὰ Θεὸν πλεονεκτήμασιν. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἵνα πάντοτε εἰς ὕψος ὁρῶσα, βλέπω πρὸς τὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὑποδείγματα, ἐν τῷ Νυμφίῳ δεικνύμενα· ἐκεῖ γὰρ πραότης, ἐκεῖ τὸ ἀόργητον, ἐκεῖ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀμνησίκακον, καὶ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς λυποῦντας φιλάνθρωπον· ἐκεῖ τὸ ἐγκρατὲς καὶ μακρόθυμον, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια· ἃ κατὰ τάξιν ἐπισυναπτόμενα, χαριεστάτην θέαν ἐργάζεται, πρὸς ὕψος πολιτείας ἐπανάγοντα· μῆλον δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς, διὰ τὸ λευκὸν τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τὸ ἐρυθρὸν τοῦ αἵματος, καὶ τὴν τοῦ κηρύγματος εὐωδίαν. {Ὠριγένους.} Ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως ἐκδέδωκεν. κ.τ.λ. Ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ταῦτα εἰποῦσα, ἐπαινεῖ τὸν τοξότην τῆς εὐστοχίας ὡς καλῶς ἐπ' αὐτὴν τὸ τέλος ἰθύνοντα· Τετρωμένη γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀγάπης ἐγώ· δείκνυσι τῷ λόγῳ τὸ βέλος τὸ τῇ καρδίᾳ βάθους ἐγκείμενον· ὁ δὲ τοξότης τοῦ βέλους, ἡ ἀγάπη ἐστί· τὴν δὲ ἀγάπην τὸν Θεὸν εἶναι παρὰ τῆς Γραφῆς μεμαθήκαμεν, ὃς τὸ ἐκλεκτὸν βέλος τὸν μονογενῆ Υἱὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς σωζομένους ἐκπέμπει, τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ζωῆς· τὴν τριπλῆν τῆς ἀκίδος ἀκμὴν περιχρῶσαν· ἀκὶς δὲ ἡ πίστις ἐστίν· ἵνα ἐν ᾧ ἂν γένηται συνεισαγάγῃ μετὰ τοῦ βέλους καὶ τὸν τοξότην, ὥς φησιν ὁ Κύριος·","english":"Understanding those men entirely as apples who said, \"We are the fragrance of Christ.\" Set me in order among apples. {Of Cyril.} Secure me with the evangelical words, for these give off to us the fragrance of Christ. And may I, he says, be ranked also with his saints; for just as he himself is an apple, so those who are of one body and partakers with him are apples. {Of Procopius.} By the advantages according to God. {Of Gregory.} So that always looking upward, I may look to the examples of good things displayed in the Bridegroom; for there is gentleness, there is freedom from anger, there is forgetfulness of wrongs toward enemies, and love of humanity toward those who grieve us; there is self-control and long-suffering, and the like; which, being gathered together in order, produce a most gracious sight, leading back to the height of conduct. And Christ is an apple, because of the whiteness of his flesh and the redness of his blood, and the fragrance of his preaching. {Of Origen.} Symmachus rendered it thus, etc. That I am wounded with love. {Of Gregory.} Having said these things, she praises the archer for his good aim, as one who rightly directs the arrow at her; for she says, I am wounded with love; by her words she shows the arrow fixed deep in her heart; and the archer of the arrow is love; and we have learned from the Scripture that love is God, who sends forth his chosen arrow, the only-begotten Son, upon those being saved, by the Spirit of life, tingeing the threefold point of the barb; and the barb is faith; so that wherever it may come, it may bring in with the arrow the archer also, as the Lord says:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":38,"ref":"p38","source":"\"Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐλευσόμεθα, καὶ μονὴν παρ' αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν.\" Ὁρᾷ τοίνυν ἡ διὰ τῶν θείων ἀναβάσεων ὑψωθεῖσα ψυχὴ τὸ γλυκὺ τῆς ἀγάπης βέλος ἐν ἑαυτῇ ᾧ ἐτρώθη· καὶ καύχημα ποιεῖται τὴν τοιαύτην πληγὴν λέγουσα· Ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ γίνεται βέλος ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τοῦ τοξότου, τῆς μὲν εὐωνύμου τὴν κεφαλὴν πρὸς τὸν ἄνω σκοπὸν εὐθυνούσης, τῆς δεξιᾶς δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν διαλαμβανούσης τὸ βέλος· φωνὴ οὖν· ʹ. Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν κεφαλήν μου, καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ περιλήψεταί με. {Κυρίλλου.} Εὐώνυμος ὁ νόμος, δεξιὰ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον· ἢ καὶ εὐώνυμος ὁ παρὼν βίος, δεξιὰ ὁ μέλλων· ἥ τις με περιλήψεται, ὅταν τοῖς ἐκ δεξιῶν εἴπῃ· \"Δεῦτε οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου.\" Λέγει δὲ καὶ ἑτέρωθι μῆκος βίου καὶ ἔτη ζωῆς ἐν τῇ 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","english":"I and the Father will come, and we will make our dwelling with him.\" The soul, then, lifted up through the divine ascents, sees within herself the sweet dart of love with which she was wounded; and she makes this very wound her boast, saying: \"For I am wounded with love.\" Nay more, she herself becomes a dart in the hands of the archer—his left hand directing her head toward the mark above, while his right hand receives the dart to himself. Therefore she says: \"His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me.\" {Of Cyril.} The left hand is the Law, the right hand the Gospel; or else the left hand is the present life, the right hand the life to come, which will embrace me when he says to those on his right: \"Come, you blessed of my Father.\" And elsewhere he says that length of days and years of life are in the right hand of Wisdom, but in her left, wealth and glory. The right hand of Wisdom, then, is the knowledge of divine things, from which comes eternal life; her left hand is the knowledge of human things, from which come wealth and glory. She says, therefore,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":39,"ref":"p39","source":"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· ὣς 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 τὴν ἄνω φορὰν ἀπεργάζεται· κἀκεῖ πεμπομένην, καὶ τοῦ τοξότου μὴ χωριζομένην, μᾶλλον ἐπαναπαύεσθαι· εἶτα πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ τρέπει τὸν λόγον· 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·","english":"Because my mind transcends human things, and divine knowledge will cover me. For it is said again: Honor her, so that she may embrace you. He shows, then, that the same one is both Bridegroom and archer, and the purified soul is both bride and arrow; as an arrow, then, he directs her toward the good target; as a bride he receives her into communion with incorruptible eternity, granting length of life and years of life through his right hand; and through his left, the wealth of eternal goods and the glory of God, of which those who seek the glory of the world become partakers. Therefore he says: His left hand is upon my head, by which the arrow is directed toward the target. But his right hand, taking me to himself and drawing me up, makes me light for the upward course; and there, being sent and not separated from the archer, rather to rest. Then he turns his discourse to the daughters of the Jerusalem above; and the discourse is an exhortation brought forward in an oath, that love may ever abound and increase, until the one who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth makes his will effective. Through the left hand he hints at the things of the present life, fair as it seems, whose enjoyment she already has; through the right, the expectation of things to come in promises; whose use, as has been said, he says lies in promises and hopes. And it is well said that with the right hand she is embraced, and with the left her head rests.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":40,"ref":"p40","source":"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 συνδεδομένην φυλάττουσι τὴν ζωήν· οὐδ' ἑνὸς ἐπιβουλεύειν δυναμένου, τῇ περιληφθείσῃ ὑπὸ τοῦ Νυμφίου ψυχῇ. ζʹ. Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ· ἐὰν ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην ἕως οὗ θελήσῃ. {Φίλωνος.} Τὰς τῶν ἁγίων ὁρκίζει ψυχὰς κατὰ τῶν θεοσημειῶν ἃς ἔδειξεν ἐν βίῳ Χριστὸς, πρεσβείαις ἐξεγείρειν τὸν πόθον αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτήν. Ἀκύλας δὲ φησὶ καὶ Σύμμαχος, καὶ ἡ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις· Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐν δορκάσιν, ἢ ἐν ἐλάφοις τῆς χώρας ἐκδιδόασιν· καὶ ἴσως οἱ μὲν διορατικοὶ δορκάδες, ἀπὸ τοῦ δέρκειν καὶ βλέπειν· οἱ δὲ γενναῖοι κατὰ τῆς κακίας ἀγωνισταὶ, καὶ ἀβλαβῶς ἀναιροῦντες αὐτῆς τὰ γεννήματα, ἔλαφοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ ζῶον ὄφεών ἐστιν ἀναιρετικὸν, πρὸς τοῦ τούτων ἰοῦ μὴ βλαπτόμενον·","english":"For the things of the present life, even if they are considered very good and admirable, must be subordinated to the head of the perfect soul, providing only the necessary use to the body, like the pillow to the head; but the things of the age to come, since being divine they stand above human nature, he hinted at their superiority through the embrace. And perhaps, since the hands are a symbol of actions, the actions of the left hand signify the things of the body, and those of the right hand the things of the soul; being on the right, they have obtained the better lot, they are encompassed by bodily necessities. For just as the embracing hand is both above and within and holds the embraced in its arms, so the actions appointed toward the goal of the future life, clasping every irrational movement of the body, keep life orderly and bound together; no one being able to plot against the soul embraced by the Bridegroom. 7. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field: if you stir up and awaken love until it pleases. {Of Philo.} He adjures the souls of the saints by the divine signs that Christ showed in his life, to awaken through intercessions his longing toward her. But Aquila and Symmachus say, and the fifth edition: I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, or by the deer of the country, they render; and perhaps the clear-sighted are gazelles, from gazing and seeing; but the noble contenders against evil, who harmlessly destroy its offspring, are deer, since the animal is also destructive of snakes, being not harmed by their venom.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":41,"ref":"p41","source":"καθ' ὧν ἀρκεῖ τὴν ἀγάπην ἐξεγεῖραι μέχρι θελήσει χρηματίσαι ταύταις ἡ τοῦ Νυμφίου φωνή. 152 {Γρηγορίου.} Ἡ πρὸς τὸ ὕψος ἀναδραμοῦσα ψυχὴ ταῖς μαθητευομέναις ψυχαῖς, τὴν πρὸς τὸ τέλειον πρόοδον ὑφηγουμένη διὰ τοῦ ὁρκισμοῦ πρὸς τὸν κατ' ἀρετὴν χειραγωγεῖ βίον φάσκουσα· ὅτι ἐὰν αἱ μαθητευόμεναι ψυχαὶ προκόπτητε ταῖς ἀρεταῖς μέχρις ἂν ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὑψουμένης τε καὶ ἀεὶ διὰ προσθήκης πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον ἐπαυξουμένης, καὶ εἰς πέρας ἔλθῃ τὸ ἀγαθὸν αὐτοῦ θέλημα, ὥστε ἐν σαρκὶ ζῶσαν, μηκέτι κατὰ σάρκα ζῇν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ τοῦ κόσμου διάγουσαν, πρὸς τὰς δυνάμεις βλέπειν τὰς ἀγγελικάς· μιμουμένας δι' ἀπαθείας τὴν ἀγγελικὴν καθαρότητα· δυνάμεις γὰρ τοῦ ἀγροῦ ἤτοι τοῦ κόσμου, ἀγγελικαὶ δυνάμεις· πιστούμεναι ἡμᾶς ἀγγελικὴν ἕξιν ἐν τῇ παλιγγενεσίᾳ κατάστασιν· ἰσχὺς δὲ καὶ δύναμις εἰ μὲν ἑνικῶς λέγεται, πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ἀναπέμπεται ἡ διάνοια τῆς τοιαύτης φωνῆς· εἰ δὲ πληθυντικῶς, τὴν ἀγγελικὴν φύσιν παρίστησι·","english":"by which it suffices to awaken love until the voice of the Bridegroom deigns to speak to them. {Of Gregory.} The soul that has run back up to the height, guiding the souls that are being discipled toward the perfect advance through the oath, leads them by the hand to the life that is according to virtue, saying: that if the souls being discipled make progress in the virtues until you awaken and awaken love—which is of a soul being lifted up and ever increased by addition toward the greater—and his good will comes to its end, so that one living in the flesh should no longer live according to the flesh, and dwelling in the field of the world should look to the angelic powers, imitating through impassibility the angelic purity; for the powers of the field, that is, of the world, are angelic powers, assuring us of an angelic condition in the regeneration; but strength and power, if it is said in the singular, the thought of such a voice is sent up to the Divine; but if in the plural, it sets forth the angelic nature.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":42,"ref":"p42","source":"τὸ δὲ ὥρκισα, ἀντὶ τοῦ ὁρκίζω· ὅρκος δέ ἐστι λόγος πιστούμενος δι' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ὅρκος δὲ λέγεται, κἂν ὄμνυσί τις κἂν ὁρκωθῇ. {Νείλου.} Τὸ μὲν διεγεῖραι, σαφῶς ταῖς θυγατράσιν Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἴρηται· τὴν ἐν τίνι δὲ ἀγάπην, τὴν ἐν αὐταῖς, ἢ τὴν ἐν τῷ νυμφίῳ, ἢ τὴν αὐτῇ λεγούσῃ, ἄδηλον. Εἰ μὲν οὗν τὴν ἐν ἐκείναις ἀγάπην διεγερθῆναι βούλεται, δύναται τοιοῦτόν τι λέγειν· ὅτι Ὦ βραδεῖς καὶ ἀσυναίσθητοι τῶν συμφερόντων, πόσον κέρδος παρορᾶτε διὰ ἀπειρίαν! Ὅπερ τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν Νυμφίον, ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαπᾷν περιγίνεται· ὁρκίζω ὑμᾶς κατὰ τῶν δυνάμεων τοῦ ἀγροῦ, τῶν τὰ τοῦ κόσμου διοικουσῶν, καὶ τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτῶν ᾗ καταργοῦσι τοὺς ἐναντίους, ἐγεῖραι καθεύδουσαν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐξεγεῖραι τὴν πρὸς τὸν Νυμφίον ἀγάπην· καὶ γνῶναι τὴν ἡδονὴν τὴν ἐμὴν, ἐκ τοῦ ἐν πείρᾳ γενέσθαι αὐτῆς· παρακαλεῖ δὲ αὐτὰς τὸ ἐκείνων κέρδος σκοποῦσα, καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν αὐτῶν λογιζομένη· ἐὰν δὲ τὴν τοῦ Νυμφίου ἀγάπην διεγερθῆναι θέλῃ, τοῦτό φησιν· Ὁρκίζω ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ, προσελθεῖν τῷ ὑπ' ἐμοῦ ἠγαπημένῳ, καὶ τὸ ἐμὸν πάθος ἀναγγεῖλαι αὐτῷ· ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀγαπῶσα οἴκοι μένειν οὐ δύναμαι, ἐξελαύνοντός μου τοῦ πόθου, καὶ πάσας ἐπιέναι τὰς ὁδοὺς ἀναγκάζοντος, μήπω καὶ ἐκ τύχης συναντῇ τῷ ποθουμένῳ· ἀμφιβάλῃ γὰρ τάχα, μή ποτε οὐκ ἀληθῶς ἀγαπᾶται· καὶ ἤδη φαίνεται καὶ συντυχοῦσα καὶ λόγον ἀκούσασα παρὰ τοῦ Νυμφίου τὴν ἀγάπην δηλοῦντος· ὑποχωρεῖ γὰρ ὁ Νυμφίος πολλάκις, πλεῖον αὐτῆς τὸν ἔρωτα διεγείρων, καὶ τὸ μαραινόμενον τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἀναῤῥιπίζων·","english":"But the phrase I adjure stands for I adjure; and an oath is a word that guarantees the truth by itself; and it is called an oath whether one swears or is put under oath. {Of Nilus.} The phrase to awaken has been spoken clearly to the daughters of Jerusalem; but which love it is—the love in them, or the love in the Bridegroom, or the love in her who is speaking—is unclear. If, then, she wishes the love in those women to be awakened, she may be saying something like this: O you slow and insensible to what is advantageous, how great a gain you overlook through inexperience! This is what comes to those who love the Bridegroom from their loving: I adjure you by the powers of the field, those that govern the things of the world, and by their strength with which they overthrow the adversaries, to awaken the love for the Bridegroom that sleeps within us, and to rouse it up, and to know my pleasure by coming to experience it; and she exhorts them with a view to their gain and reckoning their benefit. But if she wishes the Bridegroom's love to be awakened, she says this: I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, to go to the one beloved by me and to report my passion to him—that, loving him, I cannot stay at home, since my longing drives me out and compels me to traverse every road, in case I should perhaps meet the beloved; for she would perhaps doubt whether she is truly loved; and already she appears both meeting him and hearing a word from the Bridegroom declaring his love; for the Bridegroom often withdraws, awakening her desire the more and fanning into flame what is fading of her longing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":43,"ref":"p43","source":"ἔν τισι δὲ τῶν ἀντιγράφων ἔχει, Μὴ ἐγείρητε, μηδὲ ἐξεγείρητε, ἐὰν μὲν τὴν πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τοῦ Νυμφίου, ὅτι οὐ χρείαν ἔχω μεσίτου· οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι ἀξία γενομένη αὐτοῦ, τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀγάπην διεγείρω· οὐ γὰρ μαστροπεύεται ὁ οὐράνιος ἔρως· αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπιφοιτᾷ τῷ κάλλει τῆς ψυχῆς ἑλκόμενος, καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν ἀρετῶν πληροφορούμενος, οὐχὶ δὲ φήμαις τῶν γινομένων πειθόμενος· ἐὰν δὲ τὴν ἐκείνων μὴ ἐγείρητε τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην· ἔτι γὰρ ἡμῖν χρεία καιροῦ τοῦ ἐν φόβῳ δουλεύειν αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἐχούσαις τέως βεβηκυῖαν τὴν τῶν ἀγαπώντων κατάστασιν, μήπως ἀώρως τὴν ἀγάπην κινήσασα καταστηνιάσητε αὐτοῦ· ἅτε μηδέπω μαθοῦσα κεχρῆσθαι τῇ ἀγάπῃ καλῶς. ηʹ. Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου· ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούσ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἐν τοσαύταις ἀνόδοις ὑψωθεῖσα δι' ἀγάπης πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετουσίαν ἡ κεκαθαρμένη ψυχὴ, οὔπω κατειληφέναι δοκεῖ τὸ ζητούμενον· πάσας γὰρ τὰς ἀναβάσεις ἐκείνας, οὐ θεωρίαν τε καὶ κατάληψιν τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀλλὰ φωνὴν τοῦ ποθουμένου κατονομάζει, διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς χαρακτηριζομένην τοῖς ἰδιώμασιν, οὐ διὰ τῆς κατανοήσεως γινωσκομένην τε καὶ εὐφραίνουσαν· φωνὴ, φησὶν, οὐκ εἶδος, οὐ πρόσωπον, οὐ χαρακτὴρ ἐμφαίνων τοῦ ζητουμένου τὴν φύσιν· ἀλλὰ φωνὴ, στοχασμὸν μᾶλλον ἢ βεβαίωσιν ἐμποιοῦσα περὶ τοῦ φθεγγομένου ὅς τίς ἐστι· τοῦτο δὲ παρίστησι καὶ τὸ ποικίλον τῆς ὀπτασίας·","english":"But in some of the copies it reads, Do not stir up, nor awaken, if it means her love toward the Bridegroom himself, because I have no need of a mediator; for I know that, having become worthy of him, I stir up his will toward my love; for heavenly love is not procured by pandering; but he himself visits the beauty of the soul, drawn by it, and is fully assured by the works of the virtues, and not persuaded by rumors of what happens; but if it means, do not stir up their love toward him; for we still have need of a time to serve him in fear, not yet having a settled state of those who love, lest you stir up love prematurely and set him against you, since she has not yet learned to use love well. 8. The voice of my kinsman: behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding upon the hills. {Of Gregory.} The purified soul, lifted up through so many ascents by love toward the participation of good things, does not yet seem to have grasped what it seeks; for all those ascents it names not as a vision and comprehension of the truth, but as the voice of the beloved, characterized through hearing by its distinguishing marks, not known and made glad through understanding; a voice, it says, not a form, not a face, not a stamp revealing the nature of what is sought; but a voice, producing rather a conjecture than an assurance about who the speaker is; and this the varied nature of the vision also sets forth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":44,"ref":"p44","source":"Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, φησὶν, οὗτος ἥκει, οὐχ ἑστὼς, οὐδὲ περιμένων, ὡς διὰ τῆς ἐπιμονῆς γνωρισθῆναι τῷ ἀτενίζοντι, ἀλλ' ἀφαρπάζων ἑαυτὸν τῶν ὄψεων, τῷ πηδᾷν καὶ διάλλεσθαι, καὶ νῦν μὲν δορκάδι, νῦν δὲ νεβρῷ παρεικάζεσθαι· τάχα τοίνυν προβλέπει τὴν πόῤῥωθεν κηρυχθεῖσαν, ὕστερον δὲ φανερωθεῖσαν, τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου διὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίαν· μαρτυρεῖται γὰρ τοῖς ἔργοις ἡ θεία φωνὴ, καὶ συνάπτεται τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἡ ἔκβασις καθώς φησιν ὁ Δαβίδ· ὅτι, \"Καθάπερ ἠκούσαμεν οὕτω καὶ ἴδωμεν.\" Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου, τοὐτέστιν οὗ ἠκούσαμεν, Ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἥκει· τοῦτον οὖν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς εἰσδεξάμεθα· γέγονεν οὖν ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ Νυμφίου διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἐν οἷς ἐλάλησεν ὁ Θεός· καὶ μετὰ τὴν φωνὴν ἦλθεν ὁ Λόγος, ἐπιπηδῶν τοῖς ἀντικειμένοις ὄρεσι, καὶ τῶν βουνῶν καθαλλόμενος, τοὐτέστι καταπατῶν καὶ καταλύων τὰ πονηρὰ τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων κακίας ὑψώματα. {Νείλου.} Ἐπειδὴ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ ἀγαπώμενος, οὐ τεκμηρίοις σωματικοῖς πιστούμενος, διαθέσεως δὲ προσέχων, καὶ λογισμοῖς ἐμβατεύων, εὐθὺς ἐπιφαίνεται παραμυθούμενος τῆς","english":"For behold, he says, this one has come, not standing still nor waiting, so as to be recognized by the one who gazes intently through his remaining; but snatching himself away from the eyes, by leaping and springing, and being likened now to a gazelle, now to a young stag. Perhaps, then, he foresees the economy of the Word of God through the flesh, which was proclaimed from afar but later revealed; for the divine voice is attested by the works, and the outcome is joined to the word of the promise, just as David says: \"As we have heard, so also we have seen.\" The voice of my beloved, that is, of whom we have heard, Behold, this one has come; him, then, we have received with our eyes. So the voice of the Bridegroom has come to be through the prophets in whom God spoke; and after the voice the Word came, leaping upon the opposing mountains and bounding down from the hills, that is, trampling down and destroying the evil exaltations of the wickedness of the demons. {Of Nilus.} Since the one who was loved was God, not being confirmed by bodily proofs, but attending to disposition and entering into thoughts, he immediately appears, consoling the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":45,"ref":"p45","source":"ἀγαπώσης τὸν πόθον· ὡς ἐκείνην αἰσθομένην τοῦ κατὰ τὴν φωνὴν ἰδιώματος, εἰπεῖν ἐκ πολλῆς τῆς περιχαρείας· Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου, ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἥκει· τὸν γὰρ Ἰωάννην θεασάμενος ὃς ἦν ἡ φωνὴ, καὶ τὸν Λόγον φαντάζεται, καὶ δεικτικῶς φησιν· Ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἤκει· Λόγου γὰρ παρουσίαν σημαίνει ἡ φωνή· καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἐπιστρέφουσα τῇ ὄψει, δείκνυσι τὸ ἀκουσθέν· τὸ δὲ πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνοὺς, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· τῆς μὲν φωνῆς αὐτοῦ πόῤῥωθεν ἀκήκοα· ἤδη δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον ὁρῶ πηδῶντα ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, καὶ διαλλόμενον ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνοὺς, ὅπερ ἐπληροῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ· αἱ γὰρ ἐκβάσεις τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ προφητειῶν, πηδήματα ἦν καὶ ἅλματα· ὄρη δὲ καὶ βουνοὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτοῦ εἰπόντες προφῆται· ἐφ' ὧν διαλλόμενος, καὶ ἀφ' ἑτέρων εἰς ἕτερα πηδῶν, τὴν ἑκάστου προφητείαν ᾠκείου πρὸς τὴν ἑτέραν· ἓν σῶμα τὰς διαφόρους ποιῶν προφητείας, καὶ συνάπτων τοῖς ἅλμασι τῶν νοημάτων, τὰ διεστάναι δοκοῦντα ὄρη τῶν λέξεων· ὄρη δὲ λέγοιντ' ἂν οἱ τὰ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ λέγοντες προφῆται· βουνοὶ δὲ οἱ κατὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας· οἱ γὰρ βουνοὶ κἂν ὑπερανέχωσι τῆς ἄλλης γῆς, ὅμως ἔχουσί τι γεῶδες· τὰ δὲ ὅρη, λίθος ἐστὶν ἀκραιφνὴς γεώδους οὐσίας ἀμέτοχος. {Ὠριγένους.} Τοῦτό τινες τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν ἀπέδωκαν, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} Ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν τῶν δραματικῶς ἐπαγομένων σαφήνειαν; μέχρι τοῦ, Ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὠραία·","english":"...the desire of her who loves; so that she, perceiving the peculiarity of the voice, said out of her great joy: The voice of my kinsman, behold, this one has come. For having seen John, who was the voice, she also beholds the Word, and says by way of pointing: Behold, this one has come; for the voice signifies the presence of the Word; and turning her hearing to sight, she shows what was heard. And the leaping upon the mountains, springing over the hills, is of this sort: I heard his voice from afar; but now I see that very one leaping upon the mountains and springing over the hills, which was fulfilled in the incarnation of Christ. For the goings-forth of the prophecies concerning him were leapings and springs; and the mountains and hills are the prophets who spoke concerning him; leaping over them, and springing from one to another, he made the prophecy of each one akin to the other, making the various prophecies one body, and joining together by the springs of the meanings the mountains of the words that seemed to stand apart. And mountains might be called those prophets who speak the things of his divinity; and hills those who speak the things of the economy. For the hills, even if they rise above the rest of the earth, nevertheless have something earthy; but the mountains are pure stone, having no share in earthy substance. {Of Origen.} Some have assigned this to the preceding, etc. {Of Cyril.} These things are for the clarity of what is dramatically introduced; up to: Thy voice is sweet, and thy face is beautiful.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":46,"ref":"p46","source":"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 μὲν τινὰ 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 ἤκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη· ἔρχεται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ δίκτυα τὰ πεπετασμένα ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ πλησίον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας· ἅπερ σχίσας καταφρονητικῶς αὐτῶν ἐπιβαίνειν διδάσκει τῇ ὑπερβάσει Ἐκκλησία 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 ὀνομαζομένη. θʹ. Ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀδελφιδός μου τῇς δορκάδι ἢ νεβρῷ ἐλάφων ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Βαιθήλ.","english":"And it is clear that the soul of the Word—that is, the Bride, the Church of Christ—perceives the voice before she understands it as divine; which is what we the faithful experience, being struck with wonder before we understand the voices of the Law and the Prophets as full of divine grace. Such is the meaning of \"The voice of my kinsman\" as appointed beforehand of the far-off manifestation of the Word. She, having seen him laying hold of great visions, while not even despising the lesser things, says: \"Behold, he himself has come, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.\" And throughout the whole of the Word, some things are said to the Bridegroom as present, and some as though sought by the Bride; since even among questions, sometimes we seek certain things, being at a loss for the solution, and sometimes we enjoy the solution, when the Bridegroom, the Word, illumines our hearts; then again we are at a loss in other matters, and again he appears to us; and this happens many times, until, being perfected, we attain the Bridegroom, not only coming to us but also making his dwelling with us. And the Church longs when she is left to temptations, and he appears to her with his graces; therefore she says: \"Behold,\" she says, \"this one has come, leaping upon the mountains.\" And he comes also to the nets spread out by the evil one near the Church; which, having torn, he teaches the Church to tread upon them contemptuously, by passing over every storm of temptation. The signs of the air are shown, and the nearness of summer, concerning which it is said in the Psalms: \"Summer and spring.\" For flowers have appeared to her, and the complete purification has drawn near, called the time of cutting. 9. My kinsman is like a gazelle or a young stag among the mountains of Bethel.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":47,"ref":"p47","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Διὰ τοῦτο σημαίνει τὴν ὀξυωπίαν τοῦ τὸ πᾶν ἐπιβλέποντος· ἀλλὰ νεβρῷ ἐλάφων, διὰ τὸ φυγαδεύειν τῷ ἄσθματι καὶ τῇ τοῦ χρωτὸς ἰδιότητι, τὴν τῶν ἰοβόλων ἐνέργειαν, ἣν ὄρη καὶ βουνοὺς ἐπωνόμασεν, τήν τε ὑποδεεστέραν καὶ τὴν προάγουσαν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ ἐκ τῶν βουνῶν πρὸς τὰ ὄρη διαστολὴ ὑπαινίττεται· ὁμοίως γὰρ καταπατεῖται ὅ τε λέων καὶ ὁ δράκων τὰ ὑπερέχοντα· καὶ ὄφις καὶ σκορπίος τὰ δοκοῦντα καταδεέστερα· καὶ τοὺς μαθητὰς δὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐλάφων φύσιν καταρτίζειν εἰπών· \"Ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων,\" ὡς τῷ ὕψει τῆς ἀρετῆς, ὅρη γενέσθαι Βαιθήλ· ὅπερ ἡ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἔμφασις δείκνυσι τὸν ὑψηλὸν καὶ οὐράνιον βίον· ἡ γὰρ λέξις οἶκον σημαίνει Θεοῦ. {Νείλου.} Βαιθήλ ἐστι, καὶ ἑρμηνεύεται οἶκος Θεοῦ· ὄρη δὲ ταύτης οἱ διὰ μέγεθος ἀρετῆς ὄρη χρηματίσαντες· ὡς γὰρ ὑπερανέστηκεν ὕψει καὶ διαφέρει κραταιότητι τῆς λοιπῆς γῆς τὰ ὄρη, οὕτως ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὑπερέχουσιν ἅγιοι τῷ ὑψηλῷ τῆς πολιτείας διεγηγερμένοι· τούτοις","english":"Because of this he signifies the keenness of sight of the one who looks upon all things; but by the fawn of deer, because by its breath and the peculiarity of its skin it drives away the working of venomous creatures, which he named mountains and hills—both the lower and the higher; for this is what the distinction from hills to mountains hints at. For in like manner both the lion and the dragon are trampled down—the things that are exalted—and the serpent and the scorpion—the things that seem inferior. And he prepares the disciples for the nature of deer when he says, \"Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions,\" so that by the height of virtue they become mountains of Bethel; which the meaning of the name shows to be the lofty and heavenly life; for the word signifies the house of God. Bethel is, and is interpreted, the house of God; and its mountains are those who because of the greatness of their virtue have been called mountains; for as mountains stand out above by height and differ by strength from the rest of the earth, so among men the saints excel, raised up by the loftiness of their conduct. To these","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":48,"ref":"p48","source":"οὖν ἐπιδιατρίβοντα τὸν ἀδελφιδὸν ἑαυτῆς ἡ Νύμφη βλέπει, ὁμοιούμενον διὰ μὲν τὴν θεωρητικὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τὸ κριτικὸν εἶναι ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, δορκάδι· διὰ δὲ τὴν πρακτικὴν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰς ἐναντίας δυνάμεις ἀντιπάθειαν, νεβρῷ ἐλάφων· ἀναιρετικὴ γὰρ τῶν ἰοβόλων ἑρπετῶν ἡ ἔλαφος· δὰ τί δὲ εἶπε νεβρῷ ἐλάφων καὶ οὐκ ἔλαφον; ὅτι οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἢ πάντες σχεδὸν ἐν τῇ παιδικῇ ἡλικίᾳ, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῶν αἰσχρῶν, ἀλλ' οὖν τινων παθῶν ἡττήθησαν· ὀψὲ καὶ μόλις πρεσβυτικὸν ἀναλαβόντες καὶ σώφρονα λογισμόν· ὁ δὲ Κυριακὸς ἄνθρωπος πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι καλεῖν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, ἠπείθησε πονηρίαν, τὰς νεωτερικὰς ἐπιθυμίας πρεσβυτικῇ καταπατήσας γνώμῃ, τάχα δορκὰς ἦν, ὅτε ὀξεῖ τῷ βλέμματι τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις ἔλεγεν ὁρῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων· \"Ἵνα τί ὑμεῖς ἐνθυμεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν πονηρά;\" Νεβρὸς δὲ ἐλάφων ὅτε τῷ λεγεῶνι τῶν δαιμόνων ἔλεγεν· \"Ἔξελθε ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον\" ὡς ἐκ χηραμῶν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σωμάτων ἐνδομυχοῦντα, ἀνέλκων τὰ τῶν δαιμόνων συνεσπειραμένα συστήματα. {Φίλωνος καὶ Ὠριγένους.} Ἢ καὶ ὄρη τοὺς προφήτας φησὶν ἀρτίους τῷ φρονήματι, τῶν ἀληθινῶν θεωρητὰς, οἶμαι δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους· ἐπεὶ κατὰ γενεὰν ἡ σοφία, εἰς ψυχὰς μεταβαίνει· ὄρη δὲ ἐπειδὴ ἀνίσχοντος ἡλίου, πρῶτα καταλάμπονται· βουνοὺς δὲ τοὺς ἔλαττον χωρήσαντας τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐπιφάνειαν· λέγοις δ' ἂν καὶ ὄρη, τὰ ἐν νόμῳ νοήματα· βουνοὺς δὲ τὰ τῶν λοιπῶν προφητῶν· ἢ καὶ θεωρήσας τὸν ἐν Καινῇ Διαθήκῃ λόγον, βλέπει τὰ ὄρη πηδῶντα, ἐπὶ δὲ τοὺς βουνοὺς διαλλόμενον, τὸν ἐν τῷ παλαιῷ γράμματι·","english":"The Bride therefore sees her beloved lingering, likened, on the one hand, by reason of the contemplative power and his being discerning of human thoughts and conceptions, to a gazelle; and on the other hand, by reason of the practical power and his antipathy toward the opposing powers, to a fawn of deer; for the deer is destructive of venomous reptiles. But why did he say \"fawn of deer\" and not \"deer\"? Because most men, or nearly all, in their childhood age, even if not of shameful passions, were yet overcome by certain passions, late and scarcely taking up a mature and temperate reasoning; but the man of the Lord, before he knew how to call father or mother, was disobedient to wickedness, trampling youthful desires underfoot with mature judgment. Perhaps he was a gazelle when with keen sight he saw and spoke of the thoughts of men: \"Why do you think evil in your hearts?\" And a fawn of deer when he said to the legion of demons: \"Come out of the man, you unclean spirit,\" as from the crevices of human bodies lurking within, drawing up the swarming assemblies of demons. {Of Philo and Origen.} Or he calls the prophets mountains, complete in understanding, seers of true things, and I think also the apostles; since wisdom, according to generation, passes into souls; and mountains, because at the rising of the sun they are first illuminated; and hills, those who received the manifestation of the Spirit in lesser measure. You might also call mountains the thoughts in the Law, and hills those of the other prophets; or, having contemplated the Word in the New Testament, he sees the mountains leaping, and skipping upon the hills, the Word in the old letter.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":49,"ref":"p49","source":"νεβρῷ δὲ ἐλάφων ὁ νυμφίος ἀπείκασται, οὐ μόνον ὡς ἀναλίσκων τοὺς ὄφεις, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν· καὶ ὅτι ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν· ἦ γὰρ ἂν ἔλαφος ὑπῆρχε τελεία. Ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἕστηκεν ὀπίσω τοῦ τοίχου ἡμῶν παρακύπτων διὰ τῶν θυρίδων ἐκκύπτων διὰ τῶν δικτύων. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἴσως δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐδήλωσε 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. {Γρηγορίου.} Κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν ἔνδον οἰκουρούσῃ τῇ Νύμφῃ διὰ τῶν θυρίδων ὁ ἐραστὴς διαλέγεται· καὶ τοῦ τοίχου ἀμφοτέρους κατὰ τὸ μέσον διείργοντος, ἀνεμπόδιστος γίνεται τοῦ λόγου ἡ κοινωνία· διὰ μὲν τῶν θυρίδων τῆς κεφαλῆς παρακυπτούσης, διὰ δὲ τῶν ἐν ταῖς θυρίσι δικτύων πρὸς τὰ ἐντὸς τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ διακύπτοντος· ὁδῷ δὲ καὶ ἀκολουθίᾳ τῆς ἀγωγῆς προσοικειοῖ τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ὁ λόγος· πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὴν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ὡς διὰ θυρίδων καταυγάζων· καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν νομικῶν παραγγελμάτων πλοκῆς ὡς διὰ δικτύων· οὕτω γὰρ νοοῦμεν, θυρίδας μὲν τοὺς προφήτας, τοὺς τὸ φῶς εἰσάγοντας, δίκτυα δὲ, τὴν τῶν νομικῶν παραγγελμάτων πλοκήν· δι' ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ἡ αὐγὴ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ἐντὸς παραδύεται· μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἡ τελεία τοῦ φωτὸς, ἔλλαμψις γίνεται·","english":"The bridegroom is likened to a fawn of hinds, not only because he destroys the serpents, but also because a child was born to us, a son was given to us, and because he humbled himself; for otherwise he would have been a perfect hind. Behold, this one stands behind our wall, peering through the windows, looking out through the lattices. {Of Cyril.} Perhaps he also indicated the apostles through the fishing craft. The Church, then, hears these things from the Word, receiving the radiance of the truth through the prophetic windows and the legal lattices, while the typical wall of teaching still stands—I mean the law, which makes the shadow of the good things to come and does not show the image of the things themselves; standing behind it, the truth, holding its place, shines forth afterward. {Of Gregory.} According to the literal sense, the lover converses through the windows with the bride as she keeps house within; and since the wall separates both in the middle, the fellowship of the word becomes unhindered—the head peering through the windows, and through the lattices in the windows looking out toward what is inside the eye. And by way of a gradual sequence of guidance, the Word brings human nature near to God: first illuminating it through the prophets as through windows, and through the weaving of the legal precepts as through lattices. For thus we understand: the prophets are the windows, who bring the light in; and the lattices are the weaving of the legal precepts; through both of these the radiance of the true light steals into what is within. And after these things comes the perfect illumination of the light.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":50,"ref":"p50","source":"ὅταν ἐπιφανῇ αὐτὸς τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὴν φύσιν ἡμῶν ἀνακράσεως. {Νείλου.} Τοῖχον, τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Κυριακοῦ λέγει ἀνθρώπου, κρύπτοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν· βλέπει δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ παρακύπτοντα διὰ τῶν θυρίδων, τῶν λόγων τῶν προφητικῶν· καὶ ἐγκύπτοντα διὰ τῶν δικτύων τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ κηρύγματος· μερικῶς γὰρ αὐτὸν ὥσπερ ἀπὸ θυρίδος παρακύπτοντα οἱ προφητικοὶ παραφαίνουσι λόγοι· ὅλον δὲ τηλαυγῶς ἡ ἀποστολικὴ δείκνυσι διδασκαλία· μόνη οὖν αὕτη δεδύνηται ἐκ τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ προφητευθέντων, καὶ ἐκ τῶν προηγγελμένων σημείων τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τῆς ψυχῆς, διὰ τῆς παχύτητος τοῦ τοίχου διελάσαι καὶ ἰδεῖν τὸ κρυπτόμενον ἐν τῷ σώματι· ἔστι δὲ πάλιν τοῖχος ὁ νόμος, οὗ ὀπίσω ἔστηκεν ὁ Νυμφίου κρυπτόμενος, θεσπίσας τὸν νόμον καὶ οὐ γνωριζόμενος\n\nτοῖς νομοθετουμένοις· βλέπει δὲ αὐτὸν ἡ Νύμφη ὀπίσω ἑστῶτα τοῦ νόμου τοῖς πολλοῖς οὐχ ὁρώμενον, διὰ τὸ σαφῶς ἐν τούτῳ τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνεσκιασμένης εἰρῆσθαι· ὡς ἡ πέτρα ἐδήλου Χριστὸν, καὶ θάλασσα τὸ βάπτισμα· δύναται δὲ πάλιν θυρίδας τις λέγειν, καὶ τῆς Νύμφης τὰ αἰσθητήρια· ἅπερ ἔχουσα καθορᾷ ἥλιον δι' αὐτῶν, καὶ ζωὴν ἐδέχετο, τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν θάνατον δι' αὐτῶν εἰσδεχομένων· κατὰ τό· \"Θάνατος ἀνέβη διὰ τῶν θυρίδων ὑμῶν·\" δίκτυα δὲ, τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ προσαχθέντας αὐτῷ παρὰ τοῦ Σατανᾶ πειρασμούς· ὅτε πειράζων αὐτὸν καθάπερ δικτύοις περιέχειν ἐνόμιζε τοῖς πειρασμοῖς· ὧν ἀνώτερος φανεὶς ὁ Κύριος;","english":"when he himself, the true light, appears through his mingling with our nature. {Of Nilus.} He calls the wall the body of the Lord's man, God the Word hiding his incarnation; and she sees him also peering through the windows, the words of the prophets; and stooping through the nets of the apostolic preaching; for the prophetic words show him partially, as it were peering from a window; but the apostolic teaching shows him wholly and clearly. This alone, then, has been able, from the things prophesied concerning him and from the signs foretold, to pass through the thickness of the wall with the eye of the soul and to see what is hidden in the body. And again the wall is the law, behind which the Bridegroom stands hidden, having given the law and not being known to those who are legislated for; but the Bride sees him standing behind the law, unseen by the many, because in it the things concerning him are spoken both clearly and in shadow; as the rock indicated Christ, and the sea the baptism. And again one may call the windows the senses of the Bride; possessing which she beholds the sun through them, and received life, while sinners receive death through them, according to the text: \"Death has come up through your windows.\" And the nets are the temptations brought upon him in the wilderness by Satan, when he thought to encompass him with temptations as with nets; over which the Lord appeared superior;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":51,"ref":"p51","source":"καὶ συντρίψας τὰς παγίδας καὶ τὰ δίκτυα, καὶ ταῖς εὐθυβόλοις ἀποκρύψεσιν ὑπερκόψας, ἐξέκυπτε διὰ τῶν δικτύων, τὴν τῆς θεότητος δύναμιν ὑποφαίνων τῇ διορατικῇ ψυχῇ· ὅθεν λοιπὸν διηγεῖται ταῖς θυγατράσιν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἡ Νύμφη· ὃ παρουσίᾳ μὲν ἔλεγεν ἐκείνων ὁ Νυμφίος, ἤκουε δὲ πλὴν ἐκείνης οὐδεὶς τὰ ἐπαγόμενα. Λέγοιντο δ' ἂν θυρίδες καὶ τὰ αἰσθητήρια, δι' ὧν ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν θάνατος διαβαίνει· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ἐρωτικῶς διακειμένης ψυχῆς πρὸς τὸν Λόγον, παρακύπτει ὁ λόγος εἰς τὰ δέοντα ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι κεχρημένης, καὶ δικτύῳ κατασκευά σματα ἐχούσης ἐν ὑπερώῳ αὐτῆς ἐφ' ἃ φθάνων ὁ Νυμφίος, δι' αὐτῶν ἐκκύπτει καλῶν τὴν Νύμφην πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔξω τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἀόρατα καὶ ἀσώματα· τοῦτο τάχα δηλοῦντος καὶ τοῦ ἐπαγομένου ῥητοῦ· Ἀνάστα, ἐλθέ. ιγʹ. Ἀποκρίνεται ἀδελφιδός μου καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἀνάστα, ἐλθὲ, ἡ πλησίον μου, καλή μου, περιστερά μου· ὅτι ἰδοὺ ὁ χειμὼν παρῆλθεν· ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν, ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ τὰ ἄνθη ὤφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ· καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἔφθακε· φωνὴ τῆς τρυγόνος ἠκούσθη ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν· ἡ συκῆ ἐξήνεγκεν ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς· αἱ ἄμπελοι κυπρίζουσιν, ἔδωκαν ὀσμήν. {Γρηγορίου.} Τὸ κατὰ φύσιν εὐκίνητον ἀπόλεσαν τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος, τῷ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἐπιπήγη κρυμῷ· τῷ χαλεπῷ δὲ τούτῳ χειμῶνι, ὁ Ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐπανέτειλεν, ἵνα διαθερμάνῃ τὸν λιθωθέντα τῷ κρύει, καὶ γένηται πάλιν ὑποθαλφθεὶς τῇ ἀκτῖνι τοῦ λόγου, ὕδωρ ἁλλόμενον εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον· διὰ τοῦτο ἐμβοᾷ διὰ τῶν φωταγωγῶν θυρίδων, εἴτ' οὖν προφητικῶν λόγων τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ὁ Νυμφίος ὁ λόγος ὁ ἀνορθῶν τοὺς κατεῤῥαγμένους·","english":"And having shattered the snares and the nets, and having cut them off by his straight-flying concealments, he slipped out through the nets, revealing the power of his divinity to the discerning soul; whence thereafter the Bride relates to the daughters of Jerusalem what the Bridegroom said in their presence, but no one except her heard what followed. And the windows would be the senses, through which death passes in the case of sinners; but in the case of the soul lovingly disposed toward the Word, the Word peeks through the senses of one who has used them as she ought, and who has in her upper room a net of devices, reaching which the Bridegroom looks out through them, calling the Bride to himself, to the invisible and incorporeal things beyond the senses; this is perhaps what the following text also indicates: Arise, come. 13. My beloved answers and says to me: Arise, come, my neighbor, my fair one, my dove; for behold, the winter has passed, the rain has gone, it has gone its way; the flowers have appeared in the land; the time of pruning has come; the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land; the fig tree has put forth its early figs; the vines are budding, they have given forth fragrance. {Of Gregory.} The human race lost its natural mobility, frozen by the frost of idolatry; but upon this harsh winter the Sun of righteousness rose again, to warm what had been petrified by the cold, and that, warmed again by the ray of the Word, it might become water leaping up to eternal life; therefore the Bridegroom, the Word who sets upright those who are broken down, cries out through the light-bringing windows—that is, through the prophetic words—to the Church.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":52,"ref":"p52","source":"Ἀνάστηθι δηλαδὴ ἐκ τοῦ πτώματος, ἡ συμποδισθεῖσα καὶ πεσοῦσα εἰς γῆν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως· οὐκ ἀρκεῖ δέ σοι τὸ ἀνορθωθῆναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρόελθε διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν προκοπῆς, τὸν ἐν ἀρετῇ διανύουσα δρόμον. Ἡ δὲ ἅμα τοῦ δέξασθαι τοῦ Λόγου τὴν δύναμιν, ἀνίσταται καὶ παρίσταται τῷ φωτί· καὶ πλησιάζει καὶ καλὴ γίνεται, καὶ περιστερὰ ὀνομάζεται· καὶ πρὸς ὃ βλέπει καὶ σχηματίζεται· καὶ ὅλη γενομένη πνευματική· τῷ γὰρ φωτὶ προσεγγίσασα, φῶς γίνεται· τῷ δὲ φωτὶ τὸ καλὸν τῆς περιστερᾶς εἶδος ἐνεικονίζεται· ἐκείνης λέγω τῆς περιστερᾶς ἧς τὸ εἶδος τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος παρουσίαν ἐγνώρισεν· οὕτω τοίνυν αὐτῇ προσφωνήσας ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὀνομάσας αὐτὴν, καλὴν μὲν διὰ τὸ πλησίον, περιστερὰν δὲ διὰ τὸ κάλλος, καὶ τὰ ἐφεξῆς διέρχεται· οὐκ ἔτι λέγων κρατεῖν τοῦ χειμῶνος τῶν ψυχῶν τὴν κατήφειαν· Ἰδοὺ, γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ χειμὼν παρῆλθεν, ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθε καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ. Πολυώνυμον δὲ ποιεῖ τὸ κακὸν, κατὰ τὰς τῶν ἐνεργημάτων διαφοράς· καὶ χειμὼν λέγεται μὲν διὰ τὴν πολυειδῆ τῶν κακῶν σημασίαν· πάντα γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ μιμεῖται τὴν τοῦ θανάτου κατήφειαν· φυτά τε ξηραινόμενα, καὶ ζῶα τῆς ᾠδῆς ἀποπαυόμενα καὶ τῆς ἐνεργείας· ἀγριαίνεται δὲ καὶ ἡ θάλασσα· διὰ δὲ τοῦ, ἐπορεύθη, ἔμψυχόν πως καὶ προαιρετικὸν ἐμφαίνει τὸν ὑετόν· διὰ τούτων τοίνυν δείκνυσι, πῶς ἐτεθήλει κατ' ἀρχὰς ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις ἡ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ· τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος τῆς παρακοῆς τῆς ἀθανασίας τὴν ῥίζαν, ἐξ οὗ τὴν φύσιν ὡραΐζων καρποῖς βεβλαστήκει ἀποξηράναντος, ἀπετινάχθη τὸ ἄνθος, καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀνελύθη· καὶ ἐγυμνώθη τοῦ κάλλους τῆς ἀφθαρσίας ὁ ἄνθρωπος·","english":"Arise, that is, from the fall, you who were entangled and fell to the earth through the serpent; and it is not enough for you merely to be set upright, but also go forward through the progress of good things, running the course in virtue. And she, as soon as she receives the power of the Word, rises and stands before the light; and she draws near and becomes beautiful, and is named a dove; and toward what she looks, toward that she is also shaped; and becoming wholly spiritual—for having approached the light, she becomes light; and by the light the beautiful form of the dove is imaged forth—I mean that dove whose form made known the presence of the Holy Spirit. Having thus addressed her, then, and named her, the Word—beautiful because of the nearness, and a dove because of the beauty—proceeds to what follows; no longer saying that the despondency of winter holds the souls. For behold, he says, the winter has passed, the rain has gone away and departed by itself. And he makes evil many-named, according to the differences of its workings; and it is called winter because of the manifold signification of evils—for in it everything imitates the despondency of death: plants drying up, and living creatures ceasing from song and from activity; and the sea also grows wild. And by the phrase \"it departed,\" he indicates the rain as somehow animate and endowed with choice. Through these things, then, he shows how the human nature in paradise flourished at the beginning; but when the winter of disobedience dried up the root of immortality, from which, adorning nature, it had budded with fruits, the flower was shaken off and dissolved into earth; and man was stripped of the beauty of incorruption.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":53,"ref":"p53","source":"καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀρετῶν πόα κατεξηράνθη τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπης· ὅθεν τὰ ποικίλα παθήματα, ταῖς ἀντικειμέναις δυνάμεσιν ἐν ἡμῖν ἀπεκορυφώθη· δι' ὦν τὰ πονηρὰ ναυάγια τῆς\n\nψυχῆς γίνεται· ἀλλ' ἐλθόντος τοῦ τὸ ἕαρ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῖν ἐμποιήσαντος, καὶ τοῖς πνεύμασι καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐπιτιμήσαντος, πάντα γέγονε γαλήνης μεστά· καὶ πάλιν ἔρχεται ἀναθάλλειν καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις ἄνθεσιν ἡ φύσις ὡραΐζεσθαι, εἴτ' οὖν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς· αἳ νῦν μὲν ἀνθοῦσιν, ἰδίῳ δὲ καιρῷ παρέξουσι τὸν καρπόν· δεῖ οὖν ἐν τῷ ποικίλῳ τούτῳ χειμῶνι εἰσελθόντας ἐκ τῶν ἀνθέων τούτων δρέψασθαι, καὶ στεφάνους ἑαυτοῖς κατασκευάσαι· ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς αὐτῶν ἔφθακε· τοῦτό σοι διαμαρτύρεται ἡ τοῦ τρυγόνος φωνή· τουτέστιν ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· Ἰωάννης γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τρυγὼν, ὁ τοῦ φαιδροῦ ἔαρος Πρόδρομος, ὁ τὸ ἐκ ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ ἄνθος ὑποδεικνύων τὸν Ἀμνὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν αἴροντα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν κακῶν διδάσκων μετάνοιαν, καὶ τὴν κατ' ἀρετὴν πολιτείαν· Ἠκούσθη γὰρ, φησὶν, φωνὴ τοῦ τρυγόνος ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν· τάχα γῆν, τοὺς κατεγνωσμένους ἐν κακίᾳ κατονομάζων, οὓς πόρνους καὶ τελώνας τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, ἐν οἷς ἠκούσθη τοῦ Ἰωάννου ὁ λόγος, τῶν λοιπῶν οὐ παραδεξαμένων τὸ κήρυγμα· τὸ δὲ περὶ τῆς συκῆς εἰρημένον ὅτι ἐξήνεγκεν ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς, οὑτωσὶ τῷ λόγῳ κατανοήσωμεν· ἑλκητικὴ τῆς ἐν τῷ βάθει νοτίδος διαφερόντως ὑπὸ θερμότητός ἐστιν ἡ συκῆ·","english":"And the grass of the virtues was dried up by the love toward God; whence come the manifold passions, which have been brought to a head in us by the opposing powers; through which the evil shipwrecks of the soul occur; but when he came who wrought in us the spring of our souls, and rebuked the winds and the sea, all things became full of calm; and again nature comes to bloom afresh and to be adorned with its own flowers, that is, with the virtues; which now indeed flower, but in their own season will yield the fruit. It is necessary, then, in this manifold winter, to enter in and pluck from these flowers, and to fashion crowns for ourselves; for the time of their cutting has come. The voice of the turtle-dove testifies this to you; that is, the voice of one crying in the wilderness; for John is the turtle-dove, the forerunner of the radiant spring, who points out the flower from the root of Jesse, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and teaches repentance from evils and the conduct that accords with virtue. For, it says, the voice of the turtle-dove was heard in our land; perhaps naming as \"land\" those condemned in wickedness, whom the Gospel calls fornicators and tax collectors, among whom the word of John was heard, while the rest did not receive the preaching. But as for what was said about the fig tree, that it brought forth its unripe figs, let us understand it in this way: the fig tree is preeminently drawing out the moisture in its depth by heat.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"John 1:29","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “the lamb of god”, which matches John 1:29. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]},{"i":54,"ref":"p54","source":"πολλῆς δὲ κατὰ τὰς ἐντεριώνας τῆς ἰκμάδος συνισταμένης, ἀναγκαίως ἡ ῥύσις, διὰ τῆς τῶν ὑγρῶν πέψεως τῆς ἐν τῷ φυτῷ γινομένης, τὸ ἀχρεῖόν τε καὶ γεῶδες τῆς ἰκμάδος, ἐκ τῶν ἀχρημόνων ἀποσκευάζεται· πολλάκις τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἕως ἂν τὸ εἰλικρινές τε καὶ τρόφιμον ἐν τῷ καθήκοντι καιρῷ προβάλλει κεκαθαρμένον τῆς ἀχρήστου ποιότητος· τὸ τοίνυν πρὸ τοῦ γλυκέος τε καὶ τροφίμου καὶ τελείου ὑπὸ τῆς συκῆς ἐν καρπῶν εἴδει προβαλλόμενον ὄλυνθος λέγεται, ὅπερ τοῦ καρποῦ προοίμιον γίνεται, οὐκ αὐτὸ καρπός· ὁ ταῦτα τοίνυν θεασάμενος καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ὅσον οὔπω ἐκδέχεται· ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ πνευματικὸν ἔαρ ὑπογράφει τῇ Νύμφῃ ὁ λόγος· ὁ δὲ καιρὸς οὖτος μεθόριός ἐστι, τῆς τε χειμερινῆς κατηφείας, καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ θέρει τῶν καρπῶν μετουσίας· διὰ τοῦτο τὸ μὲν παρῳχηκέναι τὰ κακὰ, διαῤῥήδην εὐαγγελίζεται, τοὺς δὲ καρποὺς τῆς ἀρετῆς, οὕπω τελείως προδείκνυσιν· ἀλλὰ τούτους μὲν ἐν τῷ καθήκοντι καιρῷ ταμιεύεται, ὅταν ἐνστῇ τὸ θέρος ὅπερ ἐστὶ συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος· νῦν δὲ τὰς ἐλπίδας δείκνυσι διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀνθούσας, ὧν ὁ καρπὸς ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ καιρῷ προφαίνεται· τῆς τοίνυν ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως κατὰ τὴν μνημονευθεῖσαν ἐνταῦθα συκῆν, πολλὴν διὰ τοῦ νοηθέντος ἡμῖν χειμῶνος τὴν κακὴν ἰκμάδα συλλεξαμένης· καὶ ὡς τὸ ψυχικὸν ἔαρ ἐργασάμενος, πρῶτον μὲν ἐκβάλλει τῆς φύσεως πᾶν ὅσον γεῶδες καὶ ἄχρηστον, ἀντὶ ἀχρημόνων δι' ἐξομολογήσεως ἀποσκευάζων τὰ περιπτώματα, εἶθ' οὕτω χαρακτῆρά τινα τῆς ἐλπιζομένης μακαριότητος διὰ τῆς ἀστειοτέρας ζωῆς ἐπιβάλλων τῷ βίῳ, οἷόν τισιν ὀλύνθοις, τὴν μέλλουσαν γλυκύτητα τῶν συκῶν εὐαγγελίζεται·","english":"When much moisture has gathered in the inner parts, of necessity the flow, through the digestion of the fluids taking place in the plant, sets aside the useless and earthy part of the moisture from the unserviceable elements; it does this often, until the pure and nourishing part, in due season, puts forth what has been cleansed of the useless quality. That which, before the sweet and nourishing and perfect fruit, is put forth by the fig tree in the form of fruit is called the early fig, which is a prelude of the fruit, not itself the fruit. He, then, who has seen these things also awaits the fruit as now near. Since, therefore, the Word describes the spiritual spring to the Bride, and this season is a boundary between the wintry gloom and the participation in the fruits in summer, for this reason he clearly announces as good news that the evils have passed away, but he does not yet fully display the fruits of virtue; rather he stores these up for the due season, when the summer has come, which is the consummation of the age. But now he shows the hopes flourishing through the virtues, whose fruit appears in its own season. Since, therefore, human nature, in the case of the fig tree mentioned here, has gathered much evil moisture through the winter that has been understood by us, and as one who has wrought the spiritual spring, first it casts out of its nature all that is earthy and useless, setting aside its falls instead of unserviceable elements through confession, and then in this way, imposing on its life a certain impress of the hoped-for blessedness through a more refined manner of living, as by certain early figs, it announces beforehand the coming sweetness of the figs.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":55,"ref":"p55","source":"οὕτω νόησον καὶ τὴν κυπρίζουσαν ἄμπελον· ἧς ὁ μὲν οἶνος ὁ τὴν καρδίαν εὐφραίνων, πληρώσει ποτὲ τὸν τῆς σοφίας κρατῆρα, καὶ προκείσεται τοῖς συμπόταις εἰς ἀπολαυσιν· νῦν μέν τοι κυπρίζει διὰ τοῦ ἄνθους ἡ ἄμπελος· ταῦτα προδείκνυσι τῇ Νύμφῃ ὁ λόγος τοῦ καλοῦ τῶν ψυχῶν ἔαρος τὰ γνωρίσματα· καὶ ἐπισπεύδει πρὸς τὴν τῶν προκειμένων ἀπόλαυσιν, διεγείρων αὐτὴν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ φησιν. {Νείλου.} Τὸ ἀνάστα, καλοῦντός ἐστι καὶ διεγείροντος· ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν κατὰ τὸν νόμον ταπεινῶν παραγγελμάτων, ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλότερα μαθήματα τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν παραδόσεων αὐτὴν διεγείρων καλεῖ· κατάλιπε, φησὶν, τὸν νηπιώδη νόμον, τὸν τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων κωλύοντα, καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐπὶ τὴν χάριν τὴν ἐκκόπτουσαν καὶ τὸ φαῦλον ἐνθύμιον· ἀνάστα ἀπὸ τῶν γηΐνων, πρόκοψον ἐπὶ τὰ οὐράνια· ἀνάστα ἀπὸ τῶν τύπων, πορεύθητι ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἀνάστηθι ἀπὸ τοῦ στοιχειώδους νόμου, φθάσον ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα· χειμῶνα λέγει τὸν τοῦ πάθους καιρὸν, ἐν ᾧ πάντες ἐχειμάσθησαν τῷ τῆς ἀπιστίας πνεύματι· καὶ γὰρ καὶ αἰσθητὸς χειμὼν ἦν κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐκεῖνον· οὗ παρελθόντος ὁ ὑετὸς ὁ προφητικὸς, καὶ ὁ νομικὸς λόγος ἐπαύσατο· τῆς γὰρ φωνῆς","english":"Understand the vine that is putting forth its fragrant blossom in this way too: its wine, which gladdens the heart, will one day fill the bowl of wisdom and be set before the feasters for their enjoyment; but for now the vine is fragrant through its blossom. These things the Word prefigures to the Bride—the marks of the fair spring of souls—and he hastens her toward the enjoyment of what lies before her, rousing her by his word and saying: {Of the Nile.} The phrase \"Arise\" belongs to one who calls and rouses; for from the lowly commandments of the law he calls her, rousing her to the higher teachings of the gospel traditions. Leave behind, he says, the childish law, which hinders the working of sins, and come to the grace that cuts off even the base thought. Arise from earthly things, advance to heavenly things; arise from types, journey to the truth; rise up from the elementary law, reach out to perfection. He calls the season of passion \"winter,\" in which all were storm-tossed by the spirit of unbelief; for there was also a perceptible winter at that time. When it had passed, the prophetic rain and the word of the law ceased; for of the voice","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":56,"ref":"p56","source":"τοῦ τρυγόνος ἀκουσθείσης τῆς λεγούσης· \"Δεῦτε πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς,\" οὐκ ἔτι ἦν χρεία τοῦ καταβαίνοντος ὡς ὑετοῦ ἀποφθέγματος νομικοῦ λόγου· καὶ τῶν ἀνθέων ὀφθέντων ἐν τῇ γῇ τῶν ἐν τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν, καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἔφθακε τῆς ἀποβολῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων· καὶ ἡ συκῆ ἢν κόψαι διὰ τὸ μὴ φέρειν καρπὸν ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ἐκέλευσεν, τοὺς τῆς μετανοίας ἐξήνθησεν ὀλύνθους, μετὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν Χριστοῦ, τὰ τῆς ἰδιωτικῆς διδασκαλίας δεξαμένη κόπρια· καὶ ἡ ἄμπελος δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀμπέλου μεταφυτευθεῖσα ἐκ τοῦ κυπρισμοῦ ἔδωκεν ὀσμὴν, οἱ λέγοντες τοῦ Χριστοῦ· Εὐωδία ἐσμὲν τῷ Θεῷ ἐν τοῖς σωζομένοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις· καὶ αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, καὶ τὸν λόγον ἐθαύμαζον τοῦ κηρύγματος, καὶ τῶν σημείων ἐξεπλήσσοντο τὴν δύναμιν. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἢ καὶ τὸ τῆς τομῆς ἔφη τοῦ νοητοῦ θερισμοῦ· περὶ οὗ ὁ Σωτήρ φησιν· \"Ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς.\" {Ὠριγένους. Ἀνάστα}, φησὶν, κ.τ.λ. {Ἄλλως.} Καὶ τρυγόνος λέγει τῆς ἀποῤῥήτου καὶ ἀγνώστου σοφίας· φιλέρημον γὰρ τὸ ζῶον, ἧς ἡ φωνὴ ἀκούεται τοῖς ἔτι γήϊνον σῶμα περικειμένοις· τομῆς καιρὸς, ὁ τῆς τῶν περιττῶν ἀποθέσεως, οὗτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας, ἐν ὧ δεῖ τὰ σωματικὰ τοῦ νόμου, καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἱστορίας, περιπεφυκότα τοῖς πνευματικοῖς περιτέμνεσθαι καὶ μεῖναι τὰ κρείττονα· καιρὸς δὲ πάλιν καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀμαρτημάτων ἐκκοπῆς καὶ ἀφέσεως διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας· καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς εἰ ὁ Νυμφίος ὡς περὶ ἑτέρου λέγει τοῦ τρυγόνος, πολλαχοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο ἔθος τῆς Γραφῆς ἐστι. ιδʹ.","english":"When the turtledove was heard saying, \"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest,\" there was no longer any need of the legal word's utterance descending like rain; and when the flowers appeared in the land—the holy men within Christianity—the time of the cutting had arrived, of the casting off of the Jews; and the fig tree, which the householder ordered to be cut down because it bore no fruit, put forth its shoots of repentance after the coming of Christ, having received the dung of private instruction; and the vine too, transplanted from the true vine, gave forth fragrance from its pruning, those who say of Christ: We are a sweet fragrance to God among those being saved and among those perishing; for even those who disbelieve the Gospel marveled at the word of the proclamation and were struck by the power of the signs. {Of Cyril.} Or he called it the time of the cutting of the spiritual harvest, about which the Savior says, \"The harvest is plentiful.\" {Of Origen.} \"Arise,\" he says, etc. {Otherwise.} And he calls it the turtledove of the secret and unknown wisdom; for the creature is fond of solitude, whose voice is heard by those still clothed in an earthly body; the time of cutting is the time of the setting aside of superfluous things, and this is the time of his own coming, in which the bodily things of the law and the histories in the prophets, which have grown around the spiritual things, must be cut away and the better things remain; and again it is the time of the cutting off and remission of sins through the washing of regeneration; and do not wonder if the Bridegroom speaks of the turtledove as of another, for this is the custom of Scripture in many places. 14.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":57,"ref":"p57","source":"Ἀνάστα, ἐλθὲ, ἡ πλησίον μου, καλή μου, περιστερά μου· καὶ ἐλθὲ σὺ περιστερά μου ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχείσματος· δεῖξον μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου, καὶ ἀκούτισόν με τὴν φωνήν σου· ὄτι ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὡραία. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἡ πέτρα ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἡμῖν τεῖχος γίνεται τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ σκέπη, καὶ πᾶσα ἀσφάλεια διὰ τοῦ προτειχίσματος δηλουμένη· ἔνθα γενομένη, φησὶ, τεύξῃ πάσης ἐπικουρίας. 1608 {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Ἢ καὶ τείχισμα, τὸν ἐντὸς ἄνθρωπον· προτείχισμα δὲ τὸν ἐκτὸς, ὅπερ Ἀκύλας ἐν ἀποκρύφοις ἐκδέδωκεν· ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἐνεργεῖσθαι κελεύει Χριστός. {Γρηγορίου.} Οὔτε τῆς τοιαύτης ἀναστάσεως, οὔτε τοῦ τοιούτου δρόμου πέρας ἐστίν· ἀεί τε γὰρ ἀνίστασθαι χρὴ, καὶ μηδέποτε τῷ Θεῷ προσεγγίζοντας παύεσθαι. Ὁσάκις οὖν λέγει τό· Ἀνάστηθι καὶ ἐλθὲ, τοσαυτάκις τῆς πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀναστάσεως τὴν δύναμιν δίδωσιν· ὡς ἐκ καλῆς γενέσθαι καλὴν, καὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν μεταμορφοῦσθαι· οὕτω τοίνυν περιστερὰν οὖσαν ἐν τοῖς προκατορθωμένοις, οὐδὲν ἧττον περιστερὰν αὐτὴν πάλιν διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταμορφώσεως γενέσθαι διακελεύεται· λέγει γὰρ, δεῦρο σεαυτῇ περιστερά μου, τοὐτέστι μηκέτι πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐφελκομένων βλέπειν σπουδὴν, ἀλλ' ὁδηγὸν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔχειν· δεῦρο γὰρ, φησὶ, σεαυτῇ τοῖς ἰδίοις λογισμοῖς τὴν πρὸς τὸ καλὸν προθυμίαν ἐπιῤῥώσασα· οὐκ ἀνάγκης καθηγουμένης· ἀδέσποτον γὰρ ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἑκούσιον, καὶ ἀνάγκης πάσης ἐλεύθερον·","english":"Rise up, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove; and come, you my dove, in the shelter of the rock, close by the outer wall; show me your face, and let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is beautiful. {Of Cyril.} The rock is Christ; for he himself becomes a wall for us who believe, and a shelter, and every safety is signified by the outer wall; having come there, he says, you will obtain every assistance. {Of Apollinaris.} Or else the wall is the inner man, and the outer wall is the outer man, which Aquila rendered as \"in secret places\"; in which Christ also commands that prayers be performed. {Of Gregory.} Of such a resurrection, and of such a course, there is no end; for one must always rise up, and never cease drawing near to God. As often, then, as he says, \"Rise up and come,\" so often does he give the power of resurrection toward what is better; so that from being beautiful she becomes beautiful, and according to the Apostle the same image is transformed from glory to glory; thus, then, though she was a dove in her former achievements, he commands her to become a dove again none the less through transformation toward what is better; for he says, \"Come to yourself, my dove,\" that is, no longer look with eagerness upon the things that draw you away, but have your own desire as a guide toward what is better; for \"come,\" he says, \"to yourself,\" strengthening in your own reasonings the eagerness for the good; not with necessity leading the way; for virtue is without a master and voluntary, and free from all necessity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":58,"ref":"p58","source":"καὶ εἰ ἐγυμνάσθης, ὦ ψυχὴ, τῷ νόμῳ, εἰ τὰς διὰ τῶν προφητικῶν θυρίδων αὐγὰς τῇ διανοίᾳ τεθέασαι, μηκέτι ὑπὸ τὴν τοῦ νομικοῦ τοίχου σκιὰν μένε· ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν πέτραν, ἥτις ἐστὶ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. ἀπὸ τούτου μετάβηθι· ἔχεται γὰρ ἡ πέτρα τοῦ προτειχίσματος· ἐπειδὴ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πίστεως ὁ νόμος προτείχισμα γέγονε, καὶ ἔχεται ἀλλήλων τὰ δόγματα γειτνιῶντα κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν· πλὴν ὅτι πνευματικὴ μὲν ἡ πέτρα, χοϊκὸς δὲ ὁ τεῖχος ᾧ συμπέπλασται τὸ σωματικὸν καὶ γεῶδες· ἡ δὲ εὐαγγελικὴ πέτρα, τὸ σαρκῶδες τῶν νοημάτων πηλὸν οὐκ ἔχει· καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον Παῦλον, ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστιν· ὁ γὰρ οὕτως ἐκλαμβάνων τὸν νόμον πνευματικῶς, ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς γίνεται πέτρας, τὴν ἐχομένην τοῦ σωματικοῦ προτειχίσματος. Ταῦτα διὰ τῶν θυρίδων τοῦ λόγου ἐμβοήσαντος, ἀποκρίνεται ἡ περιστερὰ ἡ περιλαμφθεῖσα διὰ τῆς τῶν νοημάτων αὐγῆς, καὶ τὴν πέτραν νοήσασα\n\nτὸν Χριστὸν, καί φησι· Δεῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου· μηκέτι διὰ τῶν παλαιῶν αἰνιγμάτων διαλεγόμενος· ὡς δὲ ἰδεῖν δύναμαι, δεῖξόν μοι σαυτὸν ἐμφανῶς ὡς ἂν ἐντός σου γένωμαι τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πέτρας, καταλιποῦσα τὸ τοῦ νόμου προτείχισμα· εἰ γὰρ ἡ διὰ τῶν θυρίδων φωνὴ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἐρασμία, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἡ κατὰ πρόσωπον; {Νείλου.} Ἐν τοῖς πρὸ τούτων ἀναστήσας αὐτὴν, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐσήμανε τόπον ἔνθα ἤκειν αὐτὴν ἐκέλευσε, νῦν πάλιν καλεῖ αὐτὴν καὶ τὸν τόπον δηλῶν· ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἦν ἐρωτήσασα τὸν Νυμφίον, Ποῦ ποιμαίνεις, ποῦ κοιτάζεις, καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίνατο τότε, νῦν γνωρίζει τὸν τόπον αὐτῇ τῆς νομῆς· ἵνα ὅπερ ἐκείνη ἔλεγε γένηται ὡς περιβαλλομένη ἐπ' ἀγέλαις ἑταίρων·","english":"And if you, O soul, have been stripped bare by the law, if you have beheld with your mind the rays that come through the prophetic windows, no longer remain under the shadow of the legal wall; but come to the rock, which is the Gospel. Depart from this; for the rock is close to the outer wall, since the law has become an outer wall for the evangelical faith, and the doctrines are close to one another, neighboring according to their power; except that the rock is spiritual, while the wall is earthy, with which the bodily and earthly has been compacted; but the evangelical rock does not have the mud of fleshly thoughts; and according to the apostle Paul, the law is spiritual; for the one who thus receives the law spiritually comes under the shelter of the evangelical rock, which is close to the bodily outer wall. When the Word had cried these things through the windows, the dove, illuminated by the ray of the thoughts, answers, and having understood the rock\n\nto be Christ, she says: Show me your face; no longer speaking through the old riddles; but as I am able to see, show yourself to me openly, so that I may come within you, the evangelical rock, having left behind the outer wall of the law; for if the voice through the windows is so lovely, how much more the one face to face? {Of Nilus.} In the passages before these, having raised her up, since he did not indicate the place where he commanded her to come, now again he calls her and makes the place clear; for since she had asked the Bridegroom, Where do you shepherd, where do you rest, and he did not answer then, now he makes known to her the place of the pasture; so that what she said may come to pass, as one wrapped in garments among the flocks of companions.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":59,"ref":"p59","source":"Ἐλθὲ λέγων ἐπὶ σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας τῆς σημαινούσης Χριστόν· ἐφ' ἧς ἴχνος κακίας ὁ ὄφις ποιῆσαι οὐ δύναται· ἵνα σκεπαζομένη ἐν τῇ σκέπῃ ταύτης τῆς πέτρας μηδὲν αὐτῇ δέξηται ἐν τῷ διανοητικῷ παρὰ τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων ἴχνος πονηρίας· καὶ ἐχόμενα δὲ τοῦ προτειχίσματος αὐτὴν κα λεῖ, ἐκεῖ βουλόμενος ἀκοῦσαι διὰ τῆς ἡδείας αὐτῆς φωνῆς, καὶ κατανοῆσαι τὸ ὡραῖον αὐτῆς πρόσωπον. Φωνὴ δὲ ἡδεῖά ἐστιν, ἠθικῶς μὲν, σεμνοὶ λόγοι καὶ χάριν διδόντες τοῖς ἀκούουσι· δογματικῶς δὲ, ἡ τοῦ ἐν σταυρῷ βοῶντος λῃστοῦ, \"Μνήσθητί μου, Κύριε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου.\" Ὅθεν πρὸς μὲν τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν φησὶν, Ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα βοῶσα διὰ τῆς ἀπαρχῆς τοῦ λῃστοῦ τὸ, Μνήσθητι· πρὸς δὲ τὴν Συναγωγὴν τὴν λέγουσαν, Σταύρωσον, ἢν καὶ μισεῖ, φησὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· ὀψὲ φωνὴν αὐτῆς ὠλόλυξε, \"Καὶ ἔδωκεν ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῆς, διὰ τοῦτο ἐμίσησα αὐτήν·\" Ὄψις δέ ἐστιν ὠραία, ἡ ἐκ τῆς εἰρηνικῆς καταστάσεως γαληνιάζουσα· Δεῖξόν μοι οὖν, φησὶν, τὴν ὄψιν σου, καὶ ἀκούτισόν με τὴν φωνήν σου· καὶ ἤθει καὶ λόγῳ πρὸς ἐμὴν κοσμουμένη ἀρέσκειαν, καὶ κάλλος πράξεων καὶ ἐπιμέλειαν δογμάτων σύμφωνον ἐπιδεικνυμένη εἰ δέ τις εἴπῃ τεῖχος τὸν νόμον, προτείχισμα τὸν φυσικὸν ἐρεῖ νόμον, οὗ ἐχόμενά ἐστιν ἡ πέτρα· μᾶλλον γὰρ τοῦ ῥητοῦ νόμου ὁ φυσικὸς πλησιαίτερος ὢν, τυγχάνει Χριστοῦ· ἐν ᾧ πολιτευσάμενοι οἱ ἁγίοι εὐηρέστησαν τῷ Θεῷ· φυσικαῖς ὁρμαῖς γνῶντες τὸ δίκαιον· καὶ διδάσκαλοι τῶν καθηκόντων αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοῖς γενόμενοι· καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δέ φησι, \"Νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθε,\" τὴν ἀρχαίαν καὶ τὴν ὑστάτην μίαν οὖσαν μεσολαβήσας πολιτείαν.","english":"Saying, \"Come to the shelter of the rock that signifies Christ, on which the serpent cannot set a footprint of evil, so that, sheltered under this rock's shelter, she may receive in her intellect no trace of wickedness from the opposing powers.\" And he calls her to the things adjoining the outer wall, wishing there to hear through her sweet voice and to behold her beautiful face. A sweet voice is, in the ethical sense, reverent words that bestow grace on those who hear; in the doctrinal sense, it is the voice of the robber who cried out on the cross: \"Remember me, Lord, when you come in your kingdom.\" Hence he says to the Church, \"Your voice is sweet,\" crying out through the firstfruits of the robber, \"Remember me\"; but to the Synagogue that says, \"Crucify,\" which he also hates, he says through the prophet: \"Late did she wail aloud her voice: 'And she gave her voice against me, therefore I hated her.'\" A beautiful face is one that is calm from a peaceful condition. \"Show me,\" then, he says, \"your face, and let me hear your voice,\" adorned in character and word for my pleasing, and displaying a beauty of deeds and a diligence of doctrines in harmony. But if someone calls the law a wall, he will call the natural law an outer wall, adjoining which is the rock; for the natural law, being nearer than the written law, happens to be of Christ, in which the saints, having lived as citizens, pleased God, knowing the just by natural impulses, and themselves becoming their own teachers of what is fitting. And Paul also says, \"The law entered in besides,\" having interposed the ancient and the final way of life, which are one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":60,"ref":"p60","source":"{Ὠριγένους.} Βούλεται τὴν ψυχὴν, κ.τ.λ. ιεʹ. Πιάσατε ἡμῖν ἀλώπεκας μικροὺς ἀφανίζοντας ἀμπελῶνας· καὶ οἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν κυπρίζουσιν. {Γρηγορίου.} Τὰ προγεγραμμένα τῆς Νύμφης εἰπούσης, καὶ τῆς εὐχῆς αὐτῆς πρὸς τὸν Νυμφίον κατευοδωθείσης. Μέλλων αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐμφανῆ καθιστᾷν, πρῶτον τοὺς θηρευτὰς παρορμᾷ, εἴτε ἀγγελικάς τινας δυνάμεις, εἴτε καὶ ἀποστόλους, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀλωπέκων ἄγραν, αἵ τινές εἰσιν ἀποστατικαὶ δυνάμεις, διὰ τὸ δολερὸν οὕτω κατονομασθεῖσαι· μικροὺς μὲν ὄντας ἤδη τῇ δυνάμει τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀφανιστικοὺς δὲ τῶν ἀμπελώνων ὑπάρχοντας· ὡς μηκέτι τὸν ἀμπελῶνα τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν δι' αὐτῶν πρὸς κυπρισμὸν καὶ βοτρύων φορὰν ἐμποδίζεσθαι, εἴτ' οὖν τὴν διαγωγὴν τῆς ἐναρέτου πολιτείας· τούτου γὰρ γενομένου, μεταχωρεῖ τὰ δύο εἰς ἄλληλα· ὅ τε γὰρ Θεὸς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ γίνεται, καὶ πάλιν εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἡ ψυχὴ μετοικίζεται· εἶδεν οὖν ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ κελεύσαντος ἑαυτὴν, τῆς ἐκ τῶν θηρίων λύμης τούτων κεκαθαρμένην, ἡ ὡς ἄμπελος εὐθύνουσα Νύμφη, καὶ εὐθὺς δίδωσιν ἑαυτὴν τῷ γεωργῷ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσαντι· οὐκ ἔτι γὰρ τῷ τοίχῳ τοῦ νόμου πρὸς τὴν συνάφειαν τοῦ ποθουμένου διατειχίζεται, ἀλλά φησι. Τοῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τροφίμοις προτάσσει λοιπὸν τοῖς ἔτι τὸ ἄνθος ἐπιδεικνυμένοις τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ δυναμένοις εὐχερῶς ἀδικηθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν· οὐχ οὔτω γὰρ ἀνδρυνθεῖσα βλάπτεται ἡ ἄμπελος ὡς ἐν προοιμίοις ἐπιβουλευομένη·","english":"{Of Origen.} He means the soul, etc. 15. Catch for us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards; and our vineyards are in bloom. {Of Gregory.} When the Bride had spoken the things written before, and her prayer to the Bridegroom had prospered, he, being about to make himself manifest, first urges on the hunters—whether certain angelic powers or also apostles—to the hunt of the foxes, which are apostate powers, so named because of their guile; they are already small in the power of the grace of Christ, yet they are destroyers of the vineyards; so that the vineyard, that is, human nature, is no longer hindered by them from blooming and bearing clusters—that is, from the conduct of a life of virtue. For when this has happened, the two pass over into each other: for God comes to be in the soul, and again the soul is transplanted into God. She saw herself, then, in the power of him who commanded, cleansed from the pestilence of these beasts—the Bride who, like a vine, keeps straight—and at once she gives herself to the husbandman who has loosed the middle wall of the fence; for she is no longer walled off by the wall of the law from union with the beloved, but she says: She now sets before the nurslings of the Church those who still display the flower of virtue and can easily be wronged by the passions; for the vine is not so harmed when it has grown to maturity as when it is plotted against in its beginnings.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":61,"ref":"p61","source":"ὡς γὰρ ἡ ἀνθοῦσα σταφυλὴ ἐὰν τιναχθῇ, ἀφίησι μὲν τὰς ῥάγας ἀσθενῶν ἐπὶ τῶν στεμφύλων ἐξηρτημένων, οὕτως ἄωρος ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν κλονηθεῖσα ἡ ἀρετὴ, πρὸς ἀκμὴν τῆς τελειότητος οὐκ ἔρχεται· τῶν πεπανθῆναι ὀφειλόντων ἐπιτηδευμάτων\n\nδιαῤῥυέντων, πρὸ τῆς βεβηκυίας καὶ ἑκτικῆς καταστάσεως· κενοδοξίᾳ γὰρ λυμαίνεσθαι πέφυκε τὸ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἄνθος· καὶ ἀλαζονεία τοῖς ἀρχομένοις τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐμπόδιον γίνεται προκοπῆς, τὰς βελτιώσεις τῇ οἰήσει ἀποτινάσσουσα, καὶ ἐν ἄνθει μαραινόμενον ἐμφανίζουσα τὸν καρπόν· συμβουλεύει τοίνυν ὁ λόγος, ἔτι μικρὰς πιάσαι ἀλώπεκας· τουτέστιν ἁπαλῶν ἔτι κρατῆσαι καὶ ἀσθενῶν τῶν παθῶν, πρὶν ἕξις δυσμετακίνητος τὸ ἔθος γένηται τοῦ κακοῦ· ἢ τοῦτο οὖν ἐστι τὸ λεγόμενον κατὰ τὴν εἰρημένην διαίρεσιν, ἢ διαιροῦντας ἀναγνῶναι, μικροὺς ἀφανίζον ἀμπελῶνας· εἴτουν κρατῆσαι καὶ πιάσαι τὰς ἀλώπεκας ἔτι μικρῶν οὐσῶν τῶν ἀμπελώνων· μεγάλους γὰρ ἀφανίζειν ἀμπελῶνας αἱ ἀλώπεκες οὐ δύνανται, ἐν ἕξει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ γενομένους· καὶ γὰρ τῶν μικρῶν ἴδιον τὸ σκανδαλίζεσθαι· ὥσπερ δὲ ἐπιτείνων τὴν ἐκ τοῦ φόβου ἀπορίαν, φησί· καὶ αἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν κυπρίζουσιν· οὐ μόνον γὰρ ἔοικε δεδοικέναι, ὅτι τρυφεροὶ καὶ νεοπαγεῖς εἰσιν οἱ ἀμπελῶνες μικροὶ τυγχάνοντες, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ πρὸς κυπρισμὸν εὐχείρωτοι ταῖς ἐκτινασσούσαις τὸ ἄνθος ἐν ταῖς ἀλώπεξιν· τοιοῦτον ἐκτιναγμὸν οἶδεν ἡ Γραφή· περὶ ὧν φησιν, \"Οὕτως υἱοὶ τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων·\" οὓς Παῦλος κλάδους ἐκκεκλασμένους ἐλαίας καλεῖ· ὁ δὲ Δαβὶδ χόρτον δωμάτων· ὁ δὲ Κύριος, κλῆμα ἔξω τῆς ἀμπέλου βεβλημένον, τὸ ἄκαρπον καὶ ἀπόβλητον αὐτῶν αἰνιττόμενος.","english":"For just as a grape in bloom, if it is shaken, lets fall its berries while the weak ones remain hanging on the husks, so virtue, shaken prematurely by the passions, does not come to the full flower of perfection, since the pursuits that ought to have ripened have slipped away before a stable and settled condition; for vainglory is by nature wont to mar the flower of the virtues, and boastfulness becomes a hindrance to progress for those who are beginning the worship of God, shaking off their improvements by conceit and showing the fruit withered even in its flower. The Word therefore counsels us to catch the little foxes while they are still small—that is, to master the passions while they are still tender and weak, before habit becomes a disposition hard to change in evil. Either, then, this is what is meant according to the division stated, or, reading it as dividing, \"that destroy the little vineyards\"—that is, to master and catch the foxes while the vineyards are still small; for foxes cannot destroy great vineyards, those that have come into a settled state of the good; for it is characteristic of the small to be caused to stumble. And as if intensifying the perplexity born of fear, she says: and our vineyards are in bloom; for she seems to fear not only that the vineyards are delicate and newly planted, being small, but also that they are easily caught for blossoming by the foxes that shake off the flower. The Scripture knows such a shaking off; concerning which it says, \"So are the sons of those who have been shaken off,\" whom Paul calls branches broken off from the olive; and David, grass on the housetops; and the Lord, a branch cast outside the vine, hinting at their fruitlessness and rejection.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":62,"ref":"p62","source":"{Ὠριγένους.} Ταῦτα τοῖς φίλοις ὁ Νυμφίος, κ. τ.λ. ι ʹ, ιζʹ. Ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ αὐτῷ, ὁ ποιμένων ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις, ἔως οὗ διαπνεύσῃ ἡμέρα καὶ κινηθῶσιν αἱ σκιαί. {Γρηγορίου.} Εἶδον γὰρ αὐτὸν, φησὶν, πρὸς πρόσωπον, τὸν ἀεὶ μὲν ὄντα, δι' ἐμὲ δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀδελφῆς μου τῆς Συναγωγῆς ἀνθρωπικῶς ἀνατείλαντα· καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀναπαύομαι καὶ γίνομαι αὐτῷ κατοικητήριον· ὃς οὐ χόρτον ποιεῖται τὴν τῶν ποιμνίων νομὴν, ἀλλὰ καθαροῖς κρίνοις τρέφει τὰ πρόβατα, τουτέστι θείοις λογίοις· ὅπως ἂν οἱ τῇ καθαρᾷ τε καὶ εὐπνοούσῃ ταύτῃ τροφῇ τὴν ψυχὴν πιαινόμενοι, πᾶσάν τε καὶ σκιοειδῆ φαντασίαν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον σπουδαζομένων ἑαυτῶν ἀποστήσαντες, ἃς σκιὰς ὁ λόγος ὠνόμασε, ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ Πνεύματος ἀκτῖσι, πρὸς τὴν ἀληθεινὴν τῶν πραγμάτων ὑπόστασιν διαβλέψωσιν, υἱοὶ φωτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας γενόμενοι· ταῦτα φθέγγεται ἡ ψυχὴ, ἢν ποιμαίνει ὁ λόγος, οὐκ ἐν ἀκάνθαις τισὶν ἢ χόρτοις, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ εὐοσμίᾳ τῶν κρίνων τῆς καθαρᾶς πολιτείας, καὶ κατεπείγει τὸν λόγον διὰ τάχους εἰς ἔργον προάγειν τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἐλπίδα. {Νείλου.} Μόνῳ ἑαυτὴν ἀνατίθησι τῷ Νυμφίῳ, καὶ τὸν Νυμφίον πάλιν μόνης ἑαυτῆς λέγει, διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν κατορθωμάτων οἰκειότητα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα ἑαυτῆς οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ δέδωκε, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ ἐκείνης σώματι ἐνανθρωπήσας γεγένηται· ποιμαίνοντα δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις, τὰς ἀμερίμνους λέγει ψυχὰς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ποιμαίνεσθαι σημαίνουσα, ὡς τῶν περισπωμένων ὑπὸ τῆς σωματικῆς ἀσχολίας ἔξω τῆς τούτου ποιμαντικῆς ὄντων.","english":"Origen. The Bridegroom says these things to the friends, etc. 10, 17. My beloved is mine, and I am his, who shepherds among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows are moved. Gregory. For I saw him, she says, face to face, him who always is, but for my sake rose in a human way from my sister the Synagogue; and in him I rest and become a dwelling-place for him; who does not make grass the pasture of the flocks, but feeds the sheep with pure lilies, that is, with divine oracles; so that those fattened in soul by this pure and sweet-smelling food, having put away from themselves every shadowy fantasy of the things pursued in this life—which the word called shadows—may look through by the rays of the Spirit of God to the true substance of things, having become sons of light and of day. These things the soul speaks, which the Word shepherds, not among thorns or grasses, but in the fragrance of the lilies of a pure conduct, and it urges the Word to bring the hope of good things swiftly into action. Nilus. She dedicates herself to the Bridegroom alone, and she says the Bridegroom is again hers alone, because of the intimacy that comes from her right actions. For since she gave her body not to fornication but to the Lord, for this reason the Lord also, having become man, has become hers in her body; and she says that he shepherds among the lilies, signifying that the untroubled souls are shepherded by him, since those distracted by bodily business are outside his shepherding.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":63,"ref":"p63","source":"Ποιμαίνει δὲ ἐν κρίνοις οὐ διὰ παντὸς, ἀλλ' ἕως τοῦ διαπνεῦσαι τὴν μέλλουσαν ἡμέραν, καὶ κινηθῆναι τὰς σκιὰς τῶν παρόντων πραγμάτων. Ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, πεποιηκὼς ὁ ποιμαίνων τὰ ἄνθη ἔδειξεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τόπῳ κρίνων, ἀλλ' αὐτὰ τὰ κρίνα ποιμαίνει τὰς ἀμερίμνους ψυχὰς, καὶ τῶν γηΐνων οὐ φροντιζούσας, καθὼς ἀποδέδοται. Ἔφαμεν δὲ ἀνωτέρω ἄνθη λέγεσθαι, τοὺς ἐν τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ ἀνθήσαντας ἁγίους· καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὗν ταῦτα ποιμαίνει τὰ ἄνθη· καὶ τὸ κινηθῶσι δὲ αἱ σκιαὶ, τὴν τῶν νομικῶν ἔργων περιαίρεσιν σημαίνει, σκιὰς ὑπὸ τοῦ Παύλου πολλάκις εἰρημένας. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἡ Νύμφη πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους τοῦ Νυμφίου φησίν, κ.τ.λ. Ἀπόστρεψον, ὁμοιώθητι, σὺ ἀδελφιδέ μου, τῇ δορκάδι ἢ νεβρῷ ἐλάφων ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τῶν κοιλωμάτων. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἀπόστρεψον τῶν κακῶν τὴν φοράν· ἴδε ὡς δορκὰς ὁ τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων βλέπων· ἀφάνισον τὴν γονὴν τῆς κακίας ὡς νεβρὸς ἐλάφων ἐξαναλίσκων τὸ γένος τοῦ ὄφεως· ὁρᾷς γὰρ τὰ κοῖλα τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου βίου· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ὑψούμενον βάραθρόν ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ὄρος, κοίλωμα, καὶ οὐκ ἀνάστημα· ἐὰν οὖν ἐπιδράμῃς ἐπὶ ταῦτα, φησὶν, πᾶσα","english":"He shepherds among the lilies, not forever, but until the coming day breathes and the shadows of present things are moved. But Symmachus, having rendered it \"he who shepherds the flowers,\" showed that it is not in a place of lilies, but the lilies themselves that he shepherds—the carefree souls, and those that take no thought for earthly things, just as it has been explained. And we said above that \"flowers\" are spoken of as the saints who have blossomed in Christianity; and here, then, he shepherds these flowers. And the phrase \"that the shadows be moved\" signifies the removal of the works of the law, which are often called shadows by Paul. Origen. The Bride says to the companions of the Bridegroom, etc. Turn away, be made like, you my beloved, to a gazelle or to a young hart among the mountains of the hollows. Gregory. Turn away the rush of evils; see as a gazelle does, you who look upon the thoughts of human beings; destroy the offspring of evil as a young hart, consuming the race of the serpent; for you see the hollows of human life; for everything that is exalted against the truth is a abyss and not a mountain, a hollow and not a height; if, then, you run upon these things, he says, every","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":64,"ref":"p64","source":"φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται, καὶ πᾶν τὸ τοιοῦτον ὄρος ταπεινωθήσεται. {Νείλου.} Πῶς ἤδη εἰποῦσα ὅτι Ὅμοιός ἐστιν ὁ ἀδελφιδός μου τῷ δόρκωνι, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, νῦν πάλιν φησὶν, Ἀπόστρεψον οὐκ ἐπὶ ὄρη Βαιθὴλ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ ὄρη κοιλωμάτων. Τὸ μὲν ὡς ἤδη γενόμενον εἰποῦσα, τὸ δὲ προστακτικῶς ἀναλαβεῖν αὐτὸν παρακελευομένη· ἀλλὰ μήποτε ἡ διαφορὰ τῆς τῶν ὀρῶν ὀνομασίας ἐν οἷς γίνεται λύει τὸ ἀπορούμενον; ἐκεῖ γὰρ εἶπεν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Βαιθὴλ, ἐνταῦθα δὲ, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη κοιλωμάτων· τάχα οὖν, τὸ μὲν σημαίνει τὸν περίγειον τόπον, τὸ δὲ τὸν ᾅδην, ἀπὸ τῆς κοιλότητος· ὡς εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτον. Ἤδη μὲν φύσει ὡμοιώθης, ὦ Νυμφίε, τῷ δόρκωνι καὶ νεβρῷ ἐλάφων ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Βαιθὴλ, εὐεργετήσας τοὺς τῇδε, καὶ τὰς ἐναντίας δυνάμεις ὑποτάξας· λείπεται δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν καταχθονίῳ τόπῳ κατεχομένους διὰ τὸν ἐπὶ πάντας βασιλεύσαντα θάνατον ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς σῆς εὐεργεσίας, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ κρατούσας δυνάμεις τῇ ὀσφρήσει καθάπερ ἔλαφος ἀνιμησάμενος κατάργησον. {Ὠριγένους.} Τὰ πρότερα πρὸς τὰς νεάνιδας εἶπεν ἡ Νύμφη, κ.τ.λ. {Φίλωνος.} Ἢ καὶ ἀπόστρεψον ἀπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων εἰς τὰ ἔθνη. Ὄρη δὲ τοὺς δικαίους ἔφη διὰ τὸ ὑψηλόν· κοιλωμάτων δὲ διὰ τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην. {Κυρίλλου.} Αἰτεῖ τὸν Νυμφίον, τὴν ἄκαρπον ἀπολεῖψαι συναγωγὴν, καὶ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τοὺς τῆς κοίλης καὶ τεταπεινωμένης πάλαι καὶ εἰδωλολατρούσης ψυχῆς ἐπὶ οὐράνιον ὕψος ἀναβάντας ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ. αʹ.δʹ. Ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην μου ἐν νυξὶν ἐξεζήτησα ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον αὐτόν· ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσέ μου·","english":"The valley will be filled, and every such mountain will be brought low. {Of the Nile.} How is it that she who has just said, \"My beloved is like a gazelle,\" and what follows, now says again, \"Turn away,\" not to the mountains of Bethel, but to the mountains of the valleys? By saying the one as already accomplished, and by taking up the other as a command, she urges him on; but perhaps the difference in the naming of the mountains on which he comes resolves the difficulty. For there she said \"to the mountains of Bethel,\" but here \"to the mountains of the valleys.\" Perhaps, then, the one signifies the earthly region, and the other Hades, from its hollow depth; so that what is said is something like this: Already by nature you have been made like the gazelle and the fawn of deer upon the mountains of Bethel, having benefited those here and subjected the opposing powers; but it remains that those held in the region beneath the earth, because of the death that reigned over all, should also enjoy your beneficence, and further that you should destroy the powers ruling there, drawing them in by scent like a deer. {Of Origen.} The Bride said the former things to the maidens, etc. {Of Philo.} Or, \"Turn away\" from the Jews to the Gentiles. And he called the righteous \"mountains\" because of their loftiness, and \"of the valleys\" because of their humility. {Of Cyril.} She asks the Bridegroom to leave the barren synagogue and come to those of the hollow and long-humbled soul that formerly worshipped idols, who have ascended to heavenly height. CHAPTER 3:1–4. By night I sought on my bed him whom my soul loved; I sought him, and did not find him; I called him, and he did not answer me.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":65,"ref":"p65","source":"ἀναστήσομαι δὴ καὶ κυκλώσω ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς, καὶ ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις· καὶ ζητήσω ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον αὐτόν· ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσέ μου· εὕροσάν με οἱ τηροῦντες, οἱ κυκλοῦντες ἐν τῇ πόλει· Μὴ ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου ἴδετε; ὡς μικρὸν ὅτε παρῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν, ἕως οὗ εὗρον ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐκράτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ ἀφῆκα αὐτὸν, ἕως οὗ εἰσήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον μητρός μου καὶ εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον τῆς συλλαβούσης με. {Γρηγορίου.} Τὸ τῆς Νύμφης διήγημα, φιλοσοφίας ἐστί· δι' ὧν τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν διεξέρχεται· ὅπως δεῖ περὶ τὸ Θεῖον ἔχειν τοὺς ἐραστὰς τοῦ ὑπερκειμένου κάλλους δογματιζούσης. Διχῆ γὰρ τέτρηται κατὰ τὴν ἀνωτάτω διαίρεσιν ἡ τῶν ὄντων φύσις· τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν αἰσθητὸν καὶ ὑλῶδες, τὸ δὲ νοητὸν καὶ ἄϋλον. Πάλιν δὲ τῆς νοητῆς φύσεως διχῆ διῃρημένης, ἡ μὲν ἄκτιστός ἐστι καὶ ποιητικὴ, πάντοτε ὡσαύτως ἔχουσα· ἡ δὲ κτιστὴ, καὶ τῇ μετουσίᾳ τοῦ ὑπερέχοντος ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ διὰ παντὸς συντηρεῖται· καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ αὔξεται καὶ πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον ἀλλοιοῦται· ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἐπεκτεινομένη, καὶ μηδέποτε τῆς ἐφέσεως λήγουσα· ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ἡ Νύμφη τοσαύταις ἀνόδοις ὑψωθεῖσα, καὶ ἐκ δυνάμεως εἰς δύναμιν πορευομένη, τοῦ ἀκροτάτου τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐλπίδος τετυχηκέναι ἐδόκει, ἐνδεᾶ δὲ ἑαυτὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καθεώρα, εἰκότως ἀποδύρεται· καὶ ὡς μήπω σχοῦσα τὸ τῆς προθυμίας προκείμενον ἀμηχανεῖται καὶ δυσχεραίνεται καὶ τὴν τοιαύτην ἀμηχανίαν δημοσιεύει τῷ διηγήματι· καὶ ὅπως εὗρε τὸν ζητούμενον ὑπογράφει τῷ λόγῳ·","english":"I will arise now and go about the city, in the markets and in the streets, and I will seek him whom my soul loved. I sought him, and did not find him. I called him, and he did not answer me. The watchmen who go about the city found me: Have you seen him whom my soul loved? It was but a little while when I passed by them, until I found him whom my soul loved. I held him, and did not let him go, until I brought him into my mother's house and into the chamber of her who conceived me. {Of Gregory.} The Bride's narrative is one of philosophy, through the things she recounts about herself, teaching as doctrine how the lovers of the surpassing beauty ought to be disposed toward the Divine. For in the highest division, the nature of beings is cut in two: one part is perceptible and material, the other intelligible and immaterial. And again, since the intelligible nature is divided in two, one part is uncreated and productive, always remaining in the same state; the other is created, and is preserved in the good at all times by participation in what surpasses it, and grows toward it and is changed toward the greater, always stretching out toward the better and never ceasing from its longing. Since, then, the Bride also, having been exalted by so many ascents and journeying from strength to strength, seemed to have obtained the hope of the highest of goods, but saw herself lacking in the good, she rightly laments; and as one who has not yet obtained the goal of her eagerness, she is at a loss and is distressed, and she makes public such perplexity in her narrative; and she describes in her account how she found the one she sought.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":66,"ref":"p66","source":"τὴν μὲν οὖν τελειοτέραν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν, κοίτην ὀνομάζει καὶ νύκτα λέγει τὸν τῆς κοίτης καιρόν· διὰ δὲ τοῦ ὀνόματος τῆς νυκτὸς, ἐνδείκνυται τῶν ἀοράτων τὴν θεωρίαν, κατὰ τὸν ἐν τῷ γνόφῳ Μωσέα, ἐν ᾧ ἦν ὁ Θεὸς ὃς, \"Ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ,\" κατὰ τὸν Προφήτην, \"Κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ·\" ἐν ᾧ καταστᾶσα τότε διδάσκεται τοσοῦτον ἀπέχουσα τοῦ ἐπιβῆναι τῆς τελειότητος, ὅσον οἱ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐγχειρήσαντες· ἤδη γάρ φησιν ὡς τῶν τελείων ἀξιωθεῖσα, καθάπερ ἐπὶ κοίτης τινὸς τῆς τῶν ἐγνωσμένων καταλήψεως ἐμαυτὴν ἀναπαύουσα· ὅτε τῶν ἀοράτων ἐντὸς ἐγενόμην καταλιποῦσα τὰ αἰσθητήρια· ὅτε περιεσχέθην τῇ θείᾳ νυκτὶ, τὸν γνόφῳ κεκρυμμένον ἀναζητοῦσα, τότε μὲν τὴν ἀγάπην πρὸς τὸ ποθούμενον ἔσχον· αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ἀγαπώμενον, διέπη τῶν λογισμῶν τὴν συλλαβήν. ἐζήτουν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην μου, ὥστε γνῶναι τίς ἐν νυξὶν ἡ οὐσία, ποθεν ἔρχεται, εἰς τί καταλήγει, ἐν\n\nτίνι ἔχει τὸ εἶναι, ἀλλ' οὐχ εὗρον. Εἶτά φησιν, Ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν τὸν ἀκατανόμαστον ὡς ἐνῆν ὀνομάζουσα καὶ οὐκ ἐπήκουσέ μου· οὐ γὰρ ἦν ὀνόματος ἔμφασις ἡ καθικνουμένη τοῦ ζητουμένου· τότε τοίνυν ἔγνων, ὅτι τῆς μεγαλοπρεπείας τῆς δόξης τῆς ἁγιωσύνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας. Ὅθεν διανίστησιν ἑαυτὴν καὶ περιπολεῖ τῇ διανοίᾳ τὴν ὑπερκόσμιον φύσιν, ἣν ἐκάλεσε πόλιν, ἐν ᾗ ἀρχαὶ καὶ κυριότητες καὶ οἱ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἀποτεταγμένοι θρόνοι, ἥ τε τῶν ἐπουρανίων πανήγυρις· ὃ τὸ τῆς πλατείας διασημαίνει ὀνόματι· μὴ εὑροῦσα δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸ ποθούμενον, καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἐλογίσατο· μὴ ἄρα κἂν ἐκείνοις ληπτόν ἐστι τὸ παρ' ἐμοῦ ἀγαπώμενον·","english":"The more perfect participation in the good, then, she calls a bed, and she calls the time of the bed night; and through the name of night, the vision of things invisible is indicated, according to Moses in the darkness, in which was God who \"made darkness his hiding place,\" according to the Prophet, \"round about him.\" Having come to rest in this, she is then taught that she is as far from attaining perfection as those who have not even made a beginning; for she now speaks as one deemed worthy of the perfect, resting herself as on a kind of bed of the comprehension of things known, when I came within things invisible, having left behind the senses; when I was encompassed by the divine night, seeking him who is hidden in the darkness, then indeed I had the love for the beloved; but the beloved himself eluded the grasp of my thoughts. For I sought him upon my bed, so as to know what the essence is in the nights, whence it comes, to what it ends, in what it has its being, but I did not find him. Then she says, I called him, naming the unnameable as far as I could, and he did not answer me; for there was no utterance of a name that reached the one sought. Then, therefore, I knew that of the majesty of the glory of his holiness there is no limit. Hence she rouses herself and traverses in thought the supercosmic nature, which she called a city, in which are principalities and dominions and the thrones appointed to the authorities, and the assembly of the heavenly ones; which is signified by the name of the broad street. But not finding in them the beloved, she reasoned within herself: perhaps the one loved by me is not even comprehensible to them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":67,"ref":"p67","source":"διὰ δὲ τῆς σιωπῆς ἐνδειξαμένου τὸ ἀκατάληπτον, πᾶν τὸ εὑρισκόμενον ἀφεῖσα μόλις ἔγνω τὸ ζητούμενον, ὡς ἐν τῷ μὴ εὑρίσκεσθαι τί ἐστιν, ὅτι ἐστὶ γινώσκεται. Διό φησιν, Ὅτε μικρὸν παρῆλθον ἀπὸ πάσης κτίσεως, πᾶσαν ἀφεῖσα καταληπτικὴν ἔφοδον, τῇ πίστει τὸν ἀγαπώμενον εὗρον· δι' ἧς αὐτὸν καὶ κρατήσω, ἕως ἂν ἐντὸς γένηται τοῦ ἐμοῦ ταμιείου, εἴτουν καρδίας· ἢ τότε γίνεται δεκτικὴ τῆς θείας αὐτοῦ ἐνοικήσεως, ὅταν ἔλθῃ πρὸς τὴν κατάστασιν ἐκείνην ἐν ᾗ τὸ κατ' ἀρχὰς ἦν ὅτε ἐπλάσθην ὑπὸ τῆς συλλαβούσης μητρός· ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ πρώτη τῆς συστάσεως ἡμῶν αἰτία. {Νείλου.} Καταστάσεις ἑαυτῆς ἐν αἷς ἐγένετο ἡ Νύμφη διηγεῖται τὸν Λόγον ζητοῦσα καὶ τὴν τελειότητα καὶ τὴν ἐν τελειότητι ἑπομένην· καὶ ταῦτά φησι πρὸς τὴν τῶν λοιπῶν ὠφέλειαν· διδάσκουσι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι μετὰ ἀναπαύσεως ζητοῦντα τὸ ποθούμενον εὑρεῖν· ἀσκήσει γὰρ τῶν καλῶν, ῥᾳστώνη πολέμιον· τὸ γὰρ, Ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην μου ἐν νυξὶν ἐζήτησα ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὡσανεὶ τῆς Νύμφης διηγουμένης ταῖς νεάνισιν, ὅτι ἐνόμισα κοῦφον εἶναι καὶ εὐχερὲς, τὸ κτήσασθαι τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν σοφίαν οἰκειώσασθαι· καὶ ἐζήτουν οὐ μετὰ πόνου, ἀλλ' ἀνειμένως καὶ ῥᾳθύμως, καὶ τοῖς σωματικοῖς ὡς κλίνῃ ἐπαναπαυομένη· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ ζήτησις αὕτη τῆς καταλήψεως ἠστόχει, μετέβαλον ἐπὶ τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν ἀρετήν· διὸ εἶπον, Ἀναστήσομαι δὴ, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ, καταλιποῦσα τὴν κλίνην, ἐπὶ τῷ δι' ἔργων ποιήσασθαι τὴν ζήτησιν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτό με πρὸς τὴν εὕρεσιν ὡδήγησε.","english":"But through silence she indicated the incomprehensible, and dismissing every found thing, she scarcely came to know the sought thing, so that in its not being found what it is, it is known that it is. Therefore she says, \"When I had passed a little from all creation,\" dismissing every apprehensive approach, by faith I found the beloved; through which I will also hold him, until he comes within my treasury, that is, my heart; or then she becomes receptive of his divine indwelling, when she comes to that state in which she was at the beginning when I was formed by the mother who conceived me; which is the first cause of our constitution. {Of Nilus.} The Bride recounts the states of herself in which she was, seeking the Word and perfection and what follows in perfection; and she says these things for the benefit of the rest; they teach that it is not possible to find the desired object while seeking with rest; for ease is hostile to the exercise of good things; for the phrase, \"In the nights I sought on my bed him whom my soul loved,\" is of this sort, as if the Bride were recounting to the young women that she thought it was light and easy to acquire virtue and to make wisdom her own; and I was seeking not with toil, but relaxed and at ease, and resting on bodily things as on a bed; but since this seeking of comprehension failed, I turned to working virtue; therefore I said, \"I will arise now,\" and the rest, leaving the bed, in order to make the search through works; but not even this led me to the finding.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":68,"ref":"p68","source":"Δέον γὰρ ἐργαζομένης τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς κρύψαι τὸν πόνον, ἐπιδεικτιῶσα τοῦτον ἐδημοσίευον ἐν πλατείαις, καὶ ἀγοραῖς, τὸν ἀνθρώπων ἔπαινον θηρωμένην. Διὸ οὐδ' οὕτως εὑρεῖν δεδύνημαι· οὐδὲν γὰρ συντελεῖ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν κτῆσιν πόνος, ὅταν μετὰ φιλοδοξίας γίνηται. Ἀλλ' ὅταν εὗρον αὐτὴν οἱ φύλακες οἱ τηροῦντες ἐν τῇ πόλει· οὗτοι δὲ εἰσὶ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα διακονοῦντα τῇ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἤτοι διοικήσει τοῦ βίου ἐφεστῶτα· καὶ ἐρωτηθέντες περὶ τοῦ ἀγαπωμένου, σιωπῇ παρῆλθον αὐτὴν ὡς οὐκ ἀξίαν ἀποκρίσεως· ἐκ τῆς ἀποστροφῆς στοχασαμένη ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῆς εὐάρεστος ὁ τοιοῦτος βίος, ἐλογίσατο δεόντως μὴ ἀνόνητα μοχθεῖν, μηδὲ τὸ τραχὺ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑπομένουσα, ὑστερίζειν τῆς προκοπῆς διὰ τῶν ὁρώντων ἔπαινον· καὶ οὕτως εὗρε τὸ ζητούμενον· οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου χάριν, ἡ αὐτοῦ τοῦ καλοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐργαζομένη· καὶ δικαίως τὸ δίκαιον διώκουσα· ὅθεν καὶ οὐ μετὰ πολὺ, ἀλλ' εὐθέως εὑρηκέναι λέγει. Μικρὸν γὰρ ὡς παρῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν, εὗρον ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· τῷ γὰρ παρελθόντι τὰς προειρημένας καταστάσεις, καὶ φθάσαντι ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα, ἀνυπερθέτως εὑρίσκεται ὁ Θεός· συνεργὸν ὡς φῶς τὴν κατάληψιν τοῦ ζητουμένου. Ὅπερ γάρ ἐστι φῶς ὀφθαλμοῖς, τοῦτο νῷ ἀλήθεια· μέγα δὲ ἐγκώμιον ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς εἴρηται τῆς Νύμφης, τὸ, Ἐκράτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ ἑξῆς· κτήσασθαι μὲν γὰρ πόνῳ τὸ καλὸν, ἴσως πολλῶν· φυλάξαι δὲ τὴν ἐπιμονὴν, ὀλίγων· οἱ μὲν γὰρ πολλοὶ ὅταν φθάσωσιν ἐπὶ τὸ σπουδαζόμενον, ἢ πόρον λαβόντες αὐτοῦ τῷ χρόνῳ, ἢ περὶ ἕτερα τὴν προθυμίαν ἀποκλίναντες, ἀφίστανται·","english":"For it was necessary, while she was working the works of virtue, to hide the labor, but by making a display of it she published it in the broad streets and markets, hunting after the praise of men. Therefore not even so was I able to find her; for labor contributes nothing to the possession of good things when it is done with love of glory. But when the guards found her, those who keep watch in the city—and these are ministering spirits that serve the salvation of men, or that preside over the governance of life—and when they were asked about the beloved, they passed by her in silence as unworthy of an answer. From their turning away she gathered that such a manner of life was not pleasing to them, and she reckoned that she ought not to toil to no purpose, nor, enduring the harshness of virtue, to fall behind in progress because of the praise of those who see; and so she found the thing sought, working the good of the beautiful itself for no other reason, and justly pursuing the just. Hence she says that she found him not after much time but immediately. For a little after I had passed by them, I found him whom my soul loved; for to one who has passed by the aforementioned conditions and has reached perfection, God is found without delay, with the apprehension of the thing sought cooperating as light. For what light is to the eyes, truth is to the mind. And a great commendation of the Bride is spoken in what follows: I seized him, and so on; for to acquire the beautiful by labor is perhaps the lot of many, but to keep it with perseverance is the lot of few. For the many, when they have reached the object of their zeal, either having obtained a means of it in time, or having turned their eagerness aside to other things, fall away.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":69,"ref":"p69","source":"καὶ μικρὸν ἀμελήσουσιν, ἐκπίπτουσι τῆς ἀρίστης ἕξεως, πολὺν ἀχρειοῦντες πόνον· αὕτη δὲ καμάτῳ εὑροῦσα τὸ ἀγαθὸν, οὐκ ἐνόστησεν εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, ἀλλ' ἴσην ἐτήρησε τὴν προθυμίαν, ἕως γνησίως ᾠκειώσατο τὸ ποθούμενον· μέχρι τῶν ἐνδοτάτων ταμιείων εἰσοικίσασα τὴν ἀρετὴν, εἰσήγαγεν ταμιείῳ τοῦ οἴκου. {Ὠριγένους.} Περὶ τῶν πρὸ\n\nτοῦ γάμου μυστηρίων εἰπὼν, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} Τὰς γυναῖκας δηλοῖ, τὰς ἐλθούσας μιᾷ Σαββάτων ὄρθρου βαθέως ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ μὴ εὑρούσας αὐτόν· τὸ οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην, ἢ ἀπὸ κοίτης φησὶν, ἢ κοίτην ἑαυτῆς τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου μνῆμα καλεῖ, καθὸ συνθαπτόμεθα αὐτῷ· ἀλλ' οὐχ εὗρεν αὐτὸν ἀκούσασα, οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε· ἠγέρθη γάρ· καὶ εὗρον αὐτὴν οἱ τηροῦντες ἄγγελοι, οὓς καὶ ἐρωτᾷ, \"Ποῦ τεθήκατε τὸν Κύριον;\" ἀλλὰ παρελθούσῃ τοὺς ἐρωτηθέντας, ὑπήντησε λέγων, Χαίρετε· διό φησιν, Ὡς μικρὸν παρῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἕως εὗρον· καὶ οὐκ ἀφήσω αὐτόν· ἐκράτησε γὰρ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἤκουσε, \"Μὴ μοῦ ἅπτου.\" Οἶκον δὲ μητρὸς τὴν συναγωγὴν ἀποστόλων φησὶ, εἰς ἣν ἀπελθοῦσα εὐηγγελίζετο τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν ἀνάστασιν. εʹ. Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ἐὰν ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην, ἕως ἂν θελήσῃ. {Γρηγορίου.} Πάλιν ὑπὸ φιλαλληλίας, καὶ ταῖς μαθητευομέναις ψυχαῖς διαλέγεται· ἃς ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν συγκρίσει τοῦ τῆς Νύμφης κάλλους τοῦ παρεικασθέντος τῷ κρίνῳ, ἀκάνθας ὁ λόγος ὠνόμασεν· καὶ διὰ τοῦ ὅρκου τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ δυνάμεων πρὸς τὸ ἴσον τῆς ἀγάπης διανίστησι μέτρον· ὥστε τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Νυμφίου καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐνεργὸν γενέσθαι·","english":"And if they grow careless for a little while, they fall from the best condition, rendering much labor useless; but she, having found the good through toil, did not turn back, but kept her zeal equal, until she genuinely made the beloved object her own; having settled virtue even into the innermost storerooms, she brought it into the storeroom of the house. {Of Origen.} Having spoken concerning the mysteries before\n\nthe marriage, etc. {Of Cyril.} He signifies the women who came at deep dawn on the first day of the week to the tomb of Jesus, and did not find him; therefore he speaks of \"upon the couch,\" or \"from the couch,\" or he calls the tomb of the Lord her couch, inasmuch as we are buried together with him; but she did not find him when she heard, \"He is not here; for he has risen\"; and the angels who were keeping watch found her, whom she also asks, \"Where have you laid the Lord?\" But when she had passed by those she questioned, he met her saying, \"Rejoice\"; therefore she says, \"When I had passed by them a little, until I found him\"; and \"I will not let him go\"; for she grasped his feet, and heard, \"Do not touch me.\" And \"the house of my mother\" he calls the assembly of the apostles, to which she went and announced the resurrection of Christ. 5. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field, if you stir up and awaken love, until it please. {Of Gregory.} Again, out of love for one another, he converses with the souls that are being discipled; which in the preceding passages, by comparison with the beauty of the Bride that was likened to the lily, the word called thorns; and through the oath of the powers in the world he rouses them to an equal measure of love; so that the will of the Bridegroom may become effective even upon him;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":70,"ref":"p70","source":"τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ἐν τῷ φθάσαντι λόγῳ δεδήλωται. {Νείλου.} Τοῦτο δεύτερον ὁρκίζει τὰς θυγατέρας Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἡ Νύμφη ἐξεγεῖραι τὴν ἀγάπην πάντως καθεύδουσαν· ἡ δὲ ἔννοια δεδήλωται. ʹ. Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου ὡς στελέχη καπνοῦ τεθυμιαμένη; σμύρνα καὶ λίβανος ἀπὸ πάντων κονιορτῶν μυρεψοῦ; {Γρηγορίου.} Ἐν ταῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν προκοπαῖς οὐ πάντοτε τῷ αὐτῷ παραμένουσι χαρακτῆρι, οἱ ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν διὰ τῆς τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων ἐπιθυμίαν μεταμορφούμενοι· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀεὶ κατορθωθείσης ἑκάστῳ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν τελειότητος, ἴδιός τις χαρακτὴρ τῷ βίῳ ἐπιλάμπει, ἄλλος ἐξ ἄλλου γενόμενός τε καὶ φαινόμενος, διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπαυξήσεως. Διό μοι δοκοῦσι ξενίζεσθαι πρὸς τὸ φαινόμενον οἱ φίλοι τοῦ Νυμφίου· οἱ πρότερον μὲν αὐτὴν ἐγνωκότες καλὴν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐν γυναιξὶ καλὴν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δι' ὁμοιότητος χρυσίου μετὰ στιγμάτων ἀργυρίου, τὸ κάλλος αὐτῆς ὡραΐζοντες· νυνὶ δὲ μηδὲν τῶν προλαβόντων σημείων περὶ αὐτὴν καθορῶντες, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων χαρακτηρίζοντες, θαυμάζουσιν, οὐ μόνον τὴν ἄνοδον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅθεν ἀνέδραμε· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὃ καὶ ἐπίτασιν ποιεῖ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως· ὅπερ μέγιστον τῇ Νύμφῃ ἐγκώμιον, μαρτυροῦν τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον παραλλαγὴν καὶ μετάστασιν· μέλαινα γὰρ ἡμῖν, φησὶν, ἑωρᾶτο πρότερον, αὕτη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου· καὶ πῶς τὴν σκοτεινὴν μορφὴν ἀπεδύσατο; πῶς αὐτῇ χιονῶδες ἀπαστράπτει τὸ κάλλος; ἢ ἔρημός ἐστιν ὡς ἔοικεν καὶ αἰτία τούτων, ἡ καθάπερ ἔρνος ἀναθάλλειν αὐτὴν εἰς ὕψος ποιήσασα καὶ πρὸς τὸ τοιοῦτον μεταβάλλουσα κάλλος;","english":"The rest has been shown in the preceding discourse. {Of Nilus.} This is the second time the Bride adjures the daughters of Jerusalem to awaken love, which is entirely asleep; and the meaning has been shown. 7. Who is this that comes up from the wilderness like stalks of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense from all the powders of the perfumer? {Of Gregory.} In the advances made in virtue, those who are transformed from glory to glory through desire for the higher things do not always remain in the same character; but in proportion to the word of what has always been rightly achieved by each one through the perfection of good things, a peculiar character shines forth upon his life, becoming and appearing one thing after another through the increase of good things. Therefore the friends of the Bridegroom seem to me to be struck with wonder at what appears; those who formerly knew her to be fair, but fair as among women, and afterward, by comparison with gold with studs of silver, extolled her beauty; but now, seeing no trace of the former marks about her, but characterizing her by the higher things, they marvel, not only at her ascent, but also from where she sprang up; for this is what also intensifies their amazement; which is the greatest encomium for the Bride, testifying to her change and transition to the better. For she was seen by us, he says, as black before—this one who comes up from the wilderness; and how did she strip off the dark form? How does a snowy beauty flash forth upon her? Or is the wilderness, as it seems, also the cause of these things, having made her spring up like a shoot to a height and changing her to such beauty?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":71,"ref":"p71","source":"ἐξ οἰκείων γὰρ πόνων δι' ἐγκρατείας τε καὶ ἐπιμελείας ἐκτήσατο· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου ἀναβαίνειν αὐτήν· οὕτω ποτὲ καὶ ἡ τοῦ προφήτου ψυχὴ διψώδης ἐγένετο τῆς θείας πηγῆς, ἐπειδὴ αὐτῷ ἡ σὰρξ ἄβατός τε καὶ ἔρημος καὶ ἄνυδρος γενομένη, τὸ θεῖον δίψος ἑαυτῷ παρεδέξατο· διὰ πολλῶν τοίνυν ὑποδειγμάτων τὸ κάλλος αὐτῆς ἑρμηνεύουσι· ἐπειδὴ δι' ἑνὸς ἅπαν περιληφθῆναι οὐχ οἷόν τε ἦν· πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ στέλεξι τὴν ὥραν αὐτῆς εἰκάζουσι, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἑνί· ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ πλήθους τὸ πολυειδὲς καὶ ποικίλον, τῶν ἀρετῶν ὑπογράφουσιν· εἶτα καπνὸς ἐκ θυμιαμάτων, εἰς τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ κάλλους παραλαμβάνεται· καὶ οὐδὲ οὗτος ἁπλοῦς, ἀλλὰ σμύρνῃ καὶ λιβάνῳ συγκεκραμένος, ὡς μίαν γενέσθαι τῶν ἀτμῶν τὴν χάριν· ὁ τοίνυν μέλλων ἑαυτὸν ἀνατιθέναι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεραπείᾳ, οὐκ ἄλλος ἔσται λίβανος τοῦ Θεοῦ θυμιώμενος, τοῦτο γὰρ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ τιμῇ ἀφιέρωται, εἰ μὴ πρότερον νεκρώσειε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς μέλη· ἡ γὰρ σμύρνα πρὸς τὸν ἐνταφιασμὸν τῶν σωμάτων οἰκείως ἔχει· ὧν γενομένων, πᾶν εἶδος τῶν κατ' ἀρετὴν ἀρωμάτων ἐν τῷ κύκλῳ τοῦ βίου, καθάπερ θυείᾳ τινὶ λεπτυνθέντων τὸν ἡδὺν ἐκεῖνον κονιορτὸν, ὃν ἀναλαβὼν ἐν τῷ ἄσθματι εὔπνους γίνεται τοῦ μεμυρισμένου πνεύματος πλήρης γενόμενος.","english":"For she acquired it from her own labors through self-control and diligence; for this is what it means that she comes up from the wilderness. Thus at one time the soul of the prophet also became thirsty for the divine fountain, since for him the flesh, having become impassable and desert and waterless, received the divine thirst for itself. Therefore they interpret her beauty through many examples, since it was not possible for everything to be comprehended through one. For first they liken her bloom to stalks, and not even this to one alone, but through the multitude they depict the many-formed and varied nature of the virtues. Then smoke from incense is taken up as an image of beauty, and not even this is simple, but mixed with myrrh and frankincense, so that the grace of the vapors becomes one. Therefore the one who is about to dedicate himself to the service of God will be no other frankincense burned to God—for this is consecrated to the honor of God—unless he first put to death the members that are upon the earth; for myrrh is suited to the burial of bodies. When these things have come to pass, every kind of aromatic spice according to virtue, in the circuit of life, having been refined as if in some sacrifice into that sweet dust, which, taking up in his breath, he becomes fragrant, having become full of the perfumed spirit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":72,"ref":"p72","source":"{Ὠριγένους.} Καλὴ λίαν ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα, κ. τ.λ. 1624 {Νείλου.} Ἔκπληξιν παρέσχε τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἡ Νύμφη· ὅτι καὶ ἀπὸ ἐρήμου ἀνέβαινε, καὶ ὡς στελέχη καπνοῦ τεθυμιαμένη, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἄλλοθεν τεθυμίασται, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ σμύρνης καὶ λιβάνου, καὶ κονιορτῶν μυρεψοῦ· ταῦτα δὲ πάντα σημαίνει τὴν ἀναχώρησιν τῶν γηΐνων· ἡ γὰρ ἀποσχομένη τῆς κακίας ψυχὴ, καὶ τῶν φαύλων πράξεων ἀργίαν ἄγουσα, καὶ τὸν τῶν ζιζανίων σπορέα ἀρνησαμένη ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἐστὶ, προκόπτουσα ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἔργοις δὲ, ἄρχεται ἀναβαίνειν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου ὡς στελέχη καπνοῦ τεθυμιαμένη· ὡς γὰρ ὁ καπνὸς ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, στελεχοῦται δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν ἀέρα, ὅμως δέχεται ὡς ῥίζης τῆς συμπεπνιγμένης τοῖς ξύλοις φλογός· ὅταν δὲ ἐκλίπῃ κάτωθεν ἡ ὕλη, διαζευχθεὶς τῆς γῆς, ὅλως ἀναχωρεῖ τῷ ἰδίῳ μέρει συναναμιγνύμενος καὶ ἀναστοιχειούμενος εἰς ἑαυτόν· οὕτως ἡ τῶν γηΐνων ἀναχωροῦσα ψυχὴ, κἂν προκόπτῃ ἐπὶ τὰ οὐράνια, οὐ πρότερον μεθίσταται τελείως ἐπ' αὐτὰ, πρὶν ὁλοσχερῶς ἐκλίπῃ τὰ γήϊνα· τὸ δὲ σμύρναν καὶ λίβανον εἶναι τὴν συναναμεμιγμένην εὐωδίαν τῇ στελέχῃ τοῦ καπνοῦ, τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ σώματος, καὶ τὸν ἐξ ἐγκρατείας ὑποπιασμὸν δηλοῖ· μεθ' ὦν προκόπτουσα ἐμύριζε τοὺς παρατυγχάνοντας· καὶ ὁ κονιορτὸς δὲ τῶν ἀρωμάτων, σύμφωνός ἐστι τῷ τοῦ κηρύγματος νοήματι· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ἀπὸ τριβῆς τῆς παχείας γῆς, λεπτὸς ἐπιπολάζει τῷ προσώπῳ ταύτης· κινούμενος δὲ τοῖς τῶν ὁδοιπορούντων ποσὶ μετέωρος αἴρεται, πρὸς ὕψος χωρῶν. Ἀλλ' ἐὰν αἱρετικὴ ψυχὴ οὖσα τύχῃ, ἢ τὸ καλὸν διά τι ποιοῦσα καὶ τὸ δι' ἑαυτὸν, κονιορτός ἐστι γῆς. ὀλίγον ὑψουμένη.","english":"{Origen.} Very beautiful is she who goes up, etc. {Nil.} The Bride caused amazement to those who saw her: because she was going up from the wilderness, and as stems of smoke having been perfumed, and because she was not perfumed from elsewhere, but from myrrh and frankincense, and from the dust of the perfumer. All these things signify the withdrawal from earthly things; for the soul that has kept away from evil, and leads a life of inactivity from base deeds, and has renounced the sower of the tares, is in the wilderness, advancing in good works; and she begins to go up from the wilderness as stems of smoke having been perfumed. For just as smoke, having begun from the earth, rises in stems toward the air, yet receives its root, as it were, from the flame that is compressed in the wood; but when the material fails from below, having been separated from the earth, it departs entirely, mingling with its own part and being resolved into itself. So the soul that withdraws from earthly things, even if it advances toward heavenly things, does not depart perfectly to them before the earthly things fail completely. And the fact that myrrh and frankincense are the fragrance mingled with the stem of the smoke signifies the mortification of the body and the subjection that comes from self-control; with these, as she advances, she perfumed those who were present. And the dust of the spices is in harmony with the meaning of the proclamation; for this too, from the rubbing of the thick earth, rises fine upon its surface; and being stirred by the feet of travelers, it is lifted up on high, journeying toward the height. But if she happens to be a heretical soul, or one doing the good for some reason and for its own sake, she is dust of the earth, lifted up a little.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":73,"ref":"p73","source":"καὶ πάλιν εὐχερῶς πρὸς τὸν οἰκεῖον καταφερομένη τόπον, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὰ κάτω προσπάθειαν· ἐὰν δὲ ἐκκλησιαστικῇ πίστει σκοπῷ τῆς πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον εὐαρεστήσεως τὸ ἄνω φυτὸν ἔχουσα, κονιορτός ἐστι μυρεψοῦ, τῇ ὑψηλῇ πολιτείᾳ τὴν τῶν δογμάτων εὐωδίαν ἀνακεκραμμένην ἔχουσα· δύναται δὲ καὶ δογματικῶς περὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας λέγεσθαι· ἀπὸ ἐρήμου γὰρ τῆς μὴ ἐχούσης ἄνδρα, αὕτη ἀνέβη· σμύρναν καὶ λίβανον πνέουσα διὰ τὸ συντετάφθαι Χριστῷ· καὶ διὰ τὸ τὸν κονιορτὸν τῶν κοσμικῶν πραγμάτων τὸ εἰς δέον χρήσασθαι τούτοις, κονιορτὸν ποιῆσαι μυρεψοῦ· καὶ διὰ τὴν εὔλογον χρῆσιν, τὸ κονιορτῶδες μεταβαλεῖν εἰς εὐωδίαν Χριστοῦ· ὁ γὰρ τὰ μὴ ἑστῶτα, ἀλλὰ φερόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων τῆς κοσμικῆς αὔρας, διὰ ἐλεημοσύνην ποιῶν τίμια, τὸν κονιορτὸν τῆς γῆς ἐποίησε κονιορτὸν μυρεψοῦ· τῇ εὐλόγῳ χρήσει τῶν δεομένων, τὸ κονιορτῶδες αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκεδασμένον, μεταβαλὼν εἰς ἀρωματικὴν εὐωδίαν καὶ φίλιον ὄντως Θεοῦ. {Κυρίλλου.} Σμύρνα μὲν, ὅτε συντέθαπται Χριστῷ 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 εὐωδία, λόγια· ἃ νῦν ἡ Νύμφη λέγεται τεθυμίασται. Τάχα δὲ καὶ ὁ μὴ κατὰ σάρκα βιοῦς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα, μηδαμῶς παχυνθεὶς τὴν καρδίαν τὸ ποικίλον καὶ παντοδαπὸν σῶζον τῆς εὐωδίας, εὐωδίαν ἀπὸ πάντων ποιεῖ τῶν νῦν οὕτως ὀνομαζομένων κονιορτὸν μυρεψοῦ.","english":"And again, being easily carried down to its own proper place through its attachment to things below; but if with the Church's faith it has its plant above, in the aim of pleasing the Divine, it is the dust of the perfumer, having the fragrance of the doctrines mingled with its high manner of life. And it can also be said doctrinally concerning the Church: for from the wilderness that has no man, she has gone up, breathing myrrh and frankincense because she has been buried together with Christ; and because, by using worldly things as is fitting, she has made the dust of worldly affairs into the dust of the perfumer; and because of the reasonable use, she has changed the dusty into the fragrance of Christ. For he who makes the things that do not stand but are carried about by the winds of the worldly breeze to be precious through almsgiving, has made the dust of the earth into the dust of the perfumer; by the reasonable use of those in need, he has changed their dusty and scattered state into an aromatic fragrance and one truly dear to God. {Cyril.} Myrrh, when she has been buried together with Christ through frankincense; and frankincense, when she has risen with him and partaken of his divinity. And not by these alone has the Church's soul been perfumed, but also by the varied contemplations of knowledge. For he who divides most exactly and searches out things finely down to the least detail might be said to be in some way a perfumer, refining and reducing to dust all the fragrant oracles; with which the Bride is now said to have been perfumed. And perhaps also he who lives not according to the flesh but according to the spirit, his heart in no way grown fat, preserving the varied and manifold nature of the fragrance, makes from all the things now so called a fragrance, the dust of the perfumer.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":74,"ref":"p74","source":"Λέγει δ' ἄν τις καὶ ὡς ἡ ἁγία καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικὴ ψυχὴ, τὸ τέκνον ποτὲ ἐρήμου Θεοῦ, ἀπὸ συναγωγῆς ἐθνῶν ἀναβαίνει ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου· καταλιποῦσα μὲν δόγματα καὶ λόγους καὶ πράξεις, τὰ ἔρημα Θεοῦ· ἀναβαίνουσα ἐπὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. ζʹ, ηʹ. Ἰδοὺ ἡ κλίνη Σαλομών· ἑξήκοντα δυνατοὶ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ δυνατῶν Ἰσραήλ· πάντες κατέχοντες ῥομφαίαν, δεδιδαγμένοι πόλεμον· ἀνὴρ ῥομφαίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ θάμβους ἐν νυξίν. {Φίλωνος.} Κλίνην τὸ μνῆμα Χριστοῦ λέγει. Ἑξήκοντα δυνατοὶ, τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς τελειώσεως οἱ τηροῦντες τὸν τάφον· οἳ καὶ τοῦ σεισμοῦ γενομένου, ἐξεθαμβήθησαν καθ' ἣν ἀνέστη ὁ Χριστὸς νύκτα. Δύο δὲ ῥομφαίας ἔχουσιν οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ· τὴν μὲν εἴργουσαν τὰ σπερματικὰ, ἥ τίς ἐστιν ἐπὶ μηρῶν, διὰ τὴν τῆς σωφροσύνης ἐγκράτειαν· τὴν δὲ τὰ ψευδῆ διακόπτουσαν\n\nδόγματα· ἡ δὲ ῥομφαία, πρὸς τὸ μὴ θαμβεῖσθαι τὸ σκότος. {Γρηγορίου.} Μετὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ κάλλει μαρτυρίαν, οἱ φίλοι τοῦ Νυμφίου, καὶ παρασκευασταὶ τοῦ ἁγίου θαλάμου, καὶ τῆς καθαρᾶς Νύμφης προμνήστορες, ὑποδεικνύουσιν αὐτῇ τῆς βασιλικῆς κλίνης τὸ κάλλος ὡς μᾶλλον εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν τὴν Νύμφην ἀγάγοιεν, τῆς θείας τε καὶ ἀχράντου μετ' αὐτοῦ συμβιώσεως. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας ὁ περὶ τῆς κλίνης λόγος οὐκ ἔστιν, εὔδηλον ἐκ τῶν σωματικῶς περὶ τοῦ Σαλομῶντος ἱστορηθέντων, οὗ καὶ τὰ βασίλεια καὶ τὴν τράπεζαν, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ, ὁ λόγος ὑπέγραψεν ἀκριβῶς· καινὸν γάρ τι καὶ παρηλλαγμένον περὶ τῆς κλίνης οὐδὲν εἶπεν.","english":"But someone might also say that the holy and ecclesiastical soul, once the child of the desert of God, ascends from the desert, from the gathering of the nations, leaving behind doctrines and words and deeds that are deserts of God, and ascending to the things of God. 7, 8. Behold the bed of Solomon; sixty mighty men around it from the mighty men of Israel, all holding the sword, taught for war; each man has his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the nights. {Of Philo.} He calls the bed the tomb of Christ. The sixty mighty men are the fullness of perfection, those who guard the tomb; who also, when the earthquake occurred, were struck with amazement on the night on which Christ rose. And the men of Christ have two swords: the one that restrains the seminal emissions, which is upon the thighs, through the self-control of chastity; and the other that cuts through false doctrines; and the sword is for not being amazed at the darkness. {Of Gregory.} After the testimony to her beauty, the friends of the Bridegroom, and the preparers of the holy bridal chamber, and the groomsmen of the pure Bride, show her the beauty of the royal bed, so that they might lead the Bride more into desire for the divine and undefiled life together with him. That the account concerning the bed is not from history is clear from what was recorded bodily concerning Solomon, whose palace and table and the rest the account accurately described; for it said nothing new or unusual concerning the bed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":75,"ref":"p75","source":"Ὥστε ἀνάγκη μὴ παραμεῖναι τῷ γράμματι, ἀλλὰ δι' ἀκριβοῦς κατανοήσεως μεταβαλεῖν τὸν λόγον εἰς πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν, τῆς ὑλικῆς ἐμφάσεως τὸν νοῦν ἀποστήσαντες· ἔοικε τὸ θεῖον κάλλος, ἐν τῷ φοβερῷ τὸ ἐράσμιον ἔχειν, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων τῷ σωματικῷ κάλλει δεικνύμενον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ ἐμπαθὴς τῶν σωμάτων ἐπιθυμία τοῖς τῆς σαρκὸς μέλεσιν ἐγκαθημένη, καθάπερ τι σύνταγμα λῃστρικὸν ἐνεδρεύει τὸν νοῦν καὶ αἰχμάλωτον ἄγει, πρὸς τὸ ἑαυτῆς βούλημα συναρπάσασα, διὰ τοῦτο ἀκόλουθόν ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων τῆς σωματικῆς διαθέσεως τὸν θεῖον ἔρωτα γίνεσθαι· ὥστε εἰ ἐκ ταύτης γίνεται λύσις καὶ ἄνεσις καὶ βλακώδης διάθεσις, ἐκεῖ τὴν ἐπὶ φόβον τε καὶ ἀκατάπληκτον ἀνδρείαν, ὕλην τοῦ θείου ἔρωτος γίνεσθαι· τοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρώδους θυμοῦ τὸν τῆς ἡδονῆς λόγον καταπτοήσαντός τε καὶ φυγαδεύσαντος, οὕτω τὸ καθαρὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀναφαίνεται κάλλος, μηδενὶ πάθει σωματικῆς ἐπιθυμίας καταῤῥυπούμενον. Οὐκοῦν ἀναγκαίως ἡ νυμφικὴ τοῦ βασιλέως κλίνη, τοῖς ὁπλίταις ἐν κύκλῳ διαλαμβάνεται· ὧν ἡ τοῦ πολεμεῖν ἐμπειρία, καὶ τὸ πρόχειρον ἔχειν ἐπὶ τοῦ μηροῦ τὴν ῥομφαίαν, θάμβος καὶ ἔκπληξιν ἐμποιεῖ τοῖς σκοτεινοῖς λογισμοῖς, τοῖς ἐν νυξί τε καὶ σκοτομήνῃ τοῖς εὐθέσι τῇ καρδίᾳ λαχῶσι καὶ τοξεύουσιν· ὄτι γὰρ ἀναιρετικὴ τῶν ῥυπαρῶν ἡδονῶν λογισμῶν ἐστιν, ἡ τῶν περιεστοιχισμένων τῇ κλίνῃ ἐξόπλισις, δῆλον ἂν γένοιτο διὰ τῆς ὑπογραφῆς τοῦ λόγου· Πάντες γὰρ δεδιδαγμένοι πόλεμον, ἀνὴρ καὶ ἡ ῥομφαία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν αὐτοῦ. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ εἰδότων ἐστὶν, ὅπως ἀντιστρατεύεσθαι χρὴ τῇ σαρκί τε καὶ τῷ αἵματι·","english":"So it is necessary not to remain with the letter, but through careful understanding to change the word into spiritual contemplation, removing the mind from the material emphasis. The divine beauty seems to have, within what is fearful, that which is lovely, being shown by opposites to bodily beauty. For since the passionate desire for bodies, seated in the members of the flesh, lies in ambush for the mind like some band of robbers and leads it captive, having snatched it away to its own will, for this reason it follows that the divine love comes about from the opposites of the bodily disposition; so that if from this [bodily desire] come dissolution and slackness and a sluggish disposition, there the ground of divine love becomes fear and unastonished courage. For when the manly spirit has struck down and put to flight the principle of pleasure, then the pure beauty of the soul appears, defiled by no passion of bodily desire. Therefore necessarily the bridal bed of the king is encompassed round about by armed men; whose experience in war, and their readiness to have the sword upon the thigh, produces amazement and astonishment in the dark thoughts, in those who in the nights and in deep darkness have obtained the straight heart and shoot their arrows. For that the armament of those stationed around the bed is destructive of filthy pleasures and thoughts would be clear through the description of the word: For all are taught war, a man and his sword upon his thigh. For truly it belongs to those who know how one must wage war against the flesh and the blood.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":76,"ref":"p76","source":"ἐν τῷ τὴν ῥομφαίαν τῷ μηρῷ ἔχειν ἐφηρμοσμένην. Ὁ τοίνυν τῇ τῆς σωφροσύνης ῥομφαίᾳ διεζωσμένος, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τῇ ἀφθάρτῳ κλίνῃ ἐράσμιος, εἷς τῶν δυνατῶν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ τοῦ λόγου τῶν ἑξήκοντα ἄξιος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ γίνεται ἅπας ὁ σωζόμενος, ἤτοι νοῦς ὁρῶν τὸν Θεόν· ὅσοι γὰρ βλέπουσι τὸν Θεὸν ἐκ τῆς ἐνεργείας, κυρίως τῇ προσηγορίᾳ ταύτῃ κατονομάζονται. Ἴδιον δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου, τὸ μηδενὶ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν βλέπειν· τούτου χάριν μία κλίνη λέγεται γίνεσθαι τοῦ βασιλέως πᾶν τὸ σωζόμενον· δώδεκα γὰρ τῶν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ φυλῶν ὄντων, ἑνὸς μὲν ἀφ' ἑκάστου μέρους λαμβανομένου τοῦ τῶν ἀριστερῶν πληρώματος· εἰς πᾶν τε δὲ ὁπλίτας κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν αἰσθήσεων, τοῦ ἑνὸς τούτου μεριζομένου, αἱ δώδεκα φυλαὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ποιοῦσιν ἑξήκοντα· οἵ τινες μία παράταξις, καὶ στρατὸς εἷς· καὶ μία κλίνη, τουτέστιν Ἐκκλησία μία, καὶ λαὸς, καὶ Νύμφη μία οἱ πάντες γενήσονται, ὑφ' ἑνὶ ταξιάρχῃ καὶ ἐκκλησιαστῇ καὶ Νυμφίῳ πρὸς ἑνὸς σώματος κοινωνίαν προσαρμοζόμενοι, διὰ τῶν μηρῶν τὴν ῥομφαίαν προβαλλόμενοι· εἴτ' οὖν ἑκάστῃ αἰσθήσει τὴν πρόσφορον ἑαυτῇ ῥομφαίαν εἰς κατάπληξιν τῶν ἐναντίων λογισμῶν προβαλλόμενοι. Τοσοῦτοι τοίνυν οἱ τὴν θείαν ἐν ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν ἐνδυσάμενοι πανοπλίαν, κυκλοῦντες τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν ἰδίαν δηλονότι καρδίαν, ἐν ᾗ ἀναπαύεται ὁ Νυμφίος· διὰ γὰρ τῆς κλίνης τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν δηλοῖ, ἣν ὁπλῖται φυλάττουσιν ἐν ἀπαθείᾳ καὶ καθαρότητι· ὡς ἐκθαμβεῖν τοὺς ἐν σκότῳ καὶ νυξὶν ἐπηρεάζοντας δαίμονας· κλίνη δὲ ἄλλως ἐπίγνωσις Θεοῦ, δι' ἧς ἐπαναπαύεται τοῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγγίζουσι.","english":"by having the sword fitted at his thigh. So then, the one girded with the sword of chastity is the one beloved on the incorruptible bed, one of the mighty men of Israel, and worthy of the word of the sixty. And since every one who is saved becomes Israel—that is, a mind that sees God; for as many as see God from the working, are rightly called by this name. And it is proper to such a one to look toward sin with none of the senses. For this reason the whole of the saved is said to become one bed of the king; for since the tribes of Israel are twelve, one being taken from each part of the fullness of those on the left, and the whole being armed according to the number of the senses, this one being divided, the twelve tribes of Israel make sixty; these are one battle-line and one army; and there will be one bed, that is, one Church, and one people, and one Bride, all becoming, fitted together under one commander and churchman and Bridegroom into the fellowship of one body, thrusting forth the sword through the thighs—whether, then, for each sense thrusting forth the sword suited to itself for the striking down of opposing thoughts. So many, then, are those who have put on the divine panoply in their senses, encircling the king's own heart, clearly, in which the Bridegroom rests; for through the bed he indicates the rest, which the armed men guard in impassibility and purity, so as to astound the demons who assail in darkness and nights. And the bed, in another sense, is the knowledge of God, through which he rests upon those who draw near to him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":77,"ref":"p77","source":"{Νείλου.} Κλίνην εἴρηκε τὸ Κυριακὸν σῶμα· ἑξήκοντα δὲ δυνατοὺς, εἴτε τις τὰς ἁγίας ἐρεῖ δυνάμεις κύκλῳ τοῦ Κυριακοῦ ἀνθρώπου, κατὰ τὸ, \"Προσῆλθον καὶ διηκόνουν αὐτῷ·\" καὶ, \"τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ·\" εἴτε τὰς τῶν\n\nἁγίων ψυχὰς τὰς διὰ τὸ δεδιδάχθαι τὸν πόλεμον τὸν κατὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ οὕτως ὠνομασμένας, οὐχ ἁμάρτῃ τοῦ προσήκοντος· οἵ τινες ῥομφαίαν ἐπὶ τοῦ μηροῦ κατέχουσιν· οἱ γὰρ καὶ τὸ πρακτικὸν λόγῳ κοσμήσαντες, καὶ τὸ παθητικὸν λόγῳ νεκρώσαντες, εὐλόγως κυκλοῦσι τὸν βασιλέα. Τῷ ἑξήκοντα δὲ προσαγορεύονται ἀριθμῷ, τέλειοι κατὰ πάντα γεγενημένοι, καὶ βεβηκότες ἑδραίως καὶ παγίως· κύβος γὰρ καὶ τετράγωνος ἀριθμὸς, ὁ ἑξήκοντα, ἴσος πᾶσι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ πάντοθεν μέρεσι· καὶ ἀσάλευτος, ἐκ τεσσάρων πέντε καὶ δεκάδων, καὶ ἓξ καὶ δεκάδων, καὶ πεντάδων δὲ καὶ δύο, καὶ τριάδων εἴκοσι συνεστὼς, καὶ τούτων ἔχων τὸ εἰρημένον πάγιον. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ ὄντες τοιοῦτοι καὶ ἀπὸ δυνατῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἐξελέγησαν ὡς δυνατῶν δυνατώτεροι· τάχα δὲ καὶ οἱ νῦν προασπίζοντες τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ λόγῳ καὶ πράξεσιν ὑπερμαχοῦντες τοῦ σώματος Χριστοῦ, κύκλῳ εἰσὶ τῆς κλίνης τοῦ Σαλομών· διὰ μὲν τοῦ ἀνθίστασθαι τῷ λόγῳ τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς, ἐν τῇ χειρὶ κατέχοντες ῥομφαίαν· διὰ δὲ τοῦ σωφρόνως καὶ ἐγκρατῶς βιοῦν, ἐπὶ μηροῦ τὴν ῥομφαίαν φοροῦντες διὰ τοὺς νυκτερινοὺς φόβους· Ἀνὴρ γὰρ, φησὶ, ῥομφαία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ θάμβους ἐν νυξίν·","english":"Nilou. He has called the Lord's body a bed; and the sixty mighty men, whether one calls them the holy powers encircling the Lord's man, according to \"They drew near and ministered to him,\" and \"He will command his angels concerning you,\" or the souls of the saints who, because they have been taught the war against the enemy, are thus named—you will not miss what is fitting. These hold a sword upon their thigh; for those who have adorned the practical faculty with reason and put to death the passionate faculty with reason rightly encircle the king. And they are addressed by the number sixty, having become perfect in all things and standing firmly and steadfastly; for sixty is a cube and a square number, equal on all sides in all its own parts, and immovable, being composed of four fifteens, and six tens, and five twos, and three twenties, and having in these the said firmness. For this reason, being such, they were chosen from the mighty men of Israel as mightier than the mighty; and perhaps also those who now champion the Church and fight in word and deed on behalf of the body of Christ are around the bed of Solomon: by resisting the heretics in word, holding a sword in the hand; and by living temperately and continently, carrying the sword upon the thigh because of the terrors of the night. For a man, it says, has his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the nights.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":78,"ref":"p78","source":"οὐ μόνον γὰρ τοὺς φανεροὺς ἐχθροὺς ἔβαλλον τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλέγχοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς λαθραίους δεδοικότες ἐπηρείας, διὰ τοὺς ἐν σκοτομήνῃ τοξεύοντας, καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ ἔμενον ὁπλοφοροῦντες, τὰς ἐφεδρείας τῶν ἐπιβούλων ὑφορώμενοι. θʹ, ιʹ. Φορεῖον ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς Σαλομὼν, ἀπὸ ξύλων τοῦ Λιβάνου· στύλους αὐτοῦ ἐποίησεν ἀργύριον, καὶ ἀνάκλιτον αὐτοῦ χρυσίον· ἐπίβασις αὐτοῦ πορφύρα, ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ λιθόστρωτον· ἀγάπην ἀπὸ θυγατέρων Ἱερουσαλήμ. {Θεοφίλου.} Ξύλον τοῦ Λιβάνου, Ῥοὺθ ἡ Μωαβῖτις, ἐξ οὗ Ἰεσσαί· φορεῖον τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὸ σῶμα τὸ Κυριακόν. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐν πολλοῖς Σαλομὼν, εἰς τύπον τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ βασιλέως παραλαμβάνεται, δῆλον καὶ τὸ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου μυστήριον ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ προσώπῳ διαγράφεται· διὰ τῆς τοῦ φορείου τοίνυν κατασκευῆς, ἡ περὶ ἡμῶν οἰκονομία τοῦ Κυρίου διασημαίνεται· πολυτρόπως γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τοῖς ἀξίοις ἑαυτοῦ γίνεται· καθὼς ἂν ἕκαστος ἔχῃ δυνάμεώς τε καὶ ἀξίας, οὕτως ἐν ἑκάστῳ γινόμενος· ἢ ἵππος εὐήνιος δεχόμενος ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἀναβάτην· οὔτως οὖν καὶ ὁ τὸν Θεὸν ἑαυτῷ φέρων, φορεῖον ἂν εἰκότως τοῦ εἰρηνικοῦ βασιλέως ὀνομάζοιτο· Πολλαχοῦ δὲ πάλιν ὁ Λίβανος ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ τὴν ἀντικειμένην ἐνδείκνυται δύναμιν· ὡς ἐν τῷ, Συντρίψει Κύριος τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου, καὶ λεπτυνεῖ αὐτὰς, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Δηλοῦντος τοῦ λόγου, ὄτι οὐ μόνον τὰ ἐκφυέντα παρὰ τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως κακὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ὄρος, ἡ πρώτη τοῦ κακοῦ ῥίζα, τὸ ὑποτρέφον τῶν τοιούτων κέδρων τὴν ὕλην εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν περιστήσεται.","english":"For they were not only striking down open enemies with the refutations of truth, but also, fearing secret assaults, because of those who shoot in the darkness, they remained under arms even at night, watching out for the ambushes of plotters. 9, 10. King Solomon made himself a litter from the woods of Lebanon; he made its pillars of silver, and its reclining-place of gold; its covering was purple, its interior was paved with stone; a love-offering from the daughters of Jerusalem. {Of Theophilus.} The wood of Lebanon is Ruth the Moabitess, from whom came Jesse; the litter, then, is the Lord's body. {Of Gregory.} That Solomon is in many places taken as a type of the true King is clear, and the mystery concerning the Lord is depicted in that figure; through the construction of the litter, then, the Lord's dispensation concerning us is signified. For God comes in many ways among those worthy of him, becoming in each one as each has capacity and worth—like a well-yoked horse receiving the good rider upon itself; so then he who bears God upon himself would reasonably be called a litter of the peaceful King. And again, Lebanon in Scripture often indicates the opposing power, as in, The Lord will crush the cedars of Lebanon, and will make them thin, and so on. The word shows that not only the evils that have sprung from the opposing power, but also the mountain itself, the first root of evil, which nurtures the timber of such cedars, will be brought to nothing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":79,"ref":"p79","source":"Οὐκοῦν ἡμεῖς ἦμέν ποτε τοῦ Λιβάνου ξύλα, ἕως ἂν ἐκείνῳ ἦμεν ἐριζωμένοι, διά τε τοῦ πονηροῦ βίου καὶ τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων ἀπάτης· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐκεῖθεν ὑπὸ τῆς λογικῆς ἀξίνης ἐτμήθημεν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς τοῦ τεχνίτου χερσὶν ἐγενόμεθα, φορεῖον ἡμᾶς ἑαυτοῦ ἐποίησε, μεταστοιχειώσας τοῦ ξύλου τὴν φύσιν, διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας εἰς ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον, καὶ εἰς εὐανθῆ πορφύραν, καὶ εἰς τὰς τῶν χαρισμάτων διανομάς· Ὧ μὲν γὰρ δίδοται, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, λόγος σοφίας, ἄλλῳ χαρίσματα προφητείας, ἄλλῳ δὲ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐνεργημάτων, πρὸς ὃ πέφυκέ τε καὶ δύναται ἕκαστος τὴν χάριν δέξασθαι· ἢ ὀφθαλμὸς τοῦ σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας γενόμενος, ἢ εἰς χεῖρας τασσόμενος, ἢ ἀντὶ ποδὸς ὑποστηρίζων· οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ φορείου κατασκευῇ, ὁ μέν τις στύλος, ὁ δὲ ἐπίβασις γίνεται, ἕτερος τὸ πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ μέρος, ὃ ἀνάκλιτον φησίν. Εἰσὶ τοίνυν ἀργύριον μὲν, οἱ στύλοι τοῦ φορείου· αἱ δὲ τούτων βάσεις, πορφύρα· ἐκ χρυσίου δὲ τὸ ἀνάκλιτον, ἐν ᾧ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ κλίνει ὁ Νυμφίος· τοῖς δὲ τιμίοις λίθοις τὸ ἔνδον ἅπαν καταπεποίκιλται. Οὐκοῦν στύλους μὲν νοητέον, τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοὺς στύλους· οἷς ἀκριβῶς ἀργύριον καθαρὸν καὶ πεπυρωμένον ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν ὁ τῆς βασιλείας, ἐν τῷ ὑψηλῷ τῆς πολιτείας ἐπιβεβηκώς. Ἐξαίρετον γὰρ γνώρισμα τῆς βασιλείας ἡ","english":"Therefore we too were once wood of Lebanon, as long as we were rooted in it, both through our wicked life and through the deceit of idols; but when we were cut from there by the rational axe, and came into the hands of the craftsman, he made us his own litter, transforming the nature of the wood through regeneration into silver and gold, and into blooming purple, and into the distributions of the gifts. For to one is given, according to the Apostle, the word of wisdom, to another gifts of prophecy, to another some other of the workings, according as each is naturally disposed and able to receive the grace; or having become an eye of the body of the Church, or being appointed for hands, or serving in place of a foot. So also in the construction of the litter, one becomes a pillar, another a step, another the part at the head, which he calls the couch. Therefore the pillars of the litter are silver; and their bases, purple; and the couch is of gold, on which the Bridegroom lays his head; and with precious stones the whole interior is adorned. Therefore by pillars we must understand the pillars of the Church, for whom the word of the kingdom is precisely pure and fiery silver, having stepped up in the height of their conduct. For the distinctive mark of the kingdom is","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":80,"ref":"p80","source":"πορφύρα νομίζεται· τὸ δὲ ἡγεμονικὸν αὐτῶν ἐν ᾧ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ κλίνει ὁ τὸ φορεῖον κατασκευάσας, τὸ τῶν καθαρῶν δογμάτων χρυσίον ἐστίν· ὅσα δὲ ἀφανῆ τε καὶ κρύφια τῇ καθαρᾷ συνειδήσει τῶν τιμίων λίθων ἐνωραΐζεται· δι' ὧν ἁπάντων, ἀγάπη ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων Ἱερουσαλὴμ συνίσταται. Εἰ δὲ βούλοιτό τις, φορεῖον μὲν πᾶσαν λέγει τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καταμερίζει δὲ καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐνεργειῶν διαφορὰς εἰς πρόσωπά τινα τοῦ φορείου τὰ μέλη, πολλὴν καὶ οὕτως εὐκολίαν ὁ λόγος ἔχει, ἑκάστῳ τάγματι τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τεταγμένων, ἐφαρμόσαι τοῦ φορείου τὰ μέρη· \"Ἔθετο γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, πρῶτον ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον προφήτας,\" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ὡς διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων, τῶν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ φορείου κατασκευὴν συντελούντων, ἱερέας νοεῖσθαι, καὶ διδασκάλους, καὶ τὴν σεμνὴν παρθενίαν, τὴν ἐντὸς τοῦ φορείου τῇ καθαρότητι τῶν αὐγῶν, οἷόν τισι λίθων αὐγαῖς ἐναστράπτουσαν· καὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ βίου καθαρότητος τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ θυγατέρας δείκνυσθαι, ἐν αἷς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπη ἐνεργὸς γίνεται. {Νείλου.} Τὸ φορεῖον, σκεῦος θρόνῳ παραπλήσιον δεχόμενον τὸν καθεζόμενον· τοῦτο δὲ τάχα ὁ Παῦλός ἐστι τὸ, \"Σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς.\" Καὶ γὰρ θρόνον αὐτὸν καλεῖ ἡ σοφία λέγουσα ἀλλαχοῦ· \"Συμπαρήμην ἡνίκα ἀφώριζε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θρόνον ἐπ' ἀνέμων·\" ἐπ' ἀνέμων δὲ ἀφωρίσθη, διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πειρασμῶν καὶ τῶν περιστάσεων· ἢ καὶ διὰ τὸ κούφοις ποσὶ περιδραμεῖν τὴν οἰκουμένην τῇ σπουδῇ τοῦ κηρύγματος. Φορεῖον οὖν ἐστιν οὗτος, τὸν μὲν νοῦν ἔχων ἀνάκλιτον χρύσεον, ἐφ' οὗ ἀναπαύεται ὁ Νυμφίος· τὸν δὲ λόγον στύλους ἀργυρίου·","english":"It is considered purple; but their ruling faculty, in which he who prepared the litter bows his head, is the gold of pure doctrines; and whatever things are invisible and hidden are adorned in the pure conscience with precious stones; through all of which, love from the daughters of Jerusalem is established. But if someone wishes to call the whole Church the litter, and to distribute the differences of the activities to certain persons as the members of the litter, the account thus also has great facility, to fit the parts of the litter to each order of those appointed in the Church; for \"God has set in the Church, first apostles, second prophets,\" and the rest; so that through these names, of those contributing to the construction of the litter, priests are understood, and teachers, and venerable virginity, which within the litter shines forth in the purity of its rays, as it were with the rays of stones; and through the purity of life the daughters of the Jerusalem above are shown, in whom the love of God becomes effective. {Of Nilus.} The litter is a vessel resembling a throne, receiving the one who sits; this perhaps is Paul, the \"vessel of election.\" For wisdom also calls him a throne, saying elsewhere: \"I was present when he set apart his throne upon the winds\"; and he was set apart upon the winds, because of the multitude of temptations and circumstances; or also because he ran around the inhabited world with swift feet in the zeal of preaching. This man, then, is the litter, having his mind as a golden couch, on which the Bridegroom rests; and his word as pillars of silver.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":81,"ref":"p81","source":"τῷ γὰρ ἀποστολικῷ λόγῳ στηρίζεται τὸ κήρυγμα τὸ ἐκκλησιαστικόν. Στύλοι οὖν οἱ λόγοι, διὰ τὸ ἑδραῖον καὶ ἀμετάθετον· ἀργύριον δὲ διὰ τὸ δόκιμον καὶ ἀνεπίληπτον τοῦ Ἀποστόλου· καὶ ἡ ἐπίβασις δὲ τούτων ἐστὶ πορφύρα· οἱ γὰρ διὰ τῶν τούτου λόγων ὁδεύοντες εἰς βασιλείαν φθάνουσιν οὐρανῶν, τῷ ἀξιώματι ἐπιβαίνοντες ὡς πορφύρα, καὶ λέγοντες μετὰ τοῦ Παύλου, \"Ἡμῶν δὲ τὸ πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανῷ ὑπάρχει·\" καὶ τὸ ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ λιθόστρωτον, ἡ τιμία τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ καλὴ ἐν ἀποῤῥήτῳ διάθεσις· ἃς ὅταν μὲν θεμέλιός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς, ὡς λίθους τιμίους τούτῳ ἐποικοδομεῖ· ὅταν δὲ βάσις τῷ τοῦ φορείου ἐδάφει ψηφολογῇ, ποικίλην καὶ εὐανθεστάτην τοῖς βασιλικοῖς ποσὶ κατασκευάζει τὴν ἐπίβασιν· καὶ τοῖς πολιτευομένοις κατὰ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν παράδοσιν, εὐμαρῆ καὶ λείαν τὴν προκοπὴν ἐργαζόμενος· ἢ τάχα καὶ τὸ ἀνεπίφαντον καὶ ἀτράγῳδον δηλοῖ· τὴν γὰρ τοῦ ἐναρέτου πολιτείαν κρυφαίαν εἶναι βούλεται· ὅθεν καὶ διὰ τοῦ ἐντὸς εἰπεῖν, τὸ ἀδημοσίευτον ἐδήλωσε τῆς ἀρετῆς· καὶ ἀγάπην δὲ συγκατασκευάσθαι φησὶ τῇ τοῦ φορείου κατασκευῇ· χωρὶς γὰρ ταύτης οὐδὲν τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν ὄφελος. Ἀπὸ ξύλων δὲ τοῦ Λιβάνου ἐστὶ τὸ φορεῖον ἐκ τῶν κατὰ σάρκα συγγενῶν αὐτοῦ Ἰσραηλιτῶν· τούτους γὰρ ὁ Λίβανος σημαίνει. Φορεῖον Σαλομὼν, οἱ ἅγιοι ἐν οἷς Χριστὸς ἀναπαύεται· ξύλα δὲ Λιβάνου οἱ ἀπὸ Ἰσραὴλ τροπικῶς. Ἀλλ' ὅταν μὲν, \"Συντρίβε Κύριος πὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου καὶ λεπτύνει αὐτὰς ὡς τὸν μόσχον τὸν Λίβανον,\" περὶ τῶν μὴ τηρησάντων λέγει τὴν θεοσέβειαν ἐν ᾗ κατεφυτεύθησαν· περὶ ὧν καὶ Ἡσαΐας·","english":"For the ecclesiastical proclamation is established by the apostolic word. The words, then, are pillars, because of their firmness and immovability; and silver, because of the Apostle's proven and blameless character; and their mounting is purple; for those who travel by his words arrive at the kingdom of the heavens, mounting by their dignity as by purple, and saying with Paul, \"But our citizenship is in heaven.\" And the pavement within it is the precious and beautiful disposition of the virtues in secret; when Christ is the foundation, he builds them upon him as precious stones; but when it is the base for the floor of the litter, it mosaics the mounting, varied and most blooming for the royal feet, and for those who live as citizens according to the apostolic tradition, making their progress easy and smooth; or perhaps it signifies the unostentatious and untragic; for he wishes the conduct of the virtuous to be hidden; whence also by saying \"within,\" he indicated the non-public nature of virtue. And he says that love is built together with the construction of the litter; for without this there is no benefit from the remaining virtues. And the litter is of the woods of Lebanon, that is, of his kinsmen according to the flesh, the Israelites; for Lebanon signifies these. The litter of Solomon is the saints in whom Christ rests; and the woods of Lebanon are figuratively those from Israel. But when, \"The Lord crushes all the cedars of Lebanon and makes them thin as the calf, Lebanon,\" he speaks of those who did not keep the piety in which they were planted; concerning whom also Isaiah...","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":82,"ref":"p82","source":"\"Ὁ δὲ Λίβανος σὺν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς πεσεῖται·\" ὅταν δὲ διὰ τὴν τοῦ ναοῦ κατασκευὴν λέγει τῷ Χειρὰμ ὁ Σαλομὼν, \"Καὶ νῦν ἔντειλαι, καὶ κοψάτωσάν μοι ξύλα τοῦ Λιβάνου,\" περὶ τῶν ἀναφερομένων ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν ἐκ λίθων ζώντων οἰκοδομὴν, τοῖς ζῶσι λίθοις ἀναλογούντων ξύλων· ὡς δὲ λόγῳ κεκοσμημένοι ἀργύριον λέγονται. Εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἀνάκλιτον τοῦ ἀναπαυομένου λόγου, καὶ ἔχοντος ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλῖναι· τὸ δὲ χρυσίον ὁ νοῦς. Ὁπηνίκα δὲ τυχὸν ὁ Παῦλος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν ταῖς περιστάσεσι καμάτων μὴ νικηθῇ, οἱονεί τινι βαφῇ ἑαυτῷ πορίζεται νηχόμενος· πρέπουσαν πορφύραν τῷ ἐν αὐτῷ βασιλεῖ λόγῳ ἐντρυφῶντι τῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων περὶ τὰς περιστάσεις ὑπομονῇ· τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς τοῦ φορείου λιθόστρωτον ἔστρωται, ἐξ ὧν ἕκαστος ἑαυτῷ συνάγει λίθων τιμίων ἐπιοικοδομῶν χρυσὸν ἄργυρον καὶ λίθους τιμίους.\n\n{Κυρίλλου.} Ἡ πνευματικὴ δὲ συνάφεια νοείσθω χρυσίον, ἡ τιμία καὶ θεῖα· καὶ τὴν κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον γὰρ κιβωτὸν ἔσωθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν, χρυσίον ὑπείληφεν εἰς ἐμφάνειαν τῆς θείας ἑνώσεως· ἐπιβαίνει δὲ πορφύρα τῷ πλήθει τῶν εἰς βασιλείαν κληθέντων. Ἐπ' ἂν δέ τις πιστεύσῃ, δέχεται τῇ καρδίᾳ Χριστὸν, ὅς ἐστι τίμιος μαργαρίτης· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ φορεῖόν φησιν ἐκ τῶν θυγατέρων πεποίηται τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ διὰ μόνην ἀγάπην· οὔτω γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλεν Υἱὸν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ' ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. ιαʹ.","english":"And Lebanon with its heights shall fall.” When Solomon says to Hiram because of the construction of the temple, “And now command, and let them cut for me cedars of Lebanon,” the word concerns those things that are referred to the spiritual building of living stones—wood corresponding to the living stones; and as adorned with reason they are called silver. They are also a couch for the Word who rests and has somewhere to lay his head; and the gold is the mind. And whenever Paul, perhaps, is not overcome by the labors in his afflictions, he procures for himself, as it were, by a kind of dye, swimming in it—a purple robe fitting for the kingly Word within him, who delights in the endurance of the apostles amid afflictions. And the mosaic pavement in the things of the litter has been spread out, from the precious stones which each one gathers for himself, building upon them gold, silver, and precious stones.\n\n{Of Cyril.} Let the spiritual union be understood as gold, the precious and divine union; for the ark in the wilderness, within and without, was overlaid with gold, for the manifestation of the divine union; and purple is put upon it because of the multitude of those called into the kingdom. And whenever someone believes, he receives Christ in his heart, who is the precious pearl; but he also says that the litter was made from the daughters of Jerusalem for the sake of love alone; for so God loved the world that he sent his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 11.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":83,"ref":"p83","source":"Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε, θυγατέρες Σιὼν, ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ Σαλομὼν, ἐν τῷ στεφάνῳ ᾧ ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ νυμφεύσεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὐφροσύνης καρδίας αὐτοῦ. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία, φησὶ τὸ, Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε· ἡμέραν δὲ νυμφεύσεως, τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πάθους καλεῖ· καθ' ἣν ἐνυμφεύσατο τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ. {Φίλωνος.} Ἐξέλθετε, φησὶ, τῆς κακίας τοῦ νόμου· ἴδετε Χριστὸν καὶ τὸν ἐξ ἀκανθῶν στέφανον ὃν ἐπέθηκεν αὐτῷ ἡ Συναγωγὴ, ἐξ ἧς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα Χριστός· Ἡμέρα μία χαρᾶς, τὸ Πάσχα ἐστὶν, ἐν ᾧ ἔφη \"Ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἐπεθύμησα τὸ πάσχα τοῦτο φαγεῖν μεθ' ὑμῶν.\" {Γρηγορίου.} Προτροπὴν ὁ λόγος οὗτος περιέχει πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας Ἱερουσαλὴμ παρὰ τῆς Νύμφης τῶν σαρκικῶν ἐξελθεῖν, αἵ τινες νοοῖντο ἂν καὶ τῶν σωζομένων ψυχαί. Ἕως πότε, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τοῦ βίου συγκλείεσθε; ἐξέλθετε τῶν προκαλυμμάτων τῆς φύσεως, καὶ ἴδετε τὸ θαυμαστὸν θέαμα, Σιὼν θυγατέρες γινόμεναι, ὥστε ἀπὸ σκοπιᾶς ὑψηλῆς (οὕτω γὰρ ἡ Σιὼν ἑρμηνεύεται), δυνηθῆναι θεάσασθαι στεφανηφοροῦντα τὸν Νυμφίον. Στέφανος δὲ αὐτῷ ἡ Ἐκκλησία γίνεται, διὰ τῶν ἐμψύχων λίθων τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐν κύκλῳ διαλαμβάνουσα· στεφανηπλόκος δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου στεφάνου ἡ ἀγάπη ἐστίν· ἢν εἴτε ἀγάπην, εἴτε μητέρα τις λέγει, οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεται· \"Θεὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἀγάπη,\" κατὰ τὴν Ἰωάννου φωνήν· οὐδὲν δὲ διαφέρει ἐπὶ Θεοῦ λεγόμενον· οὔτε γὰρ ἄῤῥεν, οὔτε θῆλυ τὸ Θεῖον.","english":"Go forth and see, daughters of Zion, in King Solomon, in the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the gladness of his heart. {Of Cyril.} The Church from the nations, he says, is the “Go forth and see”; and the day of wedding he calls the day of his passion, on which he wed the Church through his blood. {Of Philo.} Go forth, he says, from the wickedness of the law; see Christ and the crown of thorns which the Synagogue placed on him, from which Christ is according to the flesh. One day of joy is the Passover, on which he said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.” {Of Gregory.} This word contains an exhortation to the daughters of Jerusalem from the Bride to go forth from fleshly things, which might also be understood as the souls of those being saved. How long, he says, are you shut up in the cave of this life? Go forth from the coverings of nature, and see the wondrous sight, becoming daughters of Zion, so that from a high watchtower (for thus Zion is interpreted) you may be able to behold the Bridegroom wearing his crown. And the Church becomes his crown, encircling his head with living stones; and the weaver of such a crown is love—whether one calls it love or mother, he will not err; “for God is love,” according to John’s voice; and it makes no difference when said of God; for the Divine is neither male nor female.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":84,"ref":"p84","source":"Πῶς γὰρ, ὁπόταν οὐδὲ ἡμῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς παραμένῃ, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἐν Χριστῷ ἓν πάντες γενόμεθα, τὰ σημεῖα τῆς διαφορᾶς ταύτης μετὰ ὄλου τοῦ παλαιοῦ ἀνθρώπου συνεκδυόμεθα· κἀν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ Πατὴρ λέγεται ποιεῖν τῷ Υἱῷ τοὺς γάμους· καὶ ὁ Προφήτης φησὶν, \"Ὅτι ἔθηκας ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ στέφανον·\" ἐνταῦθα δὲ παρὰ τῆς μητρὸς φησὶ ἐπιτεθεῖσθαι τῷ Νυμφίῳ τὸν στέφανον. Ἐπεὶ οὖν εἷς ἐστιν ὁ γάμος καὶ μία ἡ Νύμφη, καὶ παρ' ἑνὸς ἐπιβάλλεται τῷ Νυμφίῳ στέφανος, οὐδὲν διαφέρει ἢ Υἱὸν Θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ λέγειν Θεὸν, ἢ Υἱὸν τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ· μιᾶς οὔσης καθ' ἑκάτερον ὄνομα τῆς νυμφοστολούσης αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ συνοικήσει δυνάμεως. Ἐνευφραίνεσθαι δὲ τούτῳ τῷ στεφάνῳ λέγει αὐτὸν ἡ Νύμφη τῷ νυμφικῷ κόσμῳ ἐναγαλλόμενον· χάριτι γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς σύνοικον ἑαυτοῦ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ποιησάμενος, ταῖς ἀρεταῖς διαπρεπόντων ἐν αὐτῇ στεφανούμενος εὐφραίνεται. {Νείλου.} Τίς μὲν ὁ ταῦτα λέγων, ἄδηλον· ἴσος δὲ οἱ τοῦ Νυμφίου φίλοι· πλὴν ὃς ἂν ᾖ, τοὺς ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν καλοῖ· Σιὼν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ τούτων μήτηρ ἡ τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ νόμον βλαστήσασα. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ πρότερος νόμος, ἀπὸ Σινᾶ, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος ἀπὸ Σιών. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου ἐκάθητο τὰ ἔθνη, προσκαλεῖται αὐτοὺς τάχα ὁ ταῦτα εἰρηκὼς προφήτης λέγων· \"Ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει,\" ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε· τί δὲ, ἐπιφέρει θαυμάζων τὸ τόλμημα. Ἐν τῷ στεφάνῳ ᾧ ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ νυμφεύσεως αὐτοῦ.","english":"For how could this be, when it does not even remain with us human beings continually, but when we all become one in Christ, we put off the marks of this distinction together with the whole old man? And in the Gospel the Father is said to make the wedding for the Son; and the Prophet says, \"For you placed a crown upon his head\"; but here he says that the crown was placed upon the Bridegroom by his mother. Since, then, the wedding is one and the bride is one, and the crown is placed upon the Bridegroom by one, it makes no difference whether one says that the only-begotten Son of God is God, or the Son of his love, since the power that arrays him as bride is one under either name, for our dwelling together. And the Bride says that he rejoices in this crown, exulting in the bridal adornment; for having truly made the Church his companion by grace, he rejoices, being crowned with the virtues of those who are distinguished in her. {Of Nilus.} Who it is that says these things is unclear; but it is likely the friends of the Bridegroom; but whoever he is, he calls those from the nations; for Zion is their mother, she who put forth the law of Christ. For the former law was from Sinai, but the second from Zion. Since, then, the nations sat in darkness and the shadow of death, the prophet who said these things perhaps summons them, saying, \"The people who sat in darkness,\" come out and see; and what does he add, marveling at the boldness? In the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":85,"ref":"p85","source":"Ἡμέρα δὲ νυμφεύσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡμέρα εὐφροσύνης καρδίας αὐτοῦ ἦν, ἡ τοῦ σταυροῦ ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν ὡς Νύμφην ἔλαβε μεμνηστευμένην αὐτῷ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν. Ὁρῶν οὖν τὴν πολλάκις εὐεργετημένην Συναγωγὴν ὁ προφήτης, οὐ δικαίας ἀμοιβὰς ἀποδιδοῦσαν τῷ Χριστῷ, ἀλλ' ἀκάνθινον ἐπιθεῖσα στέφανον τῇ κεφαλῇ, ἐκπληττόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ τοιούτων παρανομήματι, φησίν· \"Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ Σαλομὼν, ἐν τῷ στεφάνῳ ᾧ ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ μητὴρ αὐτοῦ·\"\n\nμητέρα δὲ αὐτὴν λέγει Χριστοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ἐξ ἐκείνης κατάγεται καὶ τῇ γενεαλογίᾳ καὶ τῇ κατὰ σάρκα οἰκονομίᾳ. ΚΕΦΑΛ. Δʹ. αʹ. Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, ἡ πλησίον μου, ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή· οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου περιστεραὶ, ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου. {Γρηγορίου.} Διὰ τῆς προτροπῆς τῶν προειρημένων τῆς Νύμφης τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ὁ λόγος ἀποδεξάμενος, ὅτι κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ Δεσπότου καὶ αὐτὴ θέλει πάντας σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν, ὅλην ἀποσεμνύνει, καὶ θαυμάζει τὸ κάλλος, ἐμφιλοχωρῶν τῷ λόγῳ τοῖς καθ' ἕκαστον μέλεσιν· ἴδιον ἑκάστῳ μέλει διὰ συγκρίσεώς τε καὶ ὁμοιώσεως χαριζόμενος τὸ ἐγκώμιον· καλὴ οὖν, φησὶ, πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ λόγος, τῇ ἀγαθῇ προαιρέσει τῷ καλῷ προσεγγίσασα· πλησίον δὲ αὐτὴν καλεῖ, διὰ τὸ μιμήσασθαι τὴν αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν, καὶ ἐγκελεύσασθαι ταῖς λοιπαῖς ψυχαῖς καταλιπεῖν τὰ πρόσκαιρα, καὶ ἐξελθοῦσαν ἰδεῖν τὸν Νυμφίον στεφανηφοροῦντα· διὰ δὲ τῆς ἐπαναλήψεως τοῦ ἐπαίνου τὸ ἄψευστον τῆς μαρτυρίας ἐνδείκνυται· ἐν γὰρ τῇ διπλῇ μαρτυρίᾳ βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁ θεῖος ἀποφαίνεται λόγος.","english":"The day of Christ's marriage and the day of the joy of his heart was the day of the cross, on which he took the Church from the Gentiles as a Bride, betrothed to him through the prophets. Seeing therefore the Synagogue, often benefited, the prophet, as she returned not just recompense to Christ but placed a crown of thorns upon his head, being astonished at such a transgression of the law, says: \"Go forth and behold King Solomon, in the crown with which his mother crowned him.\"\n\nAnd he calls her the mother of Christ, since he is descended from her both in genealogy and in the economy according to the flesh. CHAPTER 4, 1. Behold, you are fair, my neighbor, behold you are fair; your eyes are doves, besides your silence. {Of Gregory.} Through the exhortation of the things previously spoken, the Word, having accepted the Bride's love for humanity—that in imitation of the Master she too wishes all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth—adorns her wholly and marvels at her beauty, dwelling with pleasure in the Word upon each individual member, granting to each member its own praise through comparison and likeness. Fair, then, says the Word to her, having drawn near to the good by her good purpose; and he calls her neighbor, because she imitated his love for humanity and exhorted the other souls to leave behind things temporal and, having gone forth, to see the Bridegroom wearing the crown. And through the repetition of the praise he demonstrates the unerring character of the testimony; for in double testimony the divine word declares that the truth is confirmed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":86,"ref":"p86","source":"Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἓν σῶμα ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἐν δὲ τῷ ἑνὶ σώματι μέλη πολλὰ, οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχοντα πρᾶξιν, τούτου χάριν ὁ ἀκριβὴς τοῦ κάλλους δοκιμαστὴς, τῶν ἀρεσάντων αὐτῷ μελῶν ἐξ ὅλου σώματος, ἴδιόν τε καὶ πρόσφορον ἑκάστου ποιεῖται τὸν ἔπαινον· ἄρχεται δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν· οὗτοι δ' ἂν εἶεν, οἷον ὁ Σαμουὴλ, ὁ βλέπων γὰρ ὀνομάζετο· καὶ ὁ Ἰεζεκιὴλ, ὁ σκοπεύειν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ τεταγμένος ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν φυλασσομένων παρ' αὐτοῦ σωτηρίᾳ· καὶ Μιχαίας ὁ ὁρῶν, καὶ Μωσῆς ὁ θεώμενος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Θεὸς ὠνομασμένος· ὀφθαλμοὶ πάντες ἐκεῖνοι οἱ εἰς ὁδηγίαν τοῦ λαοῦ τεταγμένοι, οἳ καὶ ὁρῶντες ὠνομάζοντο· καὶ νῦν δὲ οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προεστῶτες, οἱ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκείνοις τρόπον ἐπέχοντες, καὶ πρὸς τὸ φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ λοιπὸν σῶμα καθοδηγοῦντες. Περιστεραὶ δὲ, φησὶν, εἴτουν πνευματικοὶ καὶ πρὸς οὐδὲν βλέποντες ὑλικόν· ἢ καὶ τὴν ἀκεραιότητα διὰ τούτων ᾐνίξατο. Ἡ δυὰς τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐπαινεῖται ὡς ἂν ὁ λόγος γένοιτο ἐν ἐπαίνῳ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ φαινόμενός τε καὶ νοούμενος· διὰ γὰρ τοῦτό φησιν, Ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου· τοῦ γὰρ ἀγαθοῦ βίου, τὸ μὲν ἀνθρώποις πρόδηλον, τὸ δὲ μόνῳ Θεῷ· μαρτυρεῖ τοίνυν ὁ τὰ κρυπτὰ βλέπων πλέον εἶναι τοῦ ὁρωμένου τὸ σιωπώμενον. {Νείλου.} Ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεως προσέθηκε· τὰ γὰρ πνευματικὰ θεωροῦσα, μᾶλλον ἂν ἦς καλὴ καὶ λέγουσα αὐτά· Σιωπῶσα δὲ ἐξ ἡμισείας εἶ καλὴ, τὰ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν τῶν πολλῶν ἡσυχάζουσα, κἂν μετριάζουσα τοῦτο ποιῇς· κρύπτειν μὲν γὰρ ἔργον ἀρετῆς καλὸν, ὅταν ἡ πρόθεσις ῥέπῃ ἐπὶ τὸ φιλόδοξον·","english":"Since the Church is one body, and in the one body there are many members, not all having the same function, for this reason the exact examiner of beauty, from the whole body of the members that pleased him, makes the praise of each one particular and appropriate; and he begins with the eyes. These would be, for instance, Samuel—for he was called \"the seeing one\"—and Ezekiel, who was appointed by God to watch over the salvation of those guarded by him; and Micah \"the seer,\" and Moses \"who beholds,\" and for this reason was named God. All those appointed to guide the people were eyes, and they were called \"seeing.\" And now too the leaders of the Church, who hold the same rank as those men and guide the rest of the body toward the light of truth. And doves, he says, whether meaning spiritual, and looking to nothing material; or else through these he hinted at purity. The pair of eyes is praised, so that the praise may be spoken of the man who is both apparent and understood; for this reason he says, \"apart from your silence\"; for of the good life, one part is evident to men, the other to God alone. Therefore he who sees hidden things testifies that what is kept silent is greater than what is seen. {Of Nilus.} He added \"apart from your silence\"; for if you contemplate spiritual things, you would be beautiful rather even in speaking them; but being silent you are beautiful by half, keeping quiet about what is for the benefit of the many, even if you do this in moderation; for to conceal is a good work of virtue, when the intention inclines toward love of glory.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":87,"ref":"p87","source":"λόγον δὲ τοὺς ἀκούοντας οἰκοδομεῖν δυνάμενον, οὐχ ἡσυχαστέον, κἂν πρὸς ἔπαινον οὐ δεόντως ὁ τοῦ λέγοντος βλέπῃ σκοπός. 1640 {Κυρίλλου.} Ἡ σιωπὴ αὐτῆς σημαίνει τὴν εἰς ἅπαν ὑπακοὴν κατὰ τὸ, \"Σιώπα καὶ ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ.\" Τρίχωμά σου ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν αἰγῶν, αἳ ἀνέβησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Γαλαάδ. {Γρηγορίου.} Διὰ τούτων τὴν ἐνάρετον πολιτείαν ἐν ἐπαίνῳ ποιεῖται ὁ λόγος· διὰ γὰρ τῶν ἀναισθήτων τριχῶν, τὴν πρὸς τὰ κοσμικὰ ἔργα ἀναισθησίαν· τῶν τὴν πνευματικὴν ἐργασίαν μετιόντων τοῦ βίου πεποιημένων· τρίχωμα γὰρ, τὸ ἀντὶ περιβολαίου δεδομένον ταῖς γυναιξὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον· αἰδώς τε καὶ σωφροσύνη νοεῖται μετὰ τῆς ἐν κόσμῳ νεκρώσεως· ἀναίσθητον γὰρ ἡ θρίξ· διὰ δὲ τοῦ πλεονεκτήματος τῶν τριχῶν, ἀγέλαις αἰγῶν παραβάλλεσθαι ταῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ Γαλαὰδ ἀνακαλυφθείσαις· οὕτω χρὴ στοχάζεσθαι, ὅτι ὥσπερ τὰ ξύλα τοῦ Λιβάνου, εἰς χρυσόν τε καὶ πορφύραν μεταποιήσας, φορεῖον ἑαυτῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς κατεσκεύασεν, οὕτως οἶδεν ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς, αἰγῶν ἀγέλας παραλαβὼν, εἰς ποίμνια μεταβαλεῖν τὰ αἰπόλια τοῦ ὄρους Γαλαάδ· ἀλλοφύλου δὲ ὄρους ὄνομα τοῦτο, τοῦ τὴν τοιαύτην χάριν ἀνακαλύπτοντος, ὥστε τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν τῷ καλῷ ποιμένι ἀκολουθήσαντας, εἰς τὸ τρίχωμα συντελέσαι τοῦ τῆς Νύμφης κάλλους· δι' ὧν σωφροσύνη τε καὶ αἰδὼς, καὶ ἐγκράτεια, καὶ ἡ τοῦ σώματος νέκρωσις διασημαίνεται· ἢ τάχα συμβάλλεταί τι πρὸς τὴν τῶν αἰγῶν θεωρίαν, καὶ ὁ Ἠλίας τῷ ὄρει τῷ Γαλαὰδ ἐμφιλοσοφήσας","english":"But one must not keep silent about the word that is able to build up the hearers, even if the speaker's aim looks toward praise in an improper way. {Of Cyril.} Her silence signifies obedience in all things, according to \"Be silent and hear, O Israel.\" Your hair is like flocks of goats that have come up from Gilead. {Of Gregory.} Through these words the discourse brings the virtuous conduct of life into praise; for by the insensitive hairs is meant insensitivity to worldly works—of those who have made the pursuit of the spiritual work of life their own. For \"hair\" is what is given to women instead of a covering, according to the Apostle; modesty and chastity are understood together with death to the world; for a hair is without sensation. And by the abundance of hair, they are compared to flocks of goats that were revealed from Gilead. Thus one must infer that, just as the king, transforming the cedars of Lebanon into gold and purple, prepared a litter for himself, so the good Shepherd knows how, taking flocks of goats, to transform the herds of the mountain of Gilead into flocks; and this is the name of a foreign mountain, of that which reveals such grace, so that those from the Gentiles who followed the good Shepherd may contribute to the hair of the Bride's beauty; through which chastity and modesty and self-control and the mortification of the body are signified. Or perhaps Elijah also contributes something to the contemplation of the goats, who philosophized on the mountain of Gilead","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":88,"ref":"p88","source":"χρόνον πολὺν, ὃς μάλιστα τοῦ κατ' ἐγκράτειαν καθηγήσατο βίου· αὐχμηρὸς τὸ εἶδος, λάσιος τὴν τρίχα, δέρματι αἰγὸς σκεπαζόμενος. Πάντες οὖν οἱ κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἑαυτῶν κατορθοῦντες βίον, κόσμος γίνονται τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἀγεληδὸν κατὰ τὸν νῦν ἐπικρατοῦντα τῆς φιλοσοφίας τύπον, τὴν ἀρετὴν μετ' ἀλλήλων ἐμπονοῦντες. Τὸ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ Γαλαὰδ τὰς τοιαύτας ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἀγέλας, μείζονα τοῦ θαύματος τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ἔχει· ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἐθνικοῦ βίου γέγονεν ἡμῖν, ἡ πρὸς τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν φιλοσοφίαν μετάβασις. Οὐ γὰρ Σιὼν ὄρος τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ τῆς τοιαύτης καθηγήσατο πολιτείας, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῖς εἰδώλοις ἀνακείμενον ἔθνος εἰς τοσαύτην ἦλθε τοῦ βίου μεταβολὴν, ὥστε κοσμῆσαι τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς Νύμφης τοῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν πλημμελήμασιν. {Νείλου.} Ὡς μὲν πρὸς τὸ ῥητὸν, οὐδὲν ἔχει κοινὸν ἡ σύγκρισις· τί γὰρ ὅμοιον τρίχωμα καὶ ἀγέλαι αἰγῶν; Ὡς δὲ πατρὸς τὴν ἔννοιαν, πολλή τίς ἐστιν ἡ συμφωνία· εἴτε γὰρ ψυχή ἐστι τελεία πρὸς ἣν ταῦτα εἴρηται, εἴτε ἡ ἔνδοξος Ἐκκλησία, ἔχει τινὰ ἀκολουθίαν ἡ θεωρία τῆς λέξεως· καὶ γὰρ τῆς τελείας ψυχῆς τὰ οἱονεὶ ἀποβλήματα καὶ περιττὰ, ἅ τινά ἐστι τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος ἐπιτελούμενα χρειώδη πράγματα, ἐπειδὴ καθηκόντως γίνεται, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ πρέποντος κόσμου, ἀγέλῃ αἰγῶν ὁμοιοῦται συντεταγμένῃ καὶ εὖ πεφραγμένῃ καὶ οὐδὲν ἐχούσῃ διατετμημένον, διὰ τὸ ἔχεσθαι τοῦ τῆς φύσεως ὀρθοῦ λόγου, καὶ ἡγεμονεύεσθαι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δεόντως. Ὅταν γὰρ τὸ κεχυμένον τῆς ἀσώτου τρυφῆς εἰς τὸ χρειῶδες καὶ ἀναγκαῖον στέληται, ἔσται ἀγέλῃ αἰγῶν τὸ λεγόμενον τρίχωμα παραπλήσιον·","english":"for a long time, he who most of all led the life according to self-control: squalid in appearance, shaggy in hair, covered with a goat's skin. All those, then, who in that time prosper their own life become the adornment of the Church, in flocks according to the prevailing form of philosophy now, laboring at virtue together with one another. But that such flocks were revealed from Gilead has an excess greater than the wonder: that from the Gentile life has come to us the transition to the philosophy according to God. For it was not Mount Zion, his holy place, that led such a way of life, but the nation devoted to idols came to so great a change of life as to adorn the head of the Bride with the achievements according to virtue. {Of Nilus.} As regards the literal sense, the comparison has nothing in common; for what is similar between hair and flocks of goats? But as regards the father's meaning, there is great harmony; for whether it is a perfect soul to which these things have been said, or the glorious Church, the contemplation of the expression has a certain coherence; for even the perfect soul's so-called cast-offs and superfluities, which are certain necessary matters accomplished through the body, since they come about as is fitting and with proper adornment, are likened to a flock of goats arranged and well fenced in and having nothing cut off, because it cleaves to the right reason of nature and is duly governed by it. For when the effusion of prodigal luxury is confined to what is necessary and needful, what is called hair will be like a flock of goats.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":89,"ref":"p89","source":"τὰ τοίνυν σωματικὰ, ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἀδιαφόροις ἀδιάφορα, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἐπιμελεστέροις σπουδαῖα καὶ χρήσιμα· ἐὰν δὲ ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἐστὶ πρὸς ἣν λέγεται ταῦτα, τρίχωμα αὐτῆς εἰσιν οἱ μετανοοῦντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι· διὸ καὶ ἀγέλῃ αἰγῶν, ἀλλ' οὐ προβάτων, παραβάλλονται· ἀπεκαλύφθησαν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Γαλαὰδ τοῦ μετοικήσαντος ἀπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη λόγου· Γαλαὰδ γὰρ μετοικία μαρτυρίας ἑρμηνεύεται· ὅτε μὲν γὰρ τῷ Ἰουδαϊκῷ ἔλεγεν ἔθνει· Ὑμεῖς λαός μου καὶ πρόβατα τῆς κληρονομίας μου, ἐκείνων ἦν ἡ μαρτυρία· ὅτε δὲ τὰ ἔθνη λαὸν ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ, τούτῳ γέγονε μαρτύριον, μετοικῆσαν ἀπ' ἐκείνων ἐπὶ τούτου. βʹ. Ὀδόντες σου ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν κεκαρμένων αἳ ἀνέβησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ λουτροῦ· αἱ πᾶσαι διδυμεύουσαι, καὶ ἀτεκνοῦσα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖσ. {Γρηγορίου.} Πρῶτον λέγει περὶ ὀδόντων, παραδραμὼν τοῦ στόματος καὶ τῶν χειλέων τὰ ἐγκώμια· καὶ εἶθ' οὕτω περὶ χειλῶν· πρῶτον γάρ τις ἑστιᾶται τὰ πνευματικὰ μαθήματα, καὶ οἷον καταλεαίνει ὥσπερ τὴν τροφὴν τοῖς σωματικοῖς ὀδοῦσι, καὶ τότε λέγει περὶ αὐτῶν· ἅπερ τις ψυχικὴ δύναμις λεπτοποιεῖ ἐπιτήδεια, πρὸς τὸ παραπεμφθῆναι τοῖς οἱονεὶ σπλάγχνοις παρασκευάζουσα· τοὺς τοίνυν κριτικούς τε καὶ διαιρετικοὺς τῶν δογμάτων καθηγητὰς, οἳ τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια διὰ σαφεστέρας ἐξηγήσεως λεπτοποιοῦσιν, ὡς εὐπαράδεκτον τὴν πνευματικὴν ταύτην τροφὴν γενέσθαι τῷ σώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὀδόντας ἐκάλεσεν ὁ λόγος, οὓς καὶ βούλεται παντὸς ἄχθους ὑλικοῦ γεγυμνωμένους· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ κεκαρμένον· καὶ λουτρῷ τῆς συνειδήσεως παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καθαρεύοντας·","english":"The physical things, then, are indifferent among indifferent things, but among the more diligent they are earnest and useful. But if it is the Church to which these things are said, her hair is those who repent of their sins; therefore they are compared to a flock of goats, not of sheep. And they were revealed from Gilead, from the word that migrated from the Jews to the Gentiles; for Gilead is interpreted as \"migration of testimony.\" For when he said to the Jewish nation, \"You are my people and the sheep of my inheritance,\" the testimony was theirs; but when he chose the Gentiles as a people for himself, the testimony came to be with them, having migrated from those to these. 2. Your teeth are like flocks of shorn sheep that have come up from the bath; all of them bear twins, and there is not a barren one among them. {Of Gregory.} First he speaks concerning the teeth, having passed over the praises of the mouth and the lips; and then thus concerning the lips. For first one feasts on the spiritual lessons, and as it were smooths them down like food with the physical teeth, and then speaks concerning them—those things which a psychic power makes fine and suitable, preparing them to be passed on to the so-called inward parts. The discerning and dividing teachers of the doctrines, then, who make the divine mysteries fine through clearer exposition, so that this spiritual food becomes easily acceptable to the body of the Church—the Word called these \"teeth,\" and he wishes them to be stripped of every material burden; for this is what \"shorn\" means; and to be pure from every defilement of the flesh by the bath of conscience.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":90,"ref":"p90","source":"καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἀεὶ διὰ προκοπῆς ἀναβαίνοντας· καὶ μηδέποτε εἰς τὸ ἔμπαλιν κατασυρομένους εἰς τὸ βάραθρον· καὶ διδυμεύειν τῇ μὲν ψυχῇ τὴν ἀπάθειαν, τῷ δὲ σωματικῷ βίῳ τὴν εὐσχημοσύνην γεννῶντας, καὶ ὅλως ἐν μηδενὶ τῶν καλῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἀτονεῖν. {Νείλου.} Ὁμοίως καὶ τοῦτο, κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἀδιανόητον· πρὸς δὲ διάνοιαν γέγραπται περὶ ψεκτῶν ὀδόντων· \"Ὀδόντας ἁμαρτωλῶν συνέτριψας,\" καὶ, \"Ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων·\" περὶ δὲ ἐπαινετῶν, \"Ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ γάλα·\" καὶ τὸ παρὸν ῥητόν· τάχα δ' ἂν εἶεν δυνάμεις ψυχῆς, δι' ὧν προτρέφεται λόγῳ αὕτη, τὴν διάκρισιν τοῦ λόγου πεπιστευμέναι καὶ λεπτοποιοῦσαι, καὶ οἱονεὶ μηρυκιζόμεναι, τὸν τέως ἁδρυμερέστερον διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς παραδεχθέντα λόγον· συντρίβονται δὲ οὗτοι οἱ ὀδόντες, ὅταν αἱρετικῆς διδασκαλίας φάγωσιν ὄμφακας· ὠμοδιάσαντες γὰρ, ἄχρηστοι γίνονται τὸ λεᾶναι τὴν ἀληθῆ\n\nτροφήν· ἀγέλῃ οὖν κεκαρμένων ὁμοιοῖ τοὺς ὀδόντας τῆς Νύμφης· διὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἔχειν τοιοῦτον, οἷον οἱ προειρημένοι εἶχον ὀδόντες τῶν ἀσεβῶν· ἀλλὰ καὶ περιαιρεῖσθαι πάντα ῥῦπον διὰ τὸ λουτρὸν, καὶ περίττωμα διὰ τὴν κουράν· διδυμεύουσι δὲ οὗτοι οἱ ὀδόντες, ὅταν καὶ πρὸς τὸν παρόντα βίον χρήσιμα σκέπτονται, καὶ πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα τῇ πρὸς τὰ νενοημένα διδυμοτοκίᾳ, τὴν αὐτῶν ἔργων προστιθέντες εὐτεκνίαν· ἀτεκνοῦσα γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖς· ἀντὶ τοῦ, στεῖρα καλῶν πράξεων καὶ ἄγονος οὐδὲ μία ἐστί· καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ δὲ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ, καὶ τὴν τροφὴν παντὶ παραπέμποντες τῷ σώματι διὰ τὸ σύμφωνον καὶ ὁμόψυχον, ἀγέλῃ ὁμοιοῦνται·","english":"And besides these, always ascending through progress, and never dragged down in the opposite direction into the abyss; and to bring forth twins, by the soul indeed impassibility, but by the bodily life decorum, and in general to be weak in none of the noble pursuits. {Of Nilus.} Similarly also this, according to the letter, is unintelligible; but according to the meaning it is written concerning blameworthy teeth: \"You have broken the teeth of sinners,\" and, \"There will be the gnashing of teeth\"; but concerning praiseworthy ones, \"His teeth are milk\"; and the present passage. And perhaps they might be powers of the soul, through which it is nourished by the word, entrusted with the discernment of the word and making it fine, and as it were chewing the cud, the word that was received through hearing in a somewhat coarser form until then; but these teeth are broken when they eat the unripe grapes of heretical teaching; for having become sour, they become useless for grinding the true food. He likens the teeth of the Bride, then, to a flock of shorn sheep, because they have nothing of the kind that the aforementioned teeth of the impious had; but also because all filth is removed through the bath, and excess through the shearing. And these teeth bring forth twins when they consider things useful both for the present life and for the life to come, by their twin-bearing toward the things understood, adding their own fruitfulness of works; for none among them is childless; instead of, not one is barren of good deeds and unfruitful. And those who labor in the Church in word and teaching, and who pass on nourishment to every body because of their concord and unity of soul, are likened to a flock.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":91,"ref":"p91","source":"διὰ δὲ τὸ κοῦφον καὶ ἀμέριμνον τῆς ἀκτημοσύνης, πᾶσαν ὕλην πλούτου ἀποκειράμενοι, κεκαρμένοι ὀνομάζονται· καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ λουτροῦ δὲ ἀναβάσεως, εἰσὶ διδυμεύοντες, οὐκ ἄτεκνον, ἀλλὰ καρποφόρον τὴν τῶν ἐναρέτων ἔργων ἐσχηκότες μήτραν, καὶ τοῖς καταλλήλοις ἑκάστῳ αἰῶνι, τῷ τε παρόντι καὶ τῷ μέλλοντι, θεωρήμασι διδυμεύσαντες· ἴσως δὲ διὰ τοῦτο ὀδόντες, ἀγέλῃ κεκαρμένων παραπλήσιοι, οἳ διδυμεύουσιν· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔτι εἰσὶ τρίχες, τὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἄχθος ἀποκειράμεναι. {Ὠριγένους.} Διδυμεύουσαι δὲ ἄλλως, διὰ τὸ διττὸν τῆς νοήσεως τῆς τε ῥητῆς καὶ πνευματικῆς. {Φίλωνος.} Ἢ ὅτι μόναι κατελθοῦσαι εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ μυστικὸν σὺν ἁγίῳ ἀνέβησαν Πνεύματι. γʹ. Ὡς σπαρτίον κόκκινον χείλη σου, καὶ ἡ λαλιά σου ὡραία. {Γρηγορίου.} Κόκκινον σπαρτίον ἐστὶ πίστις δι' ἀγάπης ἐπιτελουμένη· ἐπαινεῖ τοίνυν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὸν σύνδεσμον, καὶ τὴν ὁμογνωμοσύνην ἅμα καὶ τὴν ὁμολογίαν, δι' ἧς ὁμολογεῖ τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς σταυρωθέντα· καθ' ἣν ἡ Ἐκκλησία συμφωνοῦσα ἓν γίνεται χεῖλος, καὶ μία φωνὴ ἐκ διαφόρων τοῦ ἐρίου τοῦ νοητοῦ συγκεκλωσμένη καθάπερ σειρά· διὰ δὲ τοῦ εἰπεῖν κοκκίνου διδάσκεται τὴν ὁμολογίαν διὰ στόματος φέρειν, τοῦ ἐξαγοράσαντος ἡμᾶς διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος· δι' ἀμφοτέρων γάρ ἐστι πληρουμένη τοῖς Ἐκκλησίας χείλεσιν ἡ εὐπρέπεια· ὅταν καὶ ἡ πίστις τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ προλάμπῃ, καὶ ἀγάπη τῇ πίστει συμπλέκηται. Διὰ μὲν οὖν τοῦ σπαρτίου ἐδήλωσε τὴν ἀγάπην· διὰ δὲ τοῦ κοκκίνου τὴν πίστιν· καὶ οὕτως ἡ λαλιὰ τῆς νύμφης γίνεται ὡραία, τοῦ ῥήματος τῆς πίστεως ὃ κηρύσσομεν, ὥς φησιν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος·","english":"But because of the lightness and freedom from care of their dispossession, having sheared off every material of wealth, they are called shorn; and from the ascent of the bath, they are twin-bearing, having a womb not barren but fruitful of virtuous works, and having brought forth twins through the contemplations suited to each age, both the present and the future. And perhaps for this reason they are teeth, like a flock of the shorn, which bring forth twins; since they are no longer hairs, having sheared off the burden of sins. {Origen.} But they bring forth twins in another sense, because of the twofold nature of the understanding, both the literal and the spiritual. {Philo.} Or that they alone, having descended into the mystical water, ascended with the Holy Spirit. 3. Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your speech is beautiful. {Gregory.} A scarlet cord is faith accomplished through love; he praises, then, the bond of the Church, and both the unanimity and the confession, through which it confesses the one crucified for it; according to which the Church, in agreement, becomes one lip, and one voice woven together from different threads of the intelligible wool, like a cord; and by saying scarlet, it teaches us to bear the confession through the mouth, of the one who redeemed us through his own blood; for by both is the comeliness of the Church's lips fulfilled, when faith shines forth before confession, and love is entwined with faith. By the cord, then, he indicated love; by the scarlet, faith; and thus the speech of the bride becomes beautiful, of the word of faith which we preach, as the divine Apostle says.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":92,"ref":"p92","source":"\"Ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, σωθήσῃ.\" {Νείλου.} Χείλη πολλάκις τὸν λόγον ὀνομάζει ἡ Γραφὴ, ὡς τὸ, \"Ἐξολοθρεύσαι Κύριος πάντα τὰ χείλη τὰ δόλια.\" Καὶ, \"Ἐξεχύθη ἡ χάρις ἐν χείλεσί σου.\" Εἴτε οὖν ἡ τελεία ψυχὴ, εἴτε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ διδάσκαλοι, ὅταν ζῶντα τὸν λόγον ἔχωσι καὶ δεσμεῖν τὸν ἀκροατὴν δυνάμενον, ὡς μηκέτι τὸν ἅπαξ ἀκούοντα ἀναχωρεῖν δύνασθαι, σπαρτίον κόκκινον ἔχουσι τὰ χείλη· σπαρτίον μὲν διὰ τὸ δεσμεῖν, κόκκινον δὲ διὰ τὸ ζωτικὸν τῆς τούτων δυνάμεως καὶ πεπυρωμένον· τοιαύτη γὰρ καὶ ζῶσα σὰρξ, τὴν ἐρυθρότητα μάρτυρα τῆς ζωῆς ἐπιφερομένη· τοῦτο δηλῶν ὁ Κύριος ἔλεγεν· \"Οἱ ἐμοὶ λόγοι, πνεῦμά εἰσι καὶ ζωή·\" διὰ μὲν τοῦ πνεύματος τὸν δεσμὸν τοῦ σπαρτίου, διὰ δὲ τῆς ζωῆς τὸ κόκκινον σημαίνων· καὶ ἡ λαλιὰ δὲ τούτων ὡραία, πολὺ μετὰ τοῦ ὠφελίμου καὶ τὸ τερπνὸν ἔχουσα. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἤγουν ἔστω διάπυρος ἡ τοῦ λόγου παρασκευὴ, κ.τ.λ. Ὡς λέπυρον τῆς ῥόας μῆλόν σου ἐκτὸς σιωπήσεώς σου. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἀρέσκεται κατὰ τὴν τοῦ στόματος ὥραν ὁ Νυμφίος, τῷ τῆς παρθενίας ἐρυθήματι, ὅπερ μῆλον καλεῖ ἡ συνήθεια· καὶ προσεικάζει αὐτὸ λέπυρον τῆς ῥόας· αἰδοῖ γὰρ ἐρυθραίνεται καὶ σωφροσύνῃ· ὡς γὰρ τῆς ῥόας ὁ καρπὸς ὑπὸ στρυφνοῦ τε καὶ ἀβρότου τῆς ἐπιφανείας φυλάττεται, οὕτω καὶ ὁ στύφος τε καὶ ἐγκρατὴς καὶ κατεσκληκὼς βίος, φύλαξ γίνεται τῶν τῆς σωφροσύνης καλῶν· ἐπαινεῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν προφανῆ καὶ τὴν ἔνδον ἁγνείαν·","english":"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.\" {Of Nilus.} Scripture often calls the word lips, as in, \"May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips.\" And, \"Grace was poured out on your lips.\" Whether therefore it is the perfect soul, or the teachers in the Church, whenever they possess the word living and able to bind the hearer, so that the one who has once heard can no longer withdraw, their lips have a scarlet cord: a cord because it binds, and scarlet because of the life-giving and fiery nature of their power; for such is also living flesh, bearing its redness as a witness of life. Declaring this, the Lord said: \"My words are spirit and life,\" signifying by the spirit the binding of the cord, and by the life the scarlet; and their speech is beautiful, possessing much that is pleasant along with what is beneficial. {Of Origen.} That is, let the preparation of the word be fiery, etc. As the husk of a pomegranate is your apple outside your silence. {Of Gregory.} The Bridegroom takes pleasure in the beauty of the mouth, in the blush of virginity, which custom calls an apple; and he likens it to the husk of a pomegranate; for it blushes with modesty and chastity; for just as the fruit of the pomegranate is guarded by a rough and untrodden surface, so also the austere and continent and hardened life becomes a guardian of the beauties of chastity; and he praises both the outward and the inward purity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":93,"ref":"p93","source":"διπλοῦς γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἔπαινος διά τε τῶν προφαινομένων κατὰ τὸν εὐσχήμονα βίον, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπαθείᾳ κατορθουμένων· ἃ μόνῳ καθορᾶται τῷ εἰς τὰ κρύφια βλέποντι· διὰ τοῦτο φησὶν, Ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου.\n\n{Νείλου.} Ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸ αὐστηρὸν τοῦ βίου καὶ τοῖς πάθεσιν ἀπρόσιτον, μῆλόν ἐστι παρειᾶς λεπύρῳ ῥόας διὰ τὴν στυφότητα παραπλήσιον· τούτῳ γὰρ μάλιστα τῷ μέρει κρίνεται ἡ κατάστασις, τοῦ μὲν σώφρονος σκυθρωπάζουσα, καὶ τοῖς ἀκολάστοις ὀφθαλμοῖς τῷ ἀμειδεῖ σχήματι, τὸ ἄγευστον σημαίνουσα τῆς ὄψεως· τοῦ δὲ διακεχυμένου, ὡσανεὶ ὑπομειδιῶσα καὶ κεχαλασμένη καὶ λίχνους προσκαλουμένη πόῤῥωθεν ὀφθαλμούς· καὶ τὸ τῆς ἠδονῆς αὐτοῖς πάθος εὐαγγελιζομένη τῇ φαιδρότητι· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὸ τῶν παρθενευόντων τάγμα καὶ ἀσκουμένων τὴν σεμνότητα, αὐχμηροτέραν καὶ δυσέντευκτον τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς ἐρασταῖς δεικνυόντων τὴν ὄψιν τῆς Νύμφης· καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχουσα τῇ ἐκείνων γεύσει ἐδώδιμον· λέπυρον γὰρ ῥόας, τοὺς μὲν ἔξωθεν γενομένους ἀποσοβεῖ, ἀποτρόπαιον ἔχον τῇ γεύσει ποιότητα· κρύπτει δὲ τὸν ἕσω καρπὸν ἀσφαλῶς· λαώδης δὲ καὶ παραπλήσιος πανηγύρει πλήθους ἀγάπῃ συνδεδεμένου, ὁ τῆς ῥόας καρπός· οὐ μόνον ἕρκει κραταιῷ τῷ ἔξω φλοιῷ φρουρούμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑμέσι λεπτοῖς εἰ διάφορα διῃρημένος συστήματα· καὶ μιμούμενος τὰ τάγματα τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ἀκολούθου τάξεως· τοσοῦτον διῃρημένα, ὅσον μὴ συγκεχῦσθαι τὸν Ἐκκλησίᾳ πρέποντα κόσμον, καὶ λαῷ Θεοῦ καθήκουσαν κατάστασιν φυλάττεσθαι·","english":"For here too the praise is twofold: both through what is visible in a decorous life, and through what is accomplished in the impassibility of the soul—things seen by him alone who looks into hidden things. Therefore he says, \"Apart from your silence.\"\n\n{Of Nilus.} In the case of the soul, the austerity of life and its inaccessibility to the passions is the apple of the cheek, resembling the skin of a pomegranate because of its astringency; for it is especially by this part that the state of the soul is judged—by the sober person frowning, and by the unchaste eyes, through the un-smiling expression, signifying the tastelessness of the sight; while the dissolute person's is, as it were, smiling faintly and relaxed and inviting wanton eyes from afar, and announcing to them the passion of pleasure by its cheerfulness. In the case of the Church, it is the rank of those who practice virginity and the dignity of those who discipline themselves, showing the face of the Bride more dry and unapproachable to heretical lovers, and having nothing edible for their taste. For the skin of a pomegranate drives away those who are outside, having a quality repugnant to the taste, but safely hides the fruit within. And the fruit of the pomegranate is populous and like a festival of a multitude bound together in love, guarded not only by a strong fence—the outer husk—but also divided by thin membranes into various assemblies, and imitating the ranks of the Church's ordered succession: divided to such an extent that the adornment befitting the Church is not confounded, and the constitution proper to the people of God is preserved.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":94,"ref":"p94","source":"ἀξιώμασιν ἀρετῆς καὶ λειτουργίαις ἱερατικαῖς οἰκονομικῶς μεριζόμενα, καὶ οὐ κεχωρισμένα διαθέσει, ἀλλ' ἀγάπῃ συνδεδεμένα· καὶ ἐντὸς δὲ τῆς σιωπήσεως τοιαύτη ἐστὶν ἡ παρειὰ τῆς Νύμφης, πολὺ τὸ σεμνὸν μετὰ αὐστηρᾶς κατέχουσα τῆς καταστολῆς. 1648 {Ὠριγένους.} Προστίθησι τῷ τῆς σωφροσύνης ἐπαίνῳ, κ.τ.λ. δʹ. Ὡς πύργος Δαβὶδ τράχηλός σου, ὁ ᾠκοδομημένος ἐν Θαλπιώθ· χίλιοι θυρεοὶ κρέμανται ἐπ' αὐτόν· πᾶσαι βολίδες τῶν δυνατῶν. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἐκ τούτων μανθάνομεν ὅτι τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων γινόμενα, τύπος τις καὶ διδασκαλία τῶν εἰς ἀρετὴν κατορθουμένων ἐγίνοντο· οἷον οἱ γάμοι, δι' ὧν τὴν τῶν ἀρετῶν συνοίκησιν ἡμῖν δι' αἰνιγμάτων ὑποτίθενται· ἡ ἀποικία, καὶ γὰρ τοῦ ἐναρέτου βίου τὸν οἰκισμὸν ὑποβάλλει· αἱ τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων κατασκευαὶ, τὴν γὰρ δι' ἀρετῆς οἰκοδομουμένην ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖσθαι διακελεύεται· ὁ κατὰ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων πόλεμος, διδάσκων κατὰ τῆς ἀδικίας ἡμᾶς ἀνδρίζεσθαι· οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ ὁ παρὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ περιφανὴς πύργος, ἐν ᾧ τὰ ἀκροθίνια τῶν λαφύρων ἀνέθηκε, πρὸς τὴν προκοπὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας βλέπει· διὰ τούτου παρεμφαίνων θείους τινὰς εἶναι τοὺς ἐν τῷ λαῷ τὸν τραχήλου τόπον ἔχοντας διδασκάλους, οἵτινες τὴν ἀληθινὴν κεφαλὴν τὸν Χριστὸν βαστάζοιεν ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν· ἔχοντες καὶ τὴν θρεπτικὴν ἐνέργειαν, φημὶ δὴ τὴν διδασκαλίαν· δι' ἧς τῷ σώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας συντηρεῖται ἡ δύναμις·","english":"distributed by economy according to excellences and priestly ministries, and not separated by disposition, but bound together by love; and even within the silence, such is the cheek of the Bride, possessing much dignity together with a strict reserve. 1648 {Of Origen.} He adds to the praise of chastity, etc. 4. Your neck is as the tower of David, built in Thalpioth; a thousand shields hang upon it; all the darts of the mighty. {Of Gregory.} From these things we learn that the things done by the saints became a type and teaching of the things accomplished unto virtue; for example, marriages, through which they suggest to us in riddles the dwelling-together of the virtues; the colony, for it suggests the settlement of the virtuous life; the constructions of buildings, for it commands us to make the care that is built up through virtue; the war against the foreigners, teaching us to be courageous against injustice; so then also the conspicuous tower of David, in which he dedicated the first-fruits of the spoils, looks toward the progress of the Church; through this indicating that certain divine teachers are those among the people who hold the place of the neck, who would bear upon themselves the true head, Christ; having also the nourishing activity, I mean teaching; through which the strength is preserved for the body of the Church;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":95,"ref":"p95","source":"δεκτικοί τε τοῦ Πνεύματος ὄντες, τοῦ τὴν καρδίαν πυροειδῆ ποιοῦντος καὶ ἐκθερμαίνοντος, καὶ διὰ τῆς εὐήχου φωνῆς ὑπηρετοῦντες τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ τὴν ἐναρμόνιον τῶν σπονδύλων θέσιν, διὰ τοῦ συνδέσμου τῆς εἰρήνης φέρεσθαι, καὶ ἀνορθούμενον πάλιν ἐν τῷ τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖν, καὶ πρὸς τὰ πλάγια μεταστρεφόμενον εὐκόλως· ἐν ᾧ τὰς ποικίλας τοῦ διαβόλου μεθοδίας ἐκκλίνειν καὶ ἀσφαλίζεσθαι δεικνύντες, οἷος ἦν καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, ὃς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐβάστασε, σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς γενόμενος, καὶ εὐήχῳ ἀρτηρίᾳ κηρύττων τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, καὶ τὸν Χριστοῦ ἔχων λαλοῦντά τε καὶ φθεγγόμενον· ὁ τοιοῦτος οὖν τράχηλος, ὄντως παρὰ τὸν Δαβὶδ ᾠκοδόμηται· νόει δὲ διὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ, τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως πατέρα, ἐν περιόπτῳ τινὶ τόπῳ καὶ ὑψηλῷ· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ Θαλπιώθ· ὃς ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατεσκεύασεν εἶναι πύργον, καὶ οὐχὶ σύμπτωμα· καὶ διὰ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ πάλιν ᾠκοδόμησεν, ἀσφαλισάμενος τοῖς πολλοῖς θυρεοῖς, καὶ ταῖς βολίσι τῶν δυνατῶν, οὐ κειμένοις ἐπὶ γῆς, ἀλλὰ διαερίοις κρεμαμένοις, οἵτινες εἶεν ἀγγελικαὶ φρουραὶ, ὡς μηκέτι τῶν πολεμίων ἐφόδοις ἐπίβουλον γίνεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ φόβον ταύταις ἐμποιεῖν, τοῦ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐγχειρῆσαι καταδραμεῖν· τὸ δὲ, χίλιοι, εἰς ἔνδειξιν πλήθους λαμβάνεται· ὤμους δὲ νοήσεις, οἷς πέφυκεν οὗτος ὁ τράχηλος, τὰς πρακτικάς τε καὶ ἐνεργητικὰς σπονδὰς, δι' ὧν οἱ βραχίονες ἡμῶν τὴν σωτηρίαν","english":"Being receptive of the Spirit, who makes the heart fiery and inflames it, and serving the Word through the well-sounding voice, and that the harmonious arrangement of the vertebrae be borne through the bond of peace, and being set upright again in minding the things above, and easily turned toward the things on either side; in which, showing that one avoids and guards against the varied methods of the devil, such a one was also the blessed Paul, who bore the name of Christ, having become a vessel of election, and proclaiming the Gospel with a well-sounding artery, and having Christ speaking and uttering in him; such a neck, then, has truly been built beside David; and understand by David the father of the king, in a certain conspicuous and high place; for this is Thalpioth; who from the beginning fashioned man to be a tower, and not a fall; and by his grace he built him again, securing him with many shields and with the missiles of the mighty, not lying on the ground but suspended in the air, which would be angelic guards, so that he is no longer plotted against by the assaults of enemies, but also instills fear in them, so that they do not even attempt to overrun him at all; and the thousand is taken as an indication of multitude; and you will understand as shoulders, to which this neck naturally belongs, the practical and active covenants, through which our arms obtain salvation","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":96,"ref":"p96","source":"αὐτῶν κατεργάζονται· ὅταν τοίνυν τις βασιλέως μὲν πύργος ᾖ, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ὑψηλῆς πολιτείας βεβηκὼς τύχῃ, τότε πληροῦται τὸ παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου λεγόμενον· \"Οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη·\" νόει δέ μοι τὸν πύργον ἀντὶ τῆς πόλεως. Εἰ μὲν τοῖς ὀπίσω ὁ τράχηλος τῆς Νύμφης, ὡς ὁρμίσκος διὰ τὸ καμπύλον ἐλέγετο, νῦν δὲ ὡς πύργος Δαβὶδ, διὰ τὸ ὄρθιον καὶ ἀνεστηκός· ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν καμπύλῳ τὸ ὄρθιον ἐναντίον· ἡ δὲ ὡς ὁρμίσκος κατάστασις, τῇ ὡς πύργῳ διάφορος μὲν, οὐ μὴν ἐναντία· ὅτε μὲν γὰρ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους συγκαταβατικὸν αὐτῆς, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ταπεινοφροσύνην βούλεται δηλοῦν ὁ λόγος, ὁρμίσκον τὸν τράχηλον αὐτῆς ὀνομάζει, τῷ μετρίῳ κεκαμμένην φρονήματι· ὅτε δὲ τὸ πρὸς τὰ πάθη καὶ τὰς ἀντικειμένας δυνάμεις ὑπερανέχον καὶ διανεστηκὸς, πύργον Δαβὶδ ἀπρόσιτον δηλαδὴ τοῖς πολεμίοις· Χίλιοι δὲ θυρεοὶ κρέμανται ἐπ' αὐτὸν, καὶ πᾶσαι βολίδες τῶν δυνατῶν, αἱ τῶν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀγωνιζομένων δυνάμεων· ἃς χειρωσαμένη καὶ ἐξόπλους ποιήσασα· τοῦ ἑαυτῆς ἐξήρτησε τραχήλου, σημεῖον τοῦ παρ' αὐτῆς νενικημένου πλήθους ἐσομένας· οὐδὲν ὑπολιπομένη τοῖς ἐχθροῖς βέλος, ᾧ πάλιν βαλεῖν δυνήσονται κατ' αὐτῆς· οὐ γὰρ ἀριθμὸν βολίδων, ἀλλὰ πάσας ἔχει λαβοῦσα παρ' ἑαυτῇ· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Νυμφίος αὐτῆς ἐκένωσε τοῦ ἐχθροῦ πολεμοῦντος τὴν δύναμιν· ἔστι δὲ θυρεοὺς καὶ τὰς περικοπὰς τῆς πίστεως εἰπεῖν· τὸ δὲ Θαλπιὼθ, ἐν ἐπάλξεσιν, ἑρμηνεύεται· ἐπάνω οὖν τῶν πειρασμῶν ᾠκοδομῆσθαι τὸν πύργον φησίν. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἀκύλας τὸ Θαλπιὼθ, ἐπάλξεις ἐκδέδωκεν, κ.τ.λ. εʹ, ʹ.","english":"they accomplish. When, then, someone is a tower of the king, and happens to stand upon the lofty citizenship, then is fulfilled what is said by the Lord: \"A city cannot be hidden, set upon a mountain.\" And understand for me the tower in place of the city. If indeed the neck of the Bride was called a necklace because of its curvature, now it is as a tower of David because of its uprightness and erectness; but the upright is contrary to the curved; yet the condition as a necklace is different from that as a tower, though not indeed contrary. For when the Word wishes to signify her condescension toward the weaker and her humility in the virtues, he names her neck a necklace, bent by a moderate disposition; but when he wishes to signify that which rises above and stands apart from the passions and the opposing powers, he names it a tower of David, inaccessible, clearly, to the enemies. A thousand shields hang upon it, and all the darts of the mighty, those of the powers that strive against her; which having subdued and made weaponless, she hung them upon her own neck, to be a sign of the multitude conquered by her, leaving no dart to the enemies with which they might again shoot against her; for she has not a number of darts, but all, having taken them, she keeps them with herself. Thus also her Bridegroom emptied the power of the enemy as he warred. And one may call the shields also the circumcisions of faith. And Thalpioth is interpreted as \"in the battlements\"; above the temptations, then, he says the tower is built. {Of Origen.} Aquila rendered Thalpioth as \"battlements,\" etc. 5, 9.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":97,"ref":"p97","source":"Δύο μαστοί σου, ὡς δύο νεβροὶ δίδυμοι δορκάδος οἱ νεμόμενοι ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις· ἕως οὗ διαπνεύσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα καὶ κινηθῶσιν αἱ σκιαί. {Γρηγορίου.} Δίδυμός ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὅ τε ἔξωθεν καὶ φαινόμενος, καὶ ὁ ἔσωθεν καὶ κρυπτὸς, κατὰ ταυτὸν ἀλλήλοις συνεπιδημοῦντες τῷ βίῳ· οὔτε γὰρ προϋπάρχει τοῦ σώματος ἡ ψυχὴ, οὔτε προκατασκευάζεται τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ σῶμα· ἀλλ' ὁμοχρόνως ἐν τῇ ζωῇ γίνονται· τροφὴ δὲ τούτοις, κατὰ φύσιν μὲν ἡ καθαρότης καὶ ἡ εὐωδία, ὧν ἐφορῶσιν αἱ ἀρεταί· ἔστι δὲ ὅτε τὸ δηλητήριόν τισιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ τροφίμου σπουδάζεται, οἳ οὐχὶ τὰ ἄνθη τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐπιβόσκονται, ἀλλ' ἀκάνθαις καὶ τριβόλοις ἐπιτέρπονται. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν διακριτικῶς χρεία ὀφθαλμῶν τῶν δυναμένων ἐν ἀκριβείᾳ διαγνῶναι τὸ κρίνον τε καὶ τὴν ἄκανθαν, καὶ τὸ μὲν σωτήριον προελέσθαι, τὸ δὲ φθοροποιὸν ἀποπέμψασθαι, διὰ τοῦτο τὸν καθ' ὁμοιότητα Παύλου μαζὸν τοῖς νηπίοις γινόμενον, καὶ γαλακτοτροφοῦντα τοὺς ἀρτιγενεῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, διὰ δὲ μαζῶν ἀλλήλοις συγγενηθέντων, τῶν τοῖς νεβροῖς τῆς δορκάδος ὠνομασμένων ὁ λόγος ἀπείκασεν· διὰ πάντων μαρτυρῶν τῷ τοιούτῳ μέλει τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὸ δόκιμον· ὅτι καθ' ἑκάτερον εὐοδοῦται πρὸς τὴν τῶν καθαρῶν κρίνων νομήν· ὀξὺ δεδορκὼς, καὶ διακρίνων τοῦ τροφίμου τὴν ἄκανθαν· καὶ ὅτι περὶ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν ἀναστρέφεται· οὗ σύμβολον ἡ καρδία ἐστὶν, ἡ δι' ἑαυτῆς τοὺς μαζοὺς ὑποτρέφουσα· καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατακλείει τὴν χάριν, ἀλλ' ἐπιχεῖ τοῖς δεομένοις τοῦ λόγου τὴν θηλήν· ἕως, φησὶ, μηκέτι αἱ σκιαὶ κρατῶσι τῆς περὶ τὸν βίον σπουδαζομένης ἀπάτης·","english":"Your two breasts are like two twin fawns of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows move. {Of Gregory.} Man is a twin being: the one outward and visible, and the one inward and hidden, dwelling together in this life at one and the same time; for neither does the soul exist before the body, nor is the body fashioned beforehand for the soul, but they come into being in life at the same time. Their food, by nature, is purity and the sweet fragrance over which the virtues preside. But sometimes poison is eagerly sought in place of nourishment by those who do not graze on the flowers of the virtues but take delight in thorns and thistles. Since, then, there is need of discerning eyes, able to distinguish with precision the lily and the thorn, and to choose the one that is saving and to reject the one that is destructive—for this reason the Word likened to the breasts, which by likeness to Paul become as milk for infants and feed with milk the newborn of the Church, and which, being joined to one another through the breasts, are named after the fawns of the gazelle—bearing witness in all things that the Church's care for such a one is approved, because in either respect it prospers toward the pasture of the pure lilies, keenly seeing and distinguishing the thorn from what is nourishing, and because it is occupied with the governing faculty, of which the heart is the symbol, which through itself nourishes the breasts; and further, because it does not confine the grace within itself but pours out the nipple of the word upon those who need it—until, he says, the shadows no longer prevail over the deceit that is eagerly pursued in this life.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":98,"ref":"p98","source":"ἀλλ' ἤδη τοῦ φωτὸς πανταχῆ διαλάμψαντος, καταυγασθῇ τὰ πάντα τῆς ἡμέρας τῆς ὅπου θέλει διαπνεούσης, ἤγουν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος τὸ φῶς. {Νείλου.} Τοὺς νηπίους ἐν Χριστῷ καὶ γαλακτοτροφουμένους ἔτι, ἔτι μαζοὺς ὀνομάζει νεβροῖς δορκάδων παραπλησίους· ἐπειδὴ καὶ οἱ ἀρχόμενοι τῆς θεοσεβείας διὰ τὴν τῆς πίστεως εὐγένειαν, τὸ τῶν δορκάδων ἔχοντες ὀξυδερκὲς, διορατικοὶ τυγχάνουσι, τῇ ἐλπίδι βλέποντες ὡς παρόντα τὰ μέλλοντα καὶ ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις κείμενα· καὶ ἐν κρίνοις δὲ νέμονται οἱ νεβροὶ, τῷ τῶν ἀκτημόνων τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καὶ ἀφροντίδων ἀνθηρῷ τρεφόμενοι· πρὸς γὰρ τὸν ὅμοιον ζῆλον φθᾶσαι ποθοῦντες, τρέφονται τῇ ἡδονῇ τοῦ ποθουμένου, ὡς ἐν λειμῶνι σκιρτῶντες τῇ τῶν ὠφελούντων πολιτείᾳ· τοῦτο δὲ ποιοῦσιν ἕως τὰ παρόντα σκιὰ εἰρημένα κινηθῇ· διαπνευσάσης καὶ ὑποφαίνειν ἀρξαμένης τῆς ἐκ τοῦ νοητοῦ ἡλίου γινομένης\n\nἡμέρας· δίδυμοι δὲ οἱ νεβροὶ καλῶς εἴρηνται, μιᾶς κοιλίας καὶ ὠδῖνος ὄντες σύγχρονοι· καὶ γὰρ οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας νήπιοι, μιᾷ ὠδῖνι διὰ τῆς χάριτος ἀπεκυήθησαν. {Ὠριγένους.} Τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. Πορεύσομαι ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης, καὶ πρὸς τὸν βουνὸν τοῦ Λιβάνου. {Γρηγορίου.} Κατὰ μέρος ἐπαινέσας τὴν Νύμφην, εἶτα μέλλων ὁλοσώματον ποιεῖσθαι τὸν ἔπαινον, καὶ ὅλην ὑφ' ἒν ἐγκωμιάζειν, μεταξὺ τὴν αἰτίαν τοιαύτην εἶναι παραβέβληκε λέγων·","english":"But now that the light has shone forth everywhere, let all things be illumined, since the day, which breathes wherever it wills—that is, the light of the all-holy Spirit—has dawned. {Of Nilus.} Those who are infants in Christ and still fed on milk, he again calls breasts, likened to the fawns of gazelles; since those who are beginning in the fear of God, through the nobility of their faith, possessing the keen-sightedness of gazelles, are clear-sighted, seeing in hope the things to come as though present and laid up in promises. And the fawns feed among the lilies, nourished by the flower-strewn portion of the Church—of those who possess nothing and are free from care. For desiring to attain to a like zeal, they are nourished by the delight of the beloved, leaping as in a meadow through the conduct of those who profit them. And this they do until the things present, which are called a shadow, are moved—when the day that comes from the noetic Sun has breathed forth and begun to shine. And the fawns are rightly called twins, being of one womb and born at the same time from one travail; for the infants of the Church were brought forth by one travail through grace. {Of Origen.} The governing faculty, etc. {Of Cyril.} Or the two fawns are the ethical and the doctrinal teaching, the two breasts of the Bride; from which those who are nourished look with keenness toward God; and the nose, the fragrance of the apostolic and evangelical words, which we feed on until the consummation. I will go for myself to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of Lebanon. {Of Gregory.} Having praised the Bride in part, then, being about to make the praise of her whole body and to extol her wholly together, he has in between set forth the reason as follows, saying:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":99,"ref":"p99","source":"Πορεύσομαι ἐμαυτῷ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· διὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς σμύρνης, τὸ πάθος· διὰ δὲ τοῦ λιβάνου. τὴν δόξαν τῆς θεότητος ἐνδειξάμενος· εἰπὼν δὲ, ἐμαυτῷ, παρέστησεν ὅτι οὐδεὶς αἴρει τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ· ἀλλ' ἐξουσίαν ἔχει θεῖναι αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχει πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν· διὰ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους, τὸ μέγα δείκνυσι τοῦ μυστηρίου καὶ ὑψηλόν. {Νείλου.} Εἶτα ἐπήγαγεν· ἐπειδὴ οὔτω καλὴν τὴν Νύμφην, εἴτε ψυχὴν, εἴτε καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, σπεύδει λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὸν θάνατον· ἵνα παραστήσῃ ἑαυτῷ ταύτην, μὴ ἔχουσαν σπῖλον ἢ ῥυτίδα ἢ τοιοῦτον· καὶ ἵνα καθαρίσῃ τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήματι· πορεύσεται δὲ οὐκ ἄκων, ἀλλ' ἑκών· ὄρος γὰρ τὸν θάνατον ἐδήλωσε· μεθ' ὃν βουνὸν τὴν ἀνάστασιν, καὶ τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνάληψιν· ὄρος μὲν τὸν θάνατον, διὰ τὸ φοβερόν· βουνὸν δὲ τὴν ἀνάστασιν, διὰ τὸ τῇ ἐλπίδι τοῦ θανάτου τὸ δεινὸν ἐπελαφρίζειν· κατὰ μέρος δὲ ἐπαινέσας τὰ μέλη τῆς Νύμφης, διὰ τοῦ ἐπαγομένου ὅλην αὐτὴν ἐγκωμιάζει, ἄμωμον καὶ ὅλην καλὴν προσαγορεύων. ζʹ. Ὅλη καλὴ εἶ, ἡ πλησίον μου, καὶ μῶμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν σοί. {Γρηγορίου.} Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἄλλως καθαρθῆναι τοῦ μώμου τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν, μὴ τοῦ αἴροντος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, πᾶσαν δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἐξαφανίσαντος τὴν κακίαν, καταργῆσαι διὰ τοῦ θανάτου τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ πάλιν ἑαυτὸν ἐπαναγαγεῖν πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν δόξαν τῆς θεότητος, ἣν εἶχεν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι· διό φησιν· Ἀνέξομαι θάνατον, ὅπως αὐτὴν καθάρω. Ὁ τοίνυν συμμετασχὼν τῆς σμύρνης, εἴτουν τοῦ θανάτου, συμμεθέξει πάντως καὶ τοῦ θανάτου· ὁ γὰρ συμπάσχων, καὶ συνδοξάζεται.","english":"I will go forth to myself, and what follows. By myrrh, then, he signifies the passion; by frankincense, he has shown the glory of the Godhead. And by saying \"to myself,\" he established that no one takes his soul from him, but he has authority to lay it down, and authority to take it again. By the mountain, he shows the greatness and height of the mystery. {Of Nilus.} Then he added: since the Bride—whether a soul or the Church—is so beautiful, he hastens thereafter to death, so that he may present her to himself without spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, and so that he may cleanse her by the washing of water in the word. And he will go not unwillingly but willingly; for he indicated death by \"mountain,\" and after it the resurrection and ascension into heaven by \"hill\"—\"mountain\" for death, because it is fearful, but \"hill\" for the resurrection, because by the hope of the resurrection it lightens the dread of death. Having praised the members of the Bride in part, he now praises her wholly in what follows, calling her blameless and altogether beautiful. 7. You are altogether beautiful, my neighbor, and there is no blemish in you. {Of Gregory.} For human nature cannot otherwise be cleansed of blemish unless he who takes away the sin of the world destroys all wickedness through himself, abolishes through death the one who holds the power of death, and leads himself back again to his own glory of the Godhead, which he had from the beginning before the world existed. Therefore he says: I will endure death, that I may cleanse her. He, then, who has shared in myrrh—that is, in death—will certainly also share in the resurrection; for the one who suffers with him is also glorified with him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":100,"ref":"p100","source":"Ὁ δὲ ἅπαξ ἐν τῇ θείᾳ δόξῃ γενόμενος, ὅλος γίνεται καλὸς, ἔξω τοῦ ἀντικειμένου μώμου γενόμενος. ηʹ. Δεῦρο ἀπὸ Λιβάνου, Νύμφη, δεῦρο ἀπὸ Λιβάνου· ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς πίστεως· ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς Σανεὶρ καὶ Ἀερμών· ἀπὸ μανδρῶν λεόντων· ἀπὸ ὀρέων παρδάλεων. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Γρηγορίου.} Εἰπὼν γὰρ, ὅτι \"Καλὴ εἶ, καὶ μῶμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν σοί·\" ὡς ἂν μὴ τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ ταύτῃ ἐκχαυνωθεῖσα, πρὸς τὴν τῶν μειζόνων ἄνοδον ἐμποδισθεῖσα, πάλιν διὰ τῆς προτρεπτικῆς ταύτης φωνῆς ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἀναβῆναι παρακελεύεται. Καλῶς, φησὶν ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν, ἠκολούθησας· ἦλθες μετ' ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης· συνετάφης γάρ μοι διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον· συνανῆλθές μοι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν βουνὸν τοῦ Λιβάνου· συνανέστης γὰρ καὶ ὑψώθης ἐν τῇ τῆς θεότητος κοινωνίᾳ· ἀνάβηθι καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων ἐπὶ ἕτερα ὄρη προκόπτουσα καὶ ὑψουμένη διὰ τῆς ἐνεργοῦς γνώσεως· ἀρχὴ γάρ σοι πίστεως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς πρὸς τὰ ὑψηλὰ πορείας, οὗτος ὁ Λίβανος γέγονεν, οὗ μετέσχες διὰ τῆς ἀναστασέως, οὐκ ἔτι μνηστὴ, ἀλλὰ Νύμφη γινομένη· ἀπὸ τοίνυν τῆς ἀρχῆς ταύτης, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ πίστις. Ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ· τουτέστι καὶ νῦν ἥξεις, καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ διερχομένη διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνόδων οὐκ ἀπολήξεις. Ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς Σανεὶρ καὶ Ἀερμών. Διὰ τούτων δὲ, τὸ τῆς ἄνωθεν γεννήσεως ὑποφαίνει μυστήριον·","english":"But he who has once come to be in the divine glory becomes wholly beautiful, having come to be outside the blame that lies opposed to him. 8. Come from Lebanon, O Bride, come from Lebanon; you will come and pass through from the beginning of faith; from the head of Sanir and Hermon; from the dens of lions; from the mountains of leopards. {Of Cyril.} He teaches us whence the Bride comes, and that she comes from idolatry; for Lebanon is a mountain full of idols; whence, he says, You will come; and you will pass through by the law; for not knowing him, you were instructed in the mystery of Christ. {Of Gregory.} For having said, \"You are beautiful, and there is no blame in you,\" lest, being puffed up by this testimony, she be hindered from the ascent to greater things, he again, through this exhorting voice, urges her to ascend to the things that lie above. Well, he says, have you followed in the things that have gone before; you came with me to the mountain of myrrh; for you were buried with me through baptism into death; you went up with me also to the hill of Lebanon; for you rose with me and were exalted in the communion of the Godhead; ascend also from these to other mountains, advancing and being exalted through active knowledge; for this Lebanon has become for you the beginning of faith even for the journey toward the heights, of which you partook through the resurrection, no longer a betrothed, but becoming a Bride; from this beginning, then, which is faith. You will come and pass through; that is, both now you will come, and passing through such ascents forever you will not cease. From the head of Sanir and Hermon. Through these he hints at the mystery of the birth from above.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":101,"ref":"p101","source":"ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰς τοῦ Ἰορδάνου πηγὰς, ὧν ὑπέρκειται τοῦτο τὸ ὄρος, δύο λοφιαῖς μεριζόμενον, αἷς ταῦτα ἐπίκειται ὀνόματα· τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ λεόντων τε καὶ παρδάλεων, ἀπὸ διαβολικῶν εἱρκτῶν\n\nκαὶ ποικίλων ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀφ' ὧν ψυχὴ καταστίζεται· ἀνέμνησε δὲ τῶν λυπηρῶν, διὰ τῶν θηρίων τούτων, ἡδίω ποιῶν τὰ εὐφραίνοντα· καὶ ἵνα μᾶλλον ἐντρυφῶν τοῖς παροῦσι καλοῖς· μανθάνουσα διὰ τῆς παραθέσεως οἷα ἀνθ' οἵων ἠλλάξατο, καὶ ἅμα τῇ ἀποστροφῇ τῶν χειρόνων τὸ ἀκλινές τε καὶ ἀπαράτρεπτον ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς κατορθώσειεν. {Νείλου.} Πάλιν προσκαλεῖται μέν τις τὴν Νύμφην· ὁ δὲ προσκαλεσάμενος σεσιώπηται· εἴτε δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ Νυμφίος ἐστὶν, εἴτε οἱ τοῦ Νυμφίου φίλοι, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ περιγείου τόπου καλοῦσιν αὐτὴν, ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐθνικῆς διαγωγῆς· οἰκητήριον γὰρ λεόντων καὶ παρδάλεων εἰδότες τὸν Λίβανον, ἀπολιπεῖν αὐτὸν αὐτὴν συμβουλεύουσιν· καὶ ὡς ἔοικεν ἀρξαμένην ἀναχωρεῖν ἑωρακότες, καὶ προβαίνουσαν μετὰ πάσης σπουδῆς, ἐκ τῆς προθυμίας τὴν προκοπὴν στοχασάμενοι, λέγουσιν· Ὄντως ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ· ἡ γὰρ τῆς πίστεως ἀρχὴ, καὶ ἡ ἐν προοιμίοις σπουδὴ, τὸ τάχος σημαίνει τῆς μελλούσης διαβάσεως, ἐλπίδα πολλὴν ὑποτιθεμένη τῆς πρὸς τὸν σπουδαζόμενον σκοπὸν ἀφίξεως· Ἐλεύσῃ οὖν ἀπὸ Λιβάνου τοῦ τῶν θηρίων χωρίου· διελεύσῃ δὲ αὐτὰ τὰ θηρία ἀβλαβῶς. Ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς γὰρ πίστεως ὁδεύειν ἀρξαμένη, καὶ ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς Σανεὶρ, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται ὁδὸς λύχνου· καὶ Ἑρμὼν, ὅπερ μεταληφθέν ἐστι κέδρος ἢ δρόσος, εἰκότως πάντα τὰ πειράζοντα διαβαίνει· καὶ τὰς ἐνέδρας τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων παρέρχεται τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ λύχνου φωτιζομένη·","english":"For from here, he says, are the springs of the Jordan, over which this mountain lies, divided into two ridges, upon which these names are placed; and the phrase \"from lions and leopards\" means from diabolical prisons and manifold sins, by which the soul is spotted. And he reminded her of sorrows through these beasts, making the things that gladden more pleasant; and so that, delighting more in the present good things, learning through the comparison what she has exchanged for what, and at the same time by the turning away from the worse she might achieve the unwavering and unswerving in good things. {Of Nilus.} Again someone calls the Bride; but the one who called has fallen silent; whether it is the Bridegroom himself, or the friends of the Bridegroom, they call her either from the earthly region or from the Gentile manner of life; for knowing Lebanon to be a dwelling-place of lions and leopards, they advise her to leave it; and as it seems, having seen her beginning to withdraw and advancing with all eagerness, guessing her progress from her zeal, they say: Truly you will come and pass through; for the beginning of faith, and the zeal in the first steps, signifies the speed of the coming passage, suggesting much hope of arrival at the goal earnestly pursued. You will come, then, from Lebanon, the place of beasts; and you will pass through the beasts themselves unharmed. For beginning to journey from the head of faith, and from the head of Sanir, which is interpreted \"way of a lamp,\" and Hermon, which is translated \"cedar\" or \"dew,\" reasonably she passes through all things that tempt; and she passes by the ambushes of the opposing powers, illuminated by the way of the lamp.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":102,"ref":"p102","source":"καὶ καταφόρους τὰς τῶν ἐπιβούλων μηχανὰς ποιουμένη, τῇ δὲ δρόσῳ παραμυθουμένη τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ πορείᾳ κάματον· διὸ καὶ τὰς μάνδρας τῶν τῇ πρακτικῇ ἐπιβουλευόντων λεόντων, καὶ τὰ ὄρη τῶν τῇ θεωρίᾳ ἐναντίων παρδάλεων παρελθοῦσα, ἔκπληξιν παρέσχε τοῖς προσκαλουμένοις αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ τάχει· ἴσως δὲ καὶ λέοντας καὶ παρδάλεις, τά ποτε τῶν ἐθνικῶν ἤθη λέγει· ὄρη δὲ τὴν πεπλανημένην αὐτῶν τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἐπὶ τῶν ὑψηλῶν θρησκείαν· καὶ μάνδρας, τὸ τῆς φύσεως εὔνομον· ἀφ' οὗ κινούμενοι φυσικῶς ἐπεγίνωσκον τὸ καλόν· μάνδρα γὰρ προβάτων ποιμαινομένων αὐλὴ, οὐχὶ δὲ θηρίων καταγώγιον· λέοντες δὲ καὶ παρδάλεις, μονωτικὰ, καὶ οὐ σύννομα· τὰ ἔθνη οὖν διὰ τούτων δηλοῖ, θρησκείαν μὲν ἀσεβῆ, διὰ πλάνην μετερχόμενα· πολιτείαν δὲ ἴσως εἶχον, εἰ καὶ μὴ λογικῶν, ἀλλὰ προβάτων τέως εὔτακτον καὶ συμβαίνουσαν, οὐ τῇ Ἰουδαίων, ἀλλὰ τῇ Χριστιανῶν διαγωγῇ· ἀπὸ πίστεως οὖν ἀρξαμένη ὁδεύειν πρὸς τὸν Νυμφίον ἡ Νύμφη, καὶ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὁδεύσασα πολλοὺς μεθ' ἑαυτῆς παρέστησε τῷ ἡρμοσμένῳ, ἔδνα καὶ φερνὴν αὐτῆς προσαγαγοῦσα τῷ Χριστῷ. θʹ. Ἐκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς, ἀδελφή μου Νύμφη· ἐκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς ἐνὶ ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου ἐν μιᾷ ἐνθέματι τραχήλου σου. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Γρηγορίου.} Ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν φίλων τοῦ Νυμφίου, ἀγγελικῶν, φημὶ, Δυνάμεων, λέγεται πρὸς αὐτήν·","english":"and making the plots of the schemers downward-sloping, and soothing with dew the toil of the journey; therefore also, having passed by the folds of the lions that plot against the practical life, and the mountains of the leopards that oppose contemplation, she caused astonishment to those who call upon her by her swiftness; and perhaps he calls lions and leopards the former habits of the Gentiles, and mountains their wandering worship of idolatry on the high places; and folds, the law-abiding character of nature, from which, being moved naturally, they recognized the good; for a fold is a courtyard of sheep being pastured, not a den of wild beasts; but lions and leopards are solitary and not gregarious; therefore through these he indicates the nations, pursuing impious worship through error; but perhaps they had a manner of life, if not of rational beings, yet at any rate of sheep, orderly and consistent, not with the conduct of Jews, but with that of Christians; therefore the Bride, having begun to journey from faith toward the Bridegroom, and having journeyed through the things said, presented many with herself to the betrothed, bringing her gifts and dowry to Christ. 9. You have heartened us, my sister, my bride; you have heartened us with one of your eyes, with one ornament of your neck. {Of Cyril.} That is, you have led us into longing for yourself, by one word of confession; which you had, seeing rightly with your inner eyes; for having been subjected by the ornament of your neck, you made the confession. {Of Gregory.} These things are said to her by the friends of the Bridegroom, I mean the angelic Powers:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":103,"ref":"p103","source":"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. Ἐπεὶ οὖν, φησὶν, ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου εἷς ἐν τῷ πρὸς τὸ ἓν 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·\" εἴτ' οὖν ὁ τοῦ Κυρίου ζυγός)· 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 Ἤλιον ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ κατανοοῦμεν· διὰ δὲ τῆς δευτερώσεως ἀξιοπιστίαν προτιθέασι τῷ λεγομένῳ. {Νείλου.} Ὁ Νυμφίος ἐκ προσώπου παντὸς τοῦ χοροῦ ταῦτά φησιν· τὴν μὲν ἔκπληξιν ἐπὶ πάντας φέρων, τὴν δὲ οἰκειότητα τῆς","english":"For since the faculty of sight is twofold, and one part of it sees the truth while the other wanders among vain things, inasmuch as the pure eye of the Bride has been opened only toward the nature of the good, and the other eye lies idle, for this reason the friends bring their praise to one of her eyes, calling her a sister through impassibility of kinship, and Bride through her union with the Word. Since, then, he says, your eye is one in looking toward the One, and your soul is one because it is not divided among various dispositions; and the placing of your neck holds the divine yoke perfectly, having taken it upon itself (for this is the meaning of \"an ornament upon your neck,\" that is, the yoke of the Lord); for this reason we confess that you have won our hearts by your wonders, which means that you have wrought in us a certain soul and mind for the understanding of the light through yourself; for in you we behold the Sun of righteousness as in a mirror; and by the repetition they set forth the credibility of what is said. {Of Nilus.} The Bridegroom says these things in the person of the whole choir, bringing amazement upon all, and the familiarity of the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":104,"ref":"p104","source":"Νύμφης, ἐπὶ μόνον ἑαυτὸν, Ἀδελφή μου, λέγων, Νύμφη, καὶ οὐχ ἡμῶν· κἂν γὰρ διαφέρουσι κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἄγγελοι τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐλαττοῦνται τῷ ἀξιώματι τῆς ἡρμοσμένης Χριστῷ, καὶ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γινομένης τοῦ ἡμετέρου φυράματος· καὶ τῆς ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καθέδρας ἠξιωμένης· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ Νυμφίου ἀδελφὴ ὀνομάζεται· καὶ ὁμαίμων αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς οἰκονομίαν γενομένη καὶ ὁμογάστριος· ἐκαρδίωσε δὲ αὐτοὺς ἑνὶ ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν, ὡς τὰ θεῖα κατανοοῦντι πράγματα· οἱ γὰρ ὀφθαλμοὶ, ὁ μὲν ἀριστερὸς τοῖς σωματικοῖς προσέχει, ὃς καὶ ἐκαρδίωσε τοὺς ἑτέρους τοῦ Νυμφίου, καλῶς ταῦτα διατιθείς· ὁ δὲ ἕτερος τοῖς νοητοῖς ἐνατενίζει, καὶ τοῖς μέλλουσι προσέχει, ὃς καὶ ἐκαρδίωσε τοὺς ἑτέρους τοῦ Νυμφίου· περιεσκεμμένως καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς νήψεως παρελθὼν τὰς τῇ θεωρίᾳ λυμαινομένας παρδάλεις, καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον κάλλος τηρήσας· καὶ ἐν μιᾷ ἐνθέματι τραχήλου τῆς Νύμφης ἐκαρδιώθησαν· ὅπερ οἱ λοιποὶ, Ἐν ἑνὶ ὁρμίσκῳ τράχηλός σου, πεποιήκασι· τάχα οὗν ἐπὶ ἀνωτέρω, Τράχηλός σου, λέγων, ὡς ὁρμίσκοι, τὴν ἐπὶ πάσαις ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐπῄνει· νῦν ἐφ' ἑνὶ ὁρμίσκῳ τοῦ τραχήλου ἐκπλήττεται ταύτην· ὅτι καὶ Νύμφη γενομένη τοῦ βασιλέως, τὴν αὐτὴν κατάστασιν τῆς ταπεινώσεως σώζει. {Ὠριγένους.} Τὸ ἔνθεμα εἴρηται παρὰ τὸ ἐντίθεσθαι καὶ ἐνορμᾶσθαι τῷ τραχήλῳ τῆς Νύμφης, κ.τ.λ. ιʹ. Τί ἐκαλλιώθησαν οἱ μαστοί σου, ἀδελφή μου Νύμφη; τί ἐκαλλιώθησαν μαστοί σου ἀπὸ οἴνου; καὶ ὀσμὴ ἱματίων σου ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀρώματα.","english":"Of the Bride, saying \"My sister, my bride,\" to him alone and not to us. For even if the angels differ from the soul in essence, they are inferior in dignity to her who has been joined to Christ, and who has been so from the beginning of our own lump of clay; and who has been deemed worthy of the seat above every principality and authority and power; and for this reason she is called the sister of the Bridegroom; and she who became of the same blood as he according to the economy of the flesh, and of the same womb. But he has heartened them by one of his eyes, as one that contemplates divine things. For of the eyes, the left one attends to bodily things, which also heartened the others of the Bridegroom, ordering these things well; but the other gazes upon intelligible things and attends to things to come, which also heartened the others of the Bridegroom, having passed by with circumspection and much vigilance the leopards that ravage contemplation, and having preserved her own beauty; and in one ornament of the Bride's neck they were heartened; which the others have rendered as \"In one necklace is your neck.\" Perhaps, then, in the passage above, saying \"Your neck is as necklaces,\" he was praising the humility that is upon all the virtues; now he is struck with wonder at her for one necklace of the neck, because even having become the bride of the king, she preserves the same disposition of humility. {Of Origen.} The \"ornament\" is spoken of from being set in and fastened upon the neck of the Bride, etc. 10. How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my bride! How beautiful are your breasts from wine! And the scent of your garments is above all perfumes.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":105,"ref":"p105","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Ἐπισφραγίζει τῆς Νύμφης ὁ Νυμφίος τὸ παρὰ τῶν φίλων ἐγκώμιον, ἐπαινῶν αὐτὴν ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀγαθῶν διδαγμάτων πηγαῖς, οἶνον ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔτι γάλα προχεούσαις· δι' οὗ ταῖς τελειωτέραις καρδίαις ἡ εὐφροσύνη· ἡ δὲ τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐωδία πᾶν ἄρωμα, φησὶν, νενίκηκε νομικὸν, μυρεψούμενον τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς ἐπιτάγμασιν· ὅμοια δὲ τὰ τοῦ Νυμφίου, τοῖς ἐν ἀρχῇ παρὰ τῆς Νύμφης πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἰρημένοις· Ὅτι ἀγαθοὶ οἱ μαστοί σου ὑπὲρ οἶνον, καὶ ὀσμὴ μύρων σου ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀρώματα· τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ θεῖον ἔργον, ἐὰν ὁμοίους ἑαυτοὺς αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως δείξωμεν· διὸ νῦν ἡ Νύμφη τὴν ὁμοίαν ἀπόκρισιν δέχεται πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀλλοιωθεῖσα· ὅθεν καὶ ἀδελφὴν αὐτὴν καλεῖ διὰ τὸ οἶνον πηγάζειν ὁμοίως αὐτῷ. {Νείλου.} Βελτίωσιν καὶ προκοπὴν τῶν μαστῶν διηγεῖται τῆς Νύμφης· πρότερον μὲν ὅτε ἐν κρίνοις δύο νεβροὶ δίδυμοι δορκάδος ἐνέμοντο· τάχα τῶν ποιμαινομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τόπον χλόης κατασκηνούντων, προβάτων τὴν κατάστασιν ἐχόντων· νῦν δὲ ὅτε ἀπὸ οἴνου ἐκαλλιώθησαν, εἰς τὸ τῆς ἡτοιμασμένης τοῖς λογικοῖς τραπέζης, καὶ τοῦ μεθύσκοντος ποτηρίου ἀπολαύειν φθασάντων· οὐ ταυτὸν γὰρ γάλα καὶ οἶνος· τὸ μὲν γὰρ νηπίων, τὸ δὲ τελείων τροφή· ἐπεὶ οὖν τοῖς σιτίοις τῆς μητρὸς ἐξομοιοῦται τὸ γάλα, καὶ τοὺς τιθηνουμένους τρέφει καταλλήλῳ πιότητι, τότε ἀπὸ οἴνου τῆς Νύμφης οἱ μαστοὶ καλλιοῦνται, ὅτε τοὺς μαθητευομένους τῷ λόγῳ τελείαν πρὸς εὐφροσύνην πνευματικὴν παιδεύωσι διδασκαλίαν, τῷ μυστικῷ τονοῦντες αἵματι τὰ αἰσθητήρια τῶν γνωρίμων, πρὸς τὴν τῶν συμφερόντων ἐπίγνωσιν·","english":"Of Gregory. The Bridegroom sets his seal upon the Bride's praise spoken by the friends, praising her at the springs of good teachings, which pour forth wine but no longer milk; through this comes gladness to the more perfect hearts. And the fragrance of the virtues, he says, has conquered every aromatic spice of the Law, being compounded with the Gospel commandments. And the Bridegroom's words are like those spoken at the beginning by the Bride to him: \"For your breasts are good beyond wine, and the scent of your ointments beyond all spices.\" For such is the divine work, if we show ourselves like him through our free choice. Therefore now the Bride receives a like answer, having been changed to the better; whence he also calls her sister, because she pours forth wine like him. Of Nilus. He describes the improvement and progress of the Bride's breasts: formerly, when the two twin fawns of a gazelle grazed among the lilies—perhaps the condition of the sheep pastured by the Lord and encamped in a place of green grass; but now, when they have been made beautiful by wine, having come to enjoy the table prepared for rational beings and the cup that makes drunk. For milk and wine are not the same; the one is food for infants, the other for the perfect. Since, then, milk is likened to the foods of the mother, and nourishes those who are nursed with fitting richness, at that time the Bride's breasts are made beautiful by wine, when they teach those instructed in the word a perfect teaching unto spiritual gladness, tuning the senses of those who know by the mystic blood unto the knowledge of what is profitable.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":106,"ref":"p106","source":"Ὀσμὴ δὲ ἱματίων σου, τῆς Νύμφης εἰσὶν οἱ πρακτικοὶ, καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐωδιάζοντες· ἱμάτια γὰρ, αἱ ἠθικαὶ ἀρεταί· ὡς καὶ Παῦλος, \"Ἐνδύσασθε, λέγων, χρηστότητα, ταπεινοφροσύνην·\" πρᾶξις γὰρ πρὸς σωτηρίαν, θεωρίας ἐπιτηδειοτέρα. ιαʹ. Κηρίον ἀποστάζουσι χείλη σου, Νύμφη· μέλι καὶ γάλα ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσάν σου. {Φίλωνος.} Μέλι τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, γάλα ὁ νόμος. {Γρηγορίου.} Πλήρης σοι, φησὶ, γέγονεν ἡ καρδία τῶν τῆς παντοδαπῆς παιδεύσεως κηρίων· ὅθεν προσφέρεις ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας τὰς μελιχρὰς τῶν λόγων σταγόνας, ὡς εἶναι μέλι τὸν λόγον συναναμεμιγνύμενον τῷ γάλακτι· οὐ γὰρ μονοειδῆ τοῖς ἀκούουσι τὴν ὠφέλειαν παρέχεις, ἀλλὰ καταλλήλως πρὸς τὴν τῶν δεχομένων δύναμιν· ὡς καὶ τοῖς τελειοτέροις καὶ τοῖς νηπιάζουσιν οἰκείως ἔχειν, τοῖς μὲν τελειοτέροις μέλι, τοῖς δὲ νηπιάζουσι γάλα γίνεσθαι. {Νείλου.} Τῆς καθ' ἕξιν ὑπαρχούσης πρὸς πᾶσαν\n\nκατάστασιν ὠφελίμου διδασκαλίας τῇ Νύμφῃ, μέλιτος καὶ γάλακτος ὀνομαζομένης, ἡ κατ' ἐνέργειαν κηρίον εἴρηται· αὕτη γὰρ ἀποστάζει πᾶσιν, ἐν προφορᾷ τοῦ λόγου δηλουμένη· ἐκείνη δέ ἐστιν ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσαν λανθάνουσα, πλὴν τοῦ κοινωνοῦντος αὐτῇ Νυμφίου, τοὺς λοιποὺς ἅπαντας· ποιότης γὰρ στόματος ἐν φιλήματι κρίνεται, τοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶτταν μέλιτος ἐλεγχομένου· κοινωνία γλώττης ἑτέρας καὶ καρδίας διάθεσις, γνώσει τοῦ τὰ κρυπτὰ δοκιμάζοντος καταλαμβάνεται· ἐπειδὴ δὲ, \"ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύματος τῆς καρδίας τὸ στόμα λαλεῖ,\" στοχάσασθαι ἔστι τὸ κάλλος τῶν νοημάτων τῆς Νύμφης, ἐκ τοῦ ἀποστάζοντος τῶν χειλέων αὐτῆς κηρίου·","english":"The scent of your garments—the practical virtues of the Bride, giving forth a sweet fragrance through works of virtue; for garments are the ethical virtues, as Paul also says: \"Put on goodness, humility.\" For practice directed toward salvation is more suited to contemplation. XI. Your lips drip a honeycomb, O Bride; honey and milk are under your tongue. {Of Philo.} Honey is the Gospel, milk is the Law. {Of Gregory.} Your heart, he says, has been filled with the honeycombs of every kind of instruction; hence you offer from the good treasure of your heart the honey-sweet drops of your words, so that the word becomes honey mingled together with milk; for you do not provide benefit of a single kind to your hearers, but in a manner suited to the capacity of those who receive it, so as to be fitting both for the more perfect and for those still infants—honey for the more perfect, but milk for those still infants. {Of Nilus.} Since the teaching that exists as a state of habit, beneficial for every condition, is called honey and milk for the Bride, that which is in actual operation is called a honeycomb; for this drips forth to all, being made manifest in the utterance of the word; while that other lies hidden under the tongue, concealed from all the rest except the Bridegroom who shares it; for the quality of the mouth is judged in a kiss, the honey under the tongue being brought to light; the fellowship of another tongue and the disposition of the heart are apprehended by the knowledge of him who tests hidden things; and since \"out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,\" one may infer the beauty of the Bride's thoughts from the honeycomb that drips from her lips.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":107,"ref":"p107","source":"ὀσμὴ δὲ ἱματίων αὐτῆς πρὸ μικροῦ μὲν ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀρώματα, νῦν δὲ οὐχ ὑπὲρ λίβανον, ἀλλ' ὡς ὀσμὴ λιβάνου· ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑπερβολικοῦ, συγκριτικῷ ὀνόματι δηλουμένη· πάλιν δὲ τὴν τῶν πρακτικῶν ἀρετὴν, τῇ τῶν θυμιαμάτων ὀσμῇ, διὰ τὸ πρὸς Θεὸν κατευθύνεσθαι ὡμοίωσεν· ὀσμὴν λιβάνου, τὴν τῶν ἔργων εὐωδίαν εἰρηκώς. Καὶ ὀσμὴ ἱματίων σου ὡς ὀσμὴ λιβάνου. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἤγουν κεκόσμησαι θεολογίας πνέουσιν ἱματίοις· ἐπείπερ οὐ μονοειδής τίς ἐστιν, οὐδὲ μονότροπος ἡ κατ' ἀρετὴν πολιτεία, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν ὑφασμάτων κατασκευῆς, διὰ τῶν πολλῶν νημάτων ἡ ὑφαντικὴ τέχνη τὴν ἐσθῆτα ποιεῖ, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐναρέτου ζωῆς πολλὰ χρὴ συνδραμεῖν, δι' ὧν ὁ ἀστεῖος ἐξυφαίνεται βίος· ἅπερ καὶ ἀπαριθμεῖται ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος· \"Χαρὰν, εἰρήνην, μακροθυμίαν,\" καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· τούτου χάριν ἀποδέχεται τὸν ἐν ἐσθῆτι κόσμον τῆς Νύμφης, ὡς τῷ λιβάνῳ κατὰ τὴν ὀσμὴν ὁμοιούμενον· καί φησιν· ὅτι Σοι, ὦ Νύμφη, τῶν ἀρετῶν ἡ περιβολὴ, τὴν θείαν μιμεῖται μακαριότητα, διὰ καθαρότητος καὶ ἀπαθείας τῇ ἀπροσίτῳ φύσει ὁμοιουμένη· τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἱματίων ὀσμὴ, ὡς πρὸς τὸν λίβανον ἐμφερῶς ἔχειν τὸν ἀντικείμενον εἰς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ τιμήν. ιβʹ. Κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, ἀδελφή μου Νύμφη· κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, πηγὴ ἐσφραγισμένη. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Κῆπος δὲ ἄλλως κεκλεισμένος ἡ Νύμφη, διότι πλείονα τοῦ φαινομένου κατὰ διάνοιαν ἔχει. {Κυρίλλου.} Κέκλεισται μὲν τῷ κόσμῳ, τῷ δὲ ἐπουρανίῳ Νυμφίῳ ἠνέῳκται· ἡ δὲ πηγὴ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ἐσφράγισται ᾧ χριόμεθα μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα.","english":"The scent of her garments was a little before above all spices, but now not above frankincense, but as the scent of frankincense—instead of the superlative, it is indicated by a comparative term. Again he compared the virtue of the practical [virtues] to the scent of incense, because it is directed toward God, having called the fragrance of works the scent of frankincense. And the scent of your garments is as the scent of frankincense. {Of Gregory.} That is, you have been adorned with garments breathing forth theology; since the conduct according to virtue is not of one form nor of one manner, but just as in the making of woven fabrics the weaving art makes the garment through many threads, so also in the life of virtue many things must run together, through which the well-ordered life is woven; which the divine Apostle also enumerates: \"joy, peace, patience,\" and the like. For this reason he accepts the adornment of the Bride in her garment, as being likened in scent to frankincense; and he says: that for you, O Bride, the covering of the virtues imitates the divine blessedness, being made like to the unapproachable nature through purity and impassibility; for such is the scent of the garments, as to be similar to frankincense, which is set apart for the honor of God. 12. A garden enclosed, my sister Bride; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed. {Of Apollinaris.} The Bride is in another sense a garden enclosed, because she has more in her thought than what appears. {Of Cyril.} She has been closed to the world, but opened to the heavenly Bridegroom; and the fountain has been sealed by the Holy Spirit with which we are anointed after baptism.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":108,"ref":"p108","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Διὰ τούτων πάλιν μανθάνομεν, πῶς ἄν τις γένοιτο τοῦ Κυρίου ἀδελφὴ καὶ ὁμόζυγος. Νύμφη μὲν γὰρ γίνεται, διὰ τοῦ προσκολληθῆναι τῷ Κυρίῳ· ἀδελφὴ δὲ, διὰ τοῦ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ κατεργάζεσθαι· ὁ δὲ τοιοῦτος κῆπος εὐθαλὴς γενέσθω· πάντων ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τῶν φυτῶν τὴν ὥραν καὶ καρπὸν, προβαλλέσθω τοῦ Πνεύματος· κεκλεισμένος δὲ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τῷ τῶν ἐντολῶν περιφράγματι· ὡς μηδὲ μίαν καθ' ἑαυτοῦ παρασχεῖν τῷ κλέπτῃ καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις τὴν πάροδον· ἀλλὰ τῷ κήπῳ τούτῳ καὶ πηγῆς ἐστι χρεία, ὡς ἂν εὐθαλὲς διαμένει τὸ κάλλος τῷ ὕδατι, εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς πιαινόμενον· διὰ τοῦτο συνέζευξεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπαίνοις τὴν πηγὴν τῷ κήπῳ· αὕτη δ' ἂν εἴη ἡ διανοητικὴ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν δύναμις· ἡ παντοίους ἐν ἡμῖν λογισμοὺς βρύουσά τε καὶ πηγάζουσα· ἀλλὰ τὸ ἡμετέρα γίνεται ἡ πηγὴ, κατὰ τὸ, \"Ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ ὕδατος ἔστω σοι ἰδία·\" ἤγουν τὸ τῆς διανοίας ἡμῶν κίνημα ὅταν πρὸς τὰ συμφέροντα ἡμῖν κινεῖται, πᾶσαν συνέργειαν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν κτῆσιν παρεχόμενον, καὶ μὴ πρὸς ἀλλοτρίους καὶ πονηροὺς λογισμοὺς ἐκχεόμενον, ἐξ ὧν φύονται ἄκανθαι· ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἡ σφραγὶς τὸ ἄσυλον σημαίνει, τὴν ἀκροτάτην ἔοικεν ἀρετὴν μαρτυρεῖν τῇ Νύμφῃ, ὅτι ἀνέπαφος αὐτῆς μένει τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἡ διάνοια, ἐν καθαρότητι καὶ ἀπαθείᾳ φυλαττομένη τῷ ἰδίῳ Δεσπότῃ, ἢ καὶ μὴ τοῖς σωματικοῖς ἐνασχολεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπιμέλειαν δι' ἀρετῆς ποιεῖσθαι παρακελεύεται. 1664 {Νείλου.} Ἔστι λάχανα πολλάκις κρεῶν προκρινόμενα, ὅταν μάλιστα μὲν ταῦτα ἐκκλησιαστικῆς συγκαταβάσεως ᾖ· τῶν ἀσθενῶν παραίνεσις πρόσφορος·","english":"Through these words we learn again how one may become a sister and yokefellow of the Lord. For she becomes a bride by being joined to the Lord, and a sister by working out his will. Let such a one become a flourishing garden, possessing in herself the beauty and fruit of all the plants; let her be put forth by the Spirit, and enclosed against the enemies by the fence of the commandments, so as to give not even one passage against herself to the thief and the beasts. But this garden also has need of a spring, so that its beauty may remain flourishing by the water, being fattened continually. For this reason he joined the spring to the garden in his praises. And this would be the intellectual power of our soul, which gushes and springs up all kinds of thoughts within us. But the spring becomes ours according to the saying, \"Let the spring of water be your own\"—that is, the movement of our mind, when it is moved toward what is beneficial to us, providing every cooperation for the acquisition of good things, and not pouring itself out toward alien and evil thoughts, from which thorns grow. And since the seal also signifies inviolability, it seems to testify to the Bride the highest virtue: that her mind remains untouched by the enemies, kept in purity and impassibility for its own Master; or else it exhorts her not to be occupied with bodily things, but to take care for the soul through virtue. Often vegetables are preferred to meats, especially when these are [matters] of ecclesiastical condescension, a fitting exhortation for the weak.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":109,"ref":"p109","source":"τὰ δὲ κρέα, αἱρετικῆς διδασκαλίας ὠμὰ καὶ ἀκατέργαστα· μετὰ ταῦτα εἶναι καρπῶν παντοίων ἀρετῆς κῆπος ἡ Νύμφη· καὶ τούτων τῶν λαχάνων ἐστὶ κῆπος, κἂν ἀσθενούντων ἐστὶ παραμυθία, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς φιλίαν καὶ χάριν παρατίθενται· ἔδει γὰρ καὶ λάχανα τὸν\n\nτῆς Νύμφης ἔχειν παράδεισον· ἵνα μὴ τῶν νηπίων ἐχόντων γάλα, καὶ τῶν τελείων ἄρτῳ καὶ οἴνῳ τρεφομένων, καὶ τῶν ἐντρυφώντων τοῖς λόγοις μέλιτι γλυκαινόντων, τὸν τῶν θείων νοημάτων αἰσθόμενον λάρυγγα μόνοι οἱ ἀσθενοῦντες ἀποστερῶνται τῆς καταλλήλου τρυφῆς· κεκλεισμένος δέ ἐστιν οὗτος διὰ τοὺς παραπορευομένους καὶ διὰ τὸν λυμαινόμενον τὰ ἀπερίφρακτα ὗν ἐκ δρυμοῦ· καὶ πηγὴ δέ ἐστιν ἐσφραγισμένη, ἵνα μὴ πρόχειρος ᾖ τοῖς ἀναξίοις ἀντλεῖν ἐπιχειροῦσιν· αἱρετικῶν γὰρ ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ δυνάμεων ἀντικειμένων ἄψαυστον εἶναι θέλων τὴν Νύμφην, πηγὴν αὐτὴν καλεῖ ἐσφραγισμένην, τῇ σφραγῖδι τὸ ἀνεπιβούλευτον σημαίνων. {Ὠριγένους.} Δεύτερον τὸ, κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, κ.τ.λ. ιγʹιεʹ. Ἀποστολαὶ παραδείσου ῥοῶν μετὰ καρποῦ ἀκροδρύων· κύπροι μετὰ νάρδων· νάρδος, καὶ κρόκος, καὶ κάλαμος, καὶ κινάμωμον, μετὰ πάντων ξύλων τοῦ Λιβάνου· σμύρνα, ἀλόη, μετὰ πάντων πρώτων μύρων· πηγὴ κήπων φρέαρ ὕδατος ζῶντος καὶ ῥοιζοῦντος ἀπὸ Λιβάνου. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὅρα τὴν ἄνοδον· εἰς τοσοῦτον γὰρ ὑψώθη τῆς ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον αὐξήσεως, ὡς ἐκ στόματος αὐτῆς βλαστάνειν παράδεισον· οὕτω γὰρ τὸ Ἑβραϊκὸν ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἀποστολαί σου, ἐκ στόματός σου, παράδεισος ῥοῶν, ἔχει· φησὶν οὖν, ὅτι Ὁ λόγος σου ὁ διὰ τοῦ στόματός σου ἀποστελλόμενος παράδεισός ἐστι ῥοῶν·","english":"The meats are the raw and uncooked fare of heretical teaching. After these things the Bride is a garden of fruits of every kind of virtue; and of these vegetables too she is a garden, even if they are a consolation for the weak, yet they are also set forth for friendship and grace; for it was fitting that the paradise of the Bride should have vegetables too, so that, while infants have milk, and the perfect are fed with bread and wine, and those who revel in words sweeten themselves with honey, only the sick should not be deprived of the fitting delight. And this garden is closed because of those who pass by and because of the boar from the thicket that ravages what is unfenced; and it is a sealed fountain, so that it may not be readily available to the unworthy who attempt to draw from it. For wishing the Bride to be untouchable by the eyes of heretics and opposing powers, he calls her a sealed fountain, signifying by the seal that she is not plotted against. {Of Origen.} Secondly, “a garden enclosed,” etc. 13, 15. “Shoots of a paradise of pomegranates with the fruit of choice trees; cypresses with nards; nard, and crocus, and calamus, and cinnamon, with all the trees of Lebanon; myrrh, aloe, with all the chief perfumes; a fountain of gardens, a well of living water, and rushing from Lebanon.” {Of Gregory.} Observe the ascent; for she was raised so high in her growth toward the greater, that a paradise sprouts from her mouth; for thus the Hebrew has, instead of “Your shoots,” “From your mouth, a paradise of pomegranates.” He says, then, that your word, sent forth through your mouth, is a paradise of pomegranates.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"John 4:10","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “living water”, which matches John 4:10. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]},{"i":110,"ref":"p110","source":"αἱ δὲ ῥοαὶ, παγκαρπίαν τινὰ τῶν ἀκροδρύων ἐκφύουσι, τὰ ἀκρόδρυα, κύπρος καὶ νάρδος καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· τίς δὲ ὁ λόγος, ἢ ὁ τῆς πίστεως; ὃς ἐν τοῖς ὑποδεχομένοις παράδεισος γίνεται διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς ταῖς καρδίαις ἐμφυτευόμενος; ῥοῶν δὲ πλήρη φησὶν, ἐπειδήπερ ὁ δίκαιος ἐν ταῖς πικραῖς τοῦ βίου περιστάσεσιν, μάλιστα καρποφορεῖ, καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ἔχει τὸ γλυκὺ καὶ τρόφιμον, ὥσπερ ἡ ῥόα, ἔνδον τοῦ στρυφνοῦ τὸ ἐδώδιμον· διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν δίκην ῥοῶν παραδείσου ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀκουόντων ψυχαῖς ὁ ἀποστελλόμενος παρὰ τῆς Νύμφης λόγος ἐργάζεται· ἵνα μάθωμεν διὰ τῶν λεγομένων, μὴ διά τινος ἐκλύσεως καὶ τρυφῆς κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ζωὴν μαλακίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸν κατεσκληκότα διὰ τῆς ἐγκρατείας αἱρεῖσθαι βίον· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἀπρόσιτος γένοιτο τοῖς κλέπταις ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς καρπὸς, τῇ στυφῇ τῆς ἐγκρατείας περιβολῇ πεφραγμένος· χρὴ δὲ καὶ πᾶσαν εὐωδίαν τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς φέρειν παράδεισον, διὰ τῆς πολυειδοῦς τῶν ἀρωμάτων φύσεως, ἐν τοῖς ἀκροδρύοις εὑρισκομένοις· καὶ πρῶτον μὲν, κύπροι μετὰ νάρδων, τὸ θερμὸν καὶ εὐῶδες ἔχοντες, ἵνα γένηται τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ζέων· ἔπειτα δὲ κρόκος, ὃς παρηγορεῖ τὰς ὀδύνας, μέσως τε ψύξεως ἔχων καὶ θερμότητος· οὔτω γὰρ αἱ ἀρεταὶ μέσως ἔχουσιν ὑπερβολῆς τε καὶ ἐλλείψεως· ἢ τὸν τῆς πίστεως λόγον διὰ τούτου παρεμφαίνει, τὴν εἰς Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ὁμολογίαν, διὰ τὴν τριπλόην τὴν εὑρισκομένην ἐν τοῖς ἄνθεσι τούτοις· καὶ ἓν τὰ τρία ὑπάρχοντα κατά τε εὔχροιαν καὶ εὔπνοιαν· εἶτα κάλαμος καὶ κινάμωμον, τὰ ἀκρόδρυα τὰ ἐκ τῶν ῥοῶν τοῦ παραδείσου καρποφορούμενα·","english":"The pomegranates produce a certain abundance of all kinds of fruits; the fruits are henna and nard and the rest. And what is the word, or the word of faith? It becomes a paradise in those who receive it, implanted in their hearts through hearing. He says they are full of pomegranates, since the righteous man bears fruit especially in the bitter circumstances of life, and in them has what is sweet and nourishing, like the pomegranate, which has the edible part inside the sour. For this reason, then, the word sent by the Bride, like a paradise of pomegranates, works in the souls of those who hear, so that we may learn from what is said not to grow soft through some relaxation and luxury in the present life, but to choose the life that has been hardened through self-control. For in this way the fruit of virtue would become inaccessible to thieves, fenced in by the sour enclosure of self-control. And the paradise of the soul must bear every fragrance, through the manifold nature of the aromatics found among the fruits: first, henna with nards, having warmth and fragrance, so that it may become boiling with the Holy Spirit; then crocus, which soothes pains, having a middle measure of both cold and heat—for thus the virtues hold the middle between excess and deficiency—or through this he hints at the word of faith, the confession in Father and Son and Holy Spirit, because of the threefold nature found in these flowers, and the three are one both in good color and in good breath; then reed and cinnamon, the fruits borne from the pomegranates of paradise.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":111,"ref":"p111","source":"ἀλλὰ κάλαμος μὲν τοσοῦτον εὔπνοιαν ὑπερέχει, ὡς πρὸς τὸ ἱερατικὸν θυμίαμα ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου παραλαμβάνεσθαι· τὸ δὲ κινάμωμον ποικίλην ἐνέργειαν διά τινος φυσικῆς δυνάμεως ἐπαγγέλλεται· καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς θερμοῖς ἐκβαλλόμενον ἀποψύχει· δεικνύντος τοῦ λόγου, ὅτι ὅταν τις δι' ἐπιθυμίαν ζέων ᾖ ἢ τῷ θυμῷ πυρακτούμενος, τῷ λογισμῷ χρὴ κατασβεννύειν τὰ πάθη· ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλως καὶ αὐτὸ μέρος τοῦ ἐλαίου τοῦ χρίσματος· ὁ πρὸς τοῦτο δὲ φθάσας τοῦ βίου τὸ μέτρον, διὰ πάντων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τοὺς θείους δείκνυσι χαρακτῆρας· ὅπερ ἐμφαίνει τὸ, ἀπὸ πάντων ξύλων τοῦ Λιβάνου· οὐ γὰρ μονοειδὲς τὸ ξύλον τοῦ Λιβάνου ὅθεν λιβανωτὸς ἀποῤῥεῖ, ἀλλ' ἔστι τις ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις διαφορὰ τὸ τοῦ ἀρώματος σχῆμα, τῷ εἴδει τοῦ ξύλου συνεξαλλάσσουσα· ὁ τοίνυν ἐπισημαίνων ἐν οἷς πράττει τῶν τοῦ Λιβάνου ξύλων τὸ κάλλος, οὗτος ἐν ᾧ τὸ θεῖον εἶδος χαρακτηρίζεται· οὐδεὶς δὲ τῆς θείας δόξης κοινωνὸς γίνεται, μὴ σύμμορφος πρότερον τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου γενόμενος· διὸ ἐπάγεται σμύρνα καὶ ἀλόη, τὴν ταφὴν ἐνδεικνύμενα· πρῶτον δὲ μῦρόν φησιν τὸ ἀμιγὲς ἁπάσης καπηλείας","english":"But the reed exceeds so much in fragrance that it is received by the law for the priestly incense; and cinnamon promises a varied activity through some natural power; for when cast into hot places it cools them; the word showing that whenever someone is boiling with desire or set ablaze with anger, one must extinguish the passions by reason; and in another way it is itself also a part of the oil of anointing; and he who has reached this measure of life shows in himself through all things the divine characters; which is what the phrase means, \"from all the trees of Lebanon\"; for the tree of Lebanon from which frankincense flows is not of one kind, but there is a certain difference among the trees, the form of the aroma changing together with the species of the tree; he, then, who marks out in what he does the beauty of the trees of Lebanon, this man is one in whom the divine form is characterized; but no one becomes a partaker of the divine glory unless he has first been made conformable to the likeness of his death; therefore myrrh and aloe are added, indicating the burial; but first, he says, the myrrh that is unmixed with all huckstering","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":112,"ref":"p112","source":"ἐμφαίνων καὶ καθαρὸν τῶν δογμάτων· ἡ δὲ πηγὴ ἕτοιμος πρὸς πόσιν παντὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντι λόγον· τὸ δὲ φρέαρ, τὸ βάθος τοῦ πλούτου δηλοῖ· οὗ δὲ ἡ πηγὴ καὶ τὸ ζωτικὸν φρέαρ ἀπὸ Λιβάνου, τουτέστι θεόθεν εἰς ἑαυτὴν ὀξὺ καθέλκει τὸ ῥεῖθρον. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Νείλου.} Τὰ δῶρα τῆς Νύμφης παράδεισον ὀνομάζει Χριστὸς, διὰ τὸ πάντα ἔχειν τὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τίμια· ἔχει δὲ οὗτος ὁ παράδεισος, ῥόας μὲν, τοὺς τῷ αὐστηροτέρῳ βίῳ τὸ ἐδώδιμον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐγκρύπτοντας, τάχα τοὺς τὸν μοναδικὸν καὶ ἐγκρατῆ τρόπον ἐπανῃρημένους· καρποὺς δὲ ἀκροδρύων, τοὺς τῷ καρπῷ κομῶντας τοῦ πνεύματος, ἀγάπῃ, χαρᾷ, εἰρήνῃ, μετὰ τοῦ ἐναρέτου καὶ τὸ μειλίχιον ἔχοντας· οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῇ ῥόᾳ ὁμοιούμενοι, ἔχουσι τὸ ἀστεμφὲς καὶ αὐχμηρὸν σκυθρωπάζοντες· οἱ δὲ τοῖς ἀκροδρύοις παραπλήσιοι, τὸ πρὸς πάντας προσηνές· ἀγάπη γὰρ καὶ χαρὰ καὶ εἰρήνη, τούτων ὁ καρπὸς, ὧν χρηστότερον οὐδὲν, φαιδρᾷ διαθέσει δεξιουμένων τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας· ἔχει δὲ καὶ κύπρους μετὰ νάρδων, τοὺς τῇ ἀκμῇ τῆς θεοσεβείας τὸ θερμὸν καὶ διάπυρον τοῦ ζήλου κεκτημένους· νάρδος δὲ καὶ κρόκος καὶ κάλαμος καὶ κινάμωμον, ἐπειδὴ συν τιθέμενα ποιεῖ τὸ ἅγιον τῷ νόμῳ θυμίαμα, οἱ τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτεροῦντές εἰσιν· πρῶτα δὲ μῦρα, οἱ τὴν περὶ Τριάδος γνῶσιν εἰληφότες· σμύρνα δὲ καὶ ἀλόη, οἱ τὰ μέλη νεκρώσαντες καὶ συνταφέντες Χριστῷ·","english":"revealing also the purity of the doctrines; and the spring is ready for drinking to everyone who asks for the word; and the well declares the depth of the riches; and where the spring and the life-giving well are from Lebanon, that is, from God, it draws the stream swiftly to itself. {Of Cyril.} For the virtues are signified through the spices; and the woods of Lebanon, he means the prophets; and through the myrrh and the aloes, that Christ, having been buried, shared with the saints who came before; for having descended into Hades he brought them up. {Of Nilus.} Christ names the bride's gifts a paradise, because she has all things that are honored among men; and this paradise has pomegranates, those who hide the edible fruit of virtue under a more austere life, perhaps those who have chosen the monastic and continent manner; and fruits of nut-trees, those who pride themselves on the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace—having along with the virtuous also the gentle; for those likened to the pomegranate have the unyielding and dry, looking sullen; but those resembling the nut-trees have the affable toward all; for love and joy and peace are the fruit of these, than which nothing is more kindly, receiving those they meet with a cheerful disposition; and it has also henna with spikenards, those who possess the heat and fervor of zeal in the prime of godliness; and spikenard and saffron and calamus and cinnamon, since when combined they make the holy incense according to the law, are those who persevere in prayer; and first the myrs, those who have received the knowledge concerning the Trinity; and myrrh and aloes, those who have put to death their members and been buried with Christ;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":113,"ref":"p113","source":"πηγὴ δὲ κήπων, ὁ τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους ποτίζων λόγος· καὶ φρέαρ ὕδατος ζῶντος, ὁ τὰ βαθύτερα τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀσύνοπτα παραδιδοὺς μυστήρια· ῥοιζοῦσαν δὲ αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ Λιβάνου εἶπεν τὴν πηγὴν ἢ τὸ φρέαρ, διὰ τὸ τοὺς διδασκάλους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ ὁρμᾶσθαι γένους· τούτους γὰρ σημαίνει ὁ Λίβανος, καὶ τὸ ῥοίζωμα τῆς πηγῆς, δείκνυσιν ὁ Παῦλος Ἀθηναίοις δημηγορῶν, καὶ ποταμοὺς λόγων ἀναστέλλων τῷ οἰκείῳ ῥείθρῳ τοῦ λόγου· ταῦτα παράδεισον ὁ λόγος ὠνόμασεν, ἕδνα τῆς Νύμφης ὄντα· οὓς αὐτῷ πρὸ γάμου προσήνεγκεν ἢ ἀπέστειλε, τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῆς παρθενικῆς φυλάττουσα καταστάσεως· αἱ γὰρ ἀποστολαὶ τοῦτο σημαίνουσι· ὄτι οἴκοι μένουσα καὶ θαλαμευομένη, αἰδημόνως τὰ δῶρα δι' ὦν ἄξιον ἦν, τῷ Νυμφίῳ προσήνεγκεν. ι ʹ. Ἐξεγέρθητι, βοῤῥᾶ, καὶ ἔρχου, νότε· διάπνευσον κῆπόν μου, καὶ ῥευσάτωσαν ἀρώματά μου. {Γρηγορίου.} Καὶ ἡ Νύμφη μιμεῖται τὸν ἐγερθέντα Νυμφίον, καὶ τοῖς ἀνέμοις ἐπιτιμήσαντα, καὶ οὐχ ἡμερῶν ἐπιτάσσειν, ἀλλ' ἀποχωρεῖν καὶ φεύγειν διακελεύεται, ὡς ἂν ἀκωλύτως ὁ νότος ῥέῃ, μηδὲ μιᾶς ἀντιπνοίας ἐμποδιζούσης αὐτοῦ τὴν φοράν· τί δ' ἂν λέγοι βοῤῥᾶν; ἢ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους τὸν τῆς κατηφείας τοῦ χειμῶνος τοῦ νοητοῦ ἐργάτην, ὃς ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις σκληρὸς ὀνομάζεται, διὰ τὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ἁπαλὸν φύσει, ὑδατοδίκην ἀπολιθοῦν διὰ τῆς πήξεως καὶ σκληρὸν ἀπεργάζεσθαι· διὰ τί δὲ τούτῳ τῷ ὀνόματι παρωμοίωται; διὰ τὸ ἐκεῖνον τόπον ἀφεγγῆ τε εἶναι καὶ κατεψυγμένον εἰς ἀεὶ διαμένειν·","english":"A spring of gardens: the word that waters the weaker; and a well of living water: the one who hands over the deeper mysteries, unseen by the many. He called her a spring or a well rushing from Lebanon, because the teachers of the Church take their origin from the Jewish race; for Lebanon signifies these, and Paul shows the rushing of the spring when he addresses the Athenians and checks rivers of words by the proper stream of his word. These things the word called a paradise, being gifts of the Bride; which he brought or sent to himself before the marriage, preserving in this too the dignity of the virginal state; for the sendings signify this: that remaining at home and in the bridal chamber, she modestly brought the gifts through which she was worthy to the Bridegroom. 10. Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind; blow upon my garden, and let my spices flow. {Of Gregory.} And the Bride imitates the Bridegroom who was awakened and rebuked the winds, and she does not command them to be temperate for days, but orders them to withdraw and flee, so that the south wind may flow without hindrance, with not even one contrary breath impeding its course. But what would she mean by the north? Either the ruler of the authority of darkness, the worker of the desolation of the intellectual winter, who in Proverbs is called harsh, because he petrifies the naturally tender nature of souls, like water, by freezing and makes it hard. And why is he likened to this name? Because that place is without light and remains forever frozen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":114,"ref":"p114","source":"μήτε λαμπόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἡλιακῶν ἀκτίνων, μὴ θαλπόμενον, διὰ τὸ τὴν κίνησιν τοῦ ἡλίου τῷ νοτιαίῳ μέρει πρὸς τὰς δυσμὰς ποιεῖσθαι· αὕτη τοίνυν ἡ κατὰ τῶν παθῶν καὶ τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως τὸ κράτος ἀναδυσαμένη, κατ' ἐξουσίαν τῆς ἰδίας ἀρχῆς τὸ ψυχρὸν πνεῦμα ἀποδιώκει· προσκαλεῖται δὲ τὸν μεσημβρινὸν καὶ θερμὸν, ὅπερ ὀνομάζει νότον· δι' οὗ τῆς τρυφῆς ὁ χειμάῤῥους ῥεῖ, ὥστε τῇ βιαίᾳ πνοῇ, καθάπερ ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ τοῖς μαθηταῖς τοῖς ἐμψύχοις φυτοῖς ἐπιπεσόντα, κινῆσαι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν φυτείαν, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀρωμάτων φοράν· καὶ παρασκευάσαι διὰ στόματος ῥεῖν τὴν εὐώδη προφητείαν καὶ τὰ σωτήρια τῆς πίστεως δόγματα· τοιοῦτος γὰρ ποταμὸς ἀρωμάτων ἦν, ἐκ τοῦ κήπου τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ῥέων διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὁ μέγας Παῦλος· οὗ τὸ ῥεῖθρον Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἦν τοιοῦτος ἄλλος, ὁ Ἰωάννης, ὁ Λουκᾶς, καὶ οἱ λοιποί. {Νείλου.} Τῶν προειρημένων φυτῶν δεῖξαι βουλομένη τὸ εὐγενὲς καὶ\n\nδόκιμον ἡ Νύμφη, τῶν πειρασμῶν προσκαλεῖται τὰ πνεύματα· καὶ τὸν μὲν βοῤῥᾶν ἡττηθέντα ἀποπέμπεται· τὸν δὲ νότον ἀγωνισόμενον προσκαλεῖται· ἢ πάντας ἅμα καλεῖ θαῤῥοῦσα τῇ ἐκ γυμνασίας καὶ συνεργείας Θεοῦ προσ ούσῃ αὐτῇ δυνάμει· οὐκ ἄλλως γὰρ τῶν ἀρετῶν τὸ δόκιμον φαίνεται, εἰ μὴ πλῆθος πειρασμῶν τῇ καρτερίᾳ προσβαλὼν, τὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς κρουνηδὸν εἰς τοὐμφανὲς ἐξαγάγῃ, δίκην ῥεύματος, ἀρώματα, καὶ φανεροὺς αὐτοὺς πᾶσι δεῖξαι ἀοιδίμους αὐτοὺς ἀπεργάσηται· μετὰ τοῦτο οὖν εἰς τὸν κῆπον παρακαλεῖ καταβῆναι τὸν Νυμφίον· τῆς ὀσμῆς τῶν ἀρωμάτων ἀντιληψόμενον, καὶ βρωσόμενον καρπὸν ἀκροδρύων·","english":"neither lit by the sun's rays nor warmed by them, because the sun makes its motion in the southern region toward the west; this one, then, having risen up against the passions and the power of the adversary with dominion, drives away the cold spirit by the authority of her own rule; and she calls upon the southern and warm one, which he names the south wind; through which the torrent of delight flows, so that by its violent breath, as upon the disciples in the upper room, falling upon the living plants, it might stir the planting of God to the bearing of aromas; and might prepare the fragrant prophecy and the saving doctrines of the faith to flow through the mouth; for such a river of aromas was the great Paul, flowing from the garden of the Church through the Spirit; whose stream was the fragrance of Christ; such another was John, Luke, and the rest. {Of Nilus.} Wishing to display the noble and approved nature of the plants previously mentioned, the Bride calls upon the spirits of the temptations; and she sends away the north wind as defeated; and she calls upon the south wind to contend; or she calls them all at once, confident in the power that is present with her from exercise and the cooperation of God; for otherwise the approved quality of the virtues does not appear, unless a multitude of temptations, assailing it with endurance, brings the things of patience forth in abundance into the open, like a stream, and makes them manifest to all and renders them renowned; after this, then, she invites the Bridegroom to descend into the garden, to receive the scent of the aromas, and to eat the fruit of the trees;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":115,"ref":"p115","source":"βρῶσις γὰρ ἀληθὴς τοῦ Νυμφίου, ἀγάπη, χαρὰ, εἰρήνη, καὶ οἱ τοὺς πτωχοὺς δὲ τρέφοντες, βρῶσιν ἑτοιμάζουσι τῷ Χριστῷ· ὅσοι δὲ παρορῶσι πένητα, συκῆ εἰσιν ἄκαρπος καὶ ξηρά. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἔοικεν ἐπιτιμᾷν ἡ Νύμφη τῷ βοῤῥέᾳ, κ.τ.λ. ΚΕΦΑΛ. Εʹ. αʹ. Καταβήτω ἀδελφιδός μου εἰς κῆπον αὐτοῦ καὶ φαγέτω καρπὸν ἀκροδρύων αὐτοῦ. {Γρηγορίου.} Πεπαῤῥησιασμένῃ φωνῇ, πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τὴν ζωὴν ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας πηγῆς ἐπιῤῥέουσαν ἡ Νύμφη προστίθησι τράπεζαν, κῆπον διὰ τῶν ἐμψύχων δένδρων πεφυτευμένον· ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ δένδρα· εἴπερ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ τροφὴν αὐτῷ προτεθέντες τὴν τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν· κατὰ τὸ, \"Ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου·\" καρπὸς δὲ ἡμῶν ἡ προαίρεσις· ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμᾶς ἄλλως ἀναληφθῆναι πρὸς τὸν Ὕψιστον, εἰ μὴ πρὸς τὸ χθαμαλώτερον ἐπικληθείη ὁ ἀναλαμβάνων πραεῖς Κύριος· εὐκτικῶς τὸ, καταβήτω, φησὶν, ἐπιδεικνυμένη τῷ Θεῷ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀκροδρύων τὴν εὐφορίαν. Εἰσῆλθον εἰς κῆπον, ἀδελφή μου Νύμφη· ἐτρύγησα σμύρναν μετὰ ἀρωμάτων μου· ἔφαγον ἄρτον μου· ἔπιον οἶνόν μου μετὰ γάλακτός μου· φάγετε, οἱ πλησίον μου, καὶ πίετε καὶ μεθυσθήσεσθε, ἀδελφιδοί μου. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἥρμοσε καὶ νῦν τὸ, \"Ἔτι σοῦ λαλοῦντος, ἰδοὺ πάρειμι·\" γεγονὼς γὰρ εὐθὺς ἐν τῷ κήπῳ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀκροδρύων ἐνεφορήθη· καὶ διήγημα τὴν εὐωχίαν ποιεῖται· εἴ τι δὲ καλὸν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τοὺς μακαρίους κήπους, τοιαῦτα φέρειν παρασκευάζει φυτά·","english":"For the true food of the Bridegroom is love, joy, peace; and those who feed the poor prepare food for Christ. But all who overlook the needy are a fruitless and withered fig tree. {Origen.} The Bride seems to rebuke the north wind, etc. CHAPTER 5. 1. Let my beloved come down into his garden and eat the fruit of his choice trees. {Gregory.} With a voice full of boldness, the Bride sets before all things a table—the life that flows from its own source—a garden planted with living trees; and we are the trees, since we too have set before him as food the salvation of our souls, according to the saying, \"My food is that I may do the will of my Father\"; and our fruit is our free choice. Since it is not possible for us to be taken up to the Most High in any other way, unless the Lord who takes up the meek be called down to what is lower, she says wishfully, \"Let him come down,\" displaying to God the abundance of the choice fruits of virtue. I entered into my garden, my sister Bride; I gathered my myrrh with my spices; I ate my bread; I drank my wine with my milk; eat, my neighbors, and drink and be drunken, my beloved ones. {Gregory.} The saying has now fit as well: \"While you are still speaking, behold, I am present.\" For having come at once into the garden, he was filled with the choice fruits of virtue; and he makes the feast a narrative; and whatever good is from himself, he also prepares the blessed gardens to bear such plants.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":116,"ref":"p116","source":"τῷ μὲν γὰρ τῆς εὐωδίας τρυφῶντι σμύρνα γίνεται μετὰ ἀρωμάτων, διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐπιγείων μελῶν νεκρότητος, τὸν καθαρὸν καὶ εὐώδη μυρεψοῦντι βίον, τὸν ἐκ ποικίλων τε καὶ διαφόρων τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀρωμάτων συγκεραννύμενον· τῷ δὲ τὴν τελειοτέραν ἐπιζητοῦντι τροφὴν, ἄρτος γίνεται, οὐκ ἔτι ἐπὶ πικρίδων ἐσθιόμενος, ἀλλ' ὄψον ἑαυτοῦ τὸ μέλι ποιούμενος· ὅταν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ καιρῷ ὁ καρπὸς τῆς ἀρετῆς καταγλυκαίνει τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια· τῷ διψῶντι δὲ κρατὴρ γίνηται πλήρης οἴνου καὶ γάλακτος· πάντως δὲ οὐκ ἀγνοοῦμεν πῶς δένδρον ἦν σμυρνηφόρον ὁ Παῦλος· νεκρῶν ὁσημέραι τὰ μέλη, καὶ δι' ἀπαθείας ἀρωματίζων ὀσμὴν τοῖς σωζομένοις ζωῆς· πῶς δὲ σιτοποιεῖ τῷ Θεῷ τὰ ἔμψυχα τοῦ κή που φυτά; κατὰ τὸ, \"Ἐπείνασα, καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν·\" ἄρτος δὲ εὐφροσύνης ἐστὶν ἡ εὐποιία, τῷ μέλιτι τῆς ἐντολῆς γλυκαινόμενος· πῶς δὲ πάλιν οἰνοχοεῖ τὰ εὐέρνη τοῦ κήπου φυτά; πρὸς τοῦτο φησὶν, ὅτι \"Ἐδίψησα, καὶ ἐποτίσατέ με,\" γάλακτι τὸν τὸν οἶνον κεράσαντες, τῇ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τροφῇ, ἥτις καθαρὰ καὶ ἁπλῆ καὶ νηπιώδης ὄντως καὶ ἄδολος καὶ πάσης πονηρᾶς αἰτίας κεκαθαρμένη· καπήλων δὲ ἡ πρὸς τὸν οἶνον μίξις τοῦ ὕδατος· ὅπερ δὲ ἐνταῦθα λόγῳ τοῖς φίλοις παρεκελεύσατο, τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐποίησεν, διὰ τῆς θείας ἐκείνης βρώσεώς τε καὶ πόσεως. Φησὶν οὖν τοῖς δι' ἀρετὴν γεγονόσι πλησίον, τὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου μυστήρια παρατιθέμενος· \"Φάγετε, οἱ πλησίον μου, καὶ πίετε, καὶ μεθύσθητε,\" λέγων, ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης βρώσεώς τε καὶ πόσεως, δι' ἧς μέθης αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ τις ἐξίσταται πρὸς τὰ θειότερα·","english":"For the one who revels in the fragrance, he becomes myrrh with spices, through the deadness of earthly members, providing for the pure and fragrant life of the perfumer, the life blended from the varied and diverse spices of virtue. But for the one seeking more perfect food, he becomes bread, no longer eaten with bitter herbs, but making honey his relish, when in its own season the fruit of virtue sweetens the senses of the soul. And for the one who thirsts, he becomes a mixing bowl full of wine and milk. And we are certainly not unaware how Paul was a myrrh-bearing tree, putting to death his members day by day, and through impassibility spreading a fragrance of life to those being saved. And how does he make bread for God from the living plants of the garden? According to the saying, \"I was hungry, and you gave me to eat.\" And the bread of gladness is beneficence, sweetened by the honey of the commandment. And how again does he pour wine for the fair plants of the garden? To this he says, \"I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink,\" having mixed the wine with milk, with the nourishment of human nature, which is truly pure and simple and childlike and guileless and cleansed from every evil cause. But the mixing of water with wine belongs to hucksters. And what he here commanded his friends in word, this he did in the Gospels through deeds, through that divine eating and drinking. He says therefore to those who have become near through virtue, setting before them the mysteries of the Gospel: \"Eat, my neighbors, and drink, and be drunk,\" saying this of such eating and drinking, by which drunkenness one is transported out of himself toward things more divine.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":117,"ref":"p117","source":"ἀδελφοὺς δὲ καλεῖ, ὅτι ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἀδελφὴ καὶ μήτηρ ὠνόμασται. {Νείλου.} Ἤκουσεν ὁ Νυμφίος τῆς παρακλήσεως· τοιαύτη γὰρ ἦν ἡ παρακαλέσασα, ὡς μὴ παρακουσθῆναι, καί φησιν· Εἰσῆλθον εἰς κῆπόν μου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ καταβῆναι παρεκάλεσεν, ἢ μετριοφρονοῦσα, ἢ μᾶλλον πρὸς τὴν ἀξίαν ὁρῶσα καὶ τὸ ὕψος τοῦ\n\nΝυμφίου· οὗτος δὲ οὐ καταβεβηκέναι, ἀλλ' εἰσεληλυθέναι λέγει· τὴν κατάβασιν τῷ τῆς ἰσοτιμίας σεμνύνων ὀνόματι, διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὴν διάθεσιν καὶ ἀγάπην· καὶ κῆπον δὲ τοῦ παραδείσου ἑαυτῆς, ταπεινοφρονοῦσα καλεῖ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἶχε ἀκροδρύων, εἰ κῆπος ἐτύγχανεν ὤν· παραδείσου γὰρ καὶ κήπου τὰ ἀκρόδρυα· αὐτὸς δὲ αὐτὸν κῆπον λέγει εἰκότως Θεὸς ὤν· καὶ τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς δοκοῦντα μεγάλα, ταπεινὰ κρίνων τῇ ἑαυτοῦ παραμετρήσει· εὖ δὲ τὸ οὐκ, εἰς κῆπόν σου, ἀλλ', εἰς κῆπόν μου, τὸν ἑαυτῆς παράδεισον αὐτοῦ κῆπον ποιεῖν· τὰ γὰρ ἀνθρώπινα πράγματα, εἰ καὶ αὐτὰ παραμετρούμενα λάμπει, ἀλλὰ τοῖς θείοις καὶ νοητοῖς παραβαλλόμενα, ἀμβλύνεται· διὰ δὲ τῆς σμύρνης καὶ τῶν ἀρωμάτων τὸ πάθος καὶ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ὑπογράφει· σμύρνα γὰρ ὁ θάνατος· ἀρώματα δὲ, ἡ τῆς θεότητος ἐνέργεια, ἡ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τὴν εὐωδίαν ἐνεργήσασα· τὸ δὲ, Ἔφαγον ἄρτον, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, τὴν ἡδονὴν τοῦ πάθους καὶ τὴν νηπιώδη ἐπιείκειαν, μεθ' ὧν τὰς μάστιγας καὶ τὴν χλεύην ἣν ἤνεγκε κωμῳδούμενος, δηλοῖ· Ἐπιθυμίᾳ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐπεθύμησα φαγεῖν τὸ Πάσχα· διὰ τὸν σταυρὸν, τὸ, Ἔφαγον ἄρτου μετὰ μέλιτός μου, δηλοῖ·","english":"He calls them brothers, because the one who does his will has been named brother and brother and sister and mother. {Of Nilus.} The Bridegroom heard the entreaty; for such was she who entreated that she could not be disregarded, and he says: I entered into my garden, and the rest. For she entreated him to come down, either out of humility, or rather looking to the worth and the height of the Bridegroom; but he says that he has not come down but entered in, honoring the descent with the name of equality of honor, because of his disposition and love toward her. And she, in her humility, calls her own garden a paradise; for it would not have had fruit trees if it happened to be a garden; for fruit trees belong to a paradise and a garden. But he himself calls it a garden, reasonably, being God, and judging the things that seem great among them to be lowly by his own measure. And it is well that it is not \"into your garden\" but \"into my garden,\" making her paradise his garden; for human affairs, even if measured by themselves they shine, yet when compared with divine and intelligible things, are dulled. And through the myrrh and the spices he signifies the passion and the death and the resurrection; for the myrrh is the death; and the spices are the energy of the divinity, which worked the fragrance of the resurrection. And the words \"I ate bread,\" and the rest, show the pleasure of the passion and the childlike gentleness, with which he bore the scourges and the mockery when he was made a laughingstock; for he says, \"With desire I desired to eat the Passover\"; and because of the cross, \"I ate bread with my honey,\" he signifies.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":118,"ref":"p118","source":"τὸ δὲ, ῥαπιζόμενον, ἐμπαιζόμενον, καλάμῳ τυπτόμενον ἐπιεικῶς φέρειν, ἔπιον οἶνον μετὰ γάλακτός μου· Φάγετε, οἱ πλησίον μου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· τάχα τοὺς μαθητὰς λέγων, ὅτε αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν μυστηρίων ἐκάλει μετουσίαν, Φάγετε, λέγων, τὸ σῶμά μου, καὶ πίετε τὸ αἷμά μου. βʹ. Ἐγὼ καθεύδω, καὶ ἡ καρδία μου ἀγρυπνεῖ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἀκολούθως διαδέχεται τὴν μέθην ὁ ὕπνος, ὡς ἂν διὰ τῆς πέψεως ἀναδοθείη τοῖς δαιτυμόσιν εἰς εὐεξίαν ἡ δύναμις· διὰ τοῦτο μετὰ τὴν πανδαισίαν ἐκείνην, ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ ἡ Νύμφη γίνεται· ξένος δέ τις ὁ ὕπνος, καὶ τῆς φυσικῆς συνηθείας ἀλλότριος· ἐφ' ὧν γὰρ ὁ νοῦς μόνῃ τῇ θεωρίᾳ τοῦ ὄντος εὐφραίνεται, οὐδενὶ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων παρενοχλούμενος, ὡς ὕπνῳ τινὶ πάρετος ἡ τοῦ σώματος γίνεται φύσις πάσης σαρκικῆς κατακοιμισθείσης κινήσεως· διττῆς γὰρ οὔσης ἡμῖν ἡδονῆς, τῆς μὲν ἐν ψυχῇ δι' ἀπαθείας, τῆς δὲ διὰ ἀπαθοῦς ἐν σώματι, ἥνπερ ἂν ἡ προαίρεσις ἕληται, αὕτη κατὰ τῆς ἑτέρας ἔχει τὸ κράτος· διὰ τοῦτο ἡ ψυχὴ, ὅταν μόνῃ τῇ θεωρίᾳ τοῦ ὄντως εὐφραίνηται, πρὸς οὐδὲν ἐγρήγορε τῶν ἐνεργουμένων καθ' ἡδονὴν δι' αἰσθήσεως· ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν σωματικὴν κατακοιμίσασα κίνησιν, γυμνῇ τε καὶ καθαρᾷ τῇ διανοίᾳ τῆς θείας ἐγρηγόρσεως, δέχεται τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἐμφάνειαν. Τὸν ἐν τοῖς σωματικοῖς εἶναι πειρασμοῖς, καθεύδειν λέγει· ὡς γὰρ ὁ βαπτισθεὶς τῷ ὕπνῳ, ἀγρυπνοῦσαν ἔχειν τὴν καρδίαν οὐ δύναται, οὕτως ὁ ἐμβαθύνας ταῖς σωματικαῖς ἀσχολίαις, αἴσθησιν τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ Νυμφίου λαμβάνει. Εἰς γὰρ πολυμέριμνον ψυχὴν φωνὴ οὐ φθάνει Θεοῦ· αὕτη δὲ οὕτως ἐκάθευδεν ὡς αἰσθέσθαι τῆς τοῦ Νυμφίου φωνῆς·","english":"But the striking, the mocking, the being gently struck with a reed, \"I drank my wine with my milk; Eat, my neighbors, and the rest\"—perhaps he is speaking of the disciples, when he called them to the participation in the mysteries, saying, \"Eat my body, and drink my blood.\" 2. \"I sleep, but my heart is awake.\" {Of Gregory.} Sleep follows drunkenness in sequence, so that through digestion the strength may be distributed to the feasters for good condition; for this reason, after that great banquet, the Bride falls into sleep. But this sleep is strange and alien to natural habit; for when the mind rejoices in the contemplation of the Existent alone, disturbed by none of the senses, the nature of the body is, as it were, relaxed in sleep, all fleshly motion having been put to rest. For since pleasure is twofold for us—the one in the soul through impassibility, the other through impassibility in the body—whichever the will chooses, this holds sway over the other. Therefore the soul, when it rejoices in the contemplation of the truly Existent alone, keeps watch over none of the things that are enacted pleasurably through sense perception; but having put to rest every bodily motion, with naked and pure understanding of divine wakefulness, it receives the manifestation of God. He says that the one who is in bodily temptations \"sleeps\"; for just as the one who has been plunged into sleep cannot keep his heart awake, so the one who has sunk deep into bodily occupations does not perceive the voice of the Bridegroom. For the voice of God does not reach a soul full of many cares; but she slept in such a way as to perceive the voice of the Bridegroom.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":119,"ref":"p119","source":"τὸ ἐπιπόλαιον γὰρ καὶ χρειῶδες τῆς σωματικῆς ἀσχολίας ἑαυτῇ ἐμφαίνει· μνήμη γὰρ Θεοῦ, νηφάλιον ποιεῖ· καὶ μετρία ἐστὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων φροντίς· φωνεῖ δὲ ὁ λόγος, ὅταν ὥσπερ ἦχός τις ἀδιόρθωτος προσπέσῃ τῇ ψυχῇ νόημα· κρούει δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν, ὅταν ἡ ἐπαπόρησις τὴν λύσιν εὐαγγελίζεται· εἰσέρχεται δὲ ὅταν σαφῶς θεωρηθῇ τὸ ἀπορηθὲν, καὶ τρανὸν δέξηται τὸ νόημα τὸν τύπον. {Κυρίλλου καὶ Φίλωνος.} Ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ φησι τὸν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων ἀναδεχόμενος θάνατον· ἀγρυπνεῖ δὲ ἡ καρδία, καθὸ ὡς Θεὸς τὸν ᾅδην ἐσκύλευσεν. Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου κρούει ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἡ μαρτυρηθεῖσα τοσαῦτα ὅσα ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν ἐπῄνεσεν ὁ λόγος, καὶ γνοῦσα πολλάκις ἤδη τὸν Νυμφίον, ὡς νῦν αὐτῇ πρῶτον ἐμφανιζομένου διάκειται. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἔγνων ὅσον κατείληφεν, ἀλλ' ἀπειροπλάσιον τὸ μήπω κατειλημμένον· ὥσπερ γὰρ εἴ τις πλησίον γένοιτο πηγῆς, θαυμάσειε μὲν τὸ ἄπειρον ὕδωρ, οὐ μὴν εἴπῃ ὅλον ἑωρακέναι τὸ ὕδωρ· πῶς γὰρ τὸ ταῖς λαγόσι τῆς γῆς κρυπτόμενον; ὥστε κἂν ἐπὶ πολὺ παραμείνει τῷ βρύοντι, ἀεὶ ἐν ἀρχαῖς ἐστι τῆς θεωρίας τοῦ ὕδατος· οὐ γὰρ παύεται τὸ ὕδωρ ἀεί τε ῥέον καὶ ἀεὶ τοῦ βρύειν ἀρχόμενον. Οὕτως ὁ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἀόριστον κάλλος βλέπων, ἐπειδὴ τὸ πάντοθεν εὑρισκόμενον, καινότερόν","english":"For it reveals to itself the superficial and necessary character of bodily occupation; for the remembrance of God makes one sober, and moderate is the care of necessities. And the Word speaks when some thought falls upon the soul like an uncorrected echo; and he knocks at the door when the perplexity announces its solution; and he enters when the thing questioned is clearly contemplated, and the thought receives the type distinctly. {Of Cyril and Philo.} He says, on the cross, taking up death on behalf of men; and the heart keeps watch, inasmuch as as God he despoiled Hades. The voice of my beloved knocks at the door. {Of Gregory.} She who has been testified to as much as the Word praised in what has gone before, and who has often already known the Bridegroom, is disposed as though he were now appearing to her for the first time. For even if I have known as much as has been comprehended, yet what has not yet been comprehended is infinitely more; for just as if someone should come near a spring, he would marvel at the boundless water, yet would not say that he had seen the whole of the water—for how could he, when it is hidden in the hollows of the earth?—so that even if he remains long by the gushing source, he is always at the beginning of the contemplation of the water; for the water does not cease, ever flowing and ever beginning to gush. Thus he who looks upon that divine and unbounded beauty, since what is found from every side is ever newer","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":120,"ref":"p120","source":"τε καὶ παραδοξότερον πάντως παρὰ τὸ ἤδη κατειλημμένον ὁρᾶται, θαυμάζει μὲν τὸ ἀεὶ προφαινόμενον, οὐδέποτε δὲ ἵσταται τῆς ἰδεῖν ἐπιθυμίας διὰ τὸ πάντως τοῦ ἑωραμένου, μεγαλοπρεπέστερον εἶναι τὸ προσδοκώμενον· ὅθεν εἰ καὶ ὤφθη, ὡς μήπω φανεὶς, διὰ φωνῆς ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἐμφάνειαν ἐπαγγέλλεται. Ὡς οὖν φωνοῦντος καὶ κρούοντος πρὸς τὴν ὑπακοὴν διανίσταται. Ἐνδοῦσα δὲ ταῖς ἀκοαῖς ἡσυχίαν, ἀκούει τοῦ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς προσηχήσαντος λόγου, ὅτε ἀναστὰς ἐπέστη τοῖς μαθηταῖς τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων. Ἄνοιξόν μοι, ἀδελφή μου, πλησίον μου, περιστερά μου, τελεία μου, ὅτι ἡ κεφαλή μου ἐπλήσθη δρόσου, καὶ οἱ βόστρυχοί μου ψεκάδων νυκτόσ. {Φίλωνος.} Τῷ μεγάλῳ Μωσεῖ διὰ φωτὸς πρότερον ἐνεφανίσθη Θεὸς ἐπὶ βάτου· εἶτα διὰ νεφέλης αὐτῷ διαλέγεται· εἶτα ὑψηλότερος ἤδη γενόμενος, ἐν γνόφῳ Θεὸν βλέπει· ὃ δὲ διὰ τούτων μανθάνομεν, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. Ἡ πρώτη ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδῶν καὶ πεπλανημένων περὶ Θεοῦ ὑπολήψεων ἀναχώρησις, ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ σκότους εἰς φῶς ἐστι μετάστασις· ἡ δὲ προσεχεστέρα τῶν κρυπτῶν κατανόησις, ἡ διὰ τῶν φαινομένων χειραγωγοῦσα τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς τὴν ἀόρατον φύσιν, οἷόν τις νεφέλη γίνεται, τὸ φαινόμενον μὲν ἅπαν ἐπισκιάζουσα, πρὸς δὲ τὸ κρύφιον βλέπειν τὴν ψυχὴν χειραγωγοῦσα· ἡ δὲ διὰ τούτων ὁδεύουσα πρὸς τὰ ἄνω ψυχὴ, ὅσον ἐφικτόν ἐστι τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, καταλιποῦσα ἐντὸς τῶν ἀδύτων τῆς θεογνωσίας γίνεται· τῷ θείῳ γνόφῳ πανταχόθεν διαληφθεῖσα, ἐν ᾧ τοῦ φαινομένου τε καὶ καταλαμβανομένου παντὸς, ἔξω τοῦ καταλειφθέντος, μόνον ὑπολείπεται τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸ ἀόρατόν τε καὶ ἀκατάληπτον ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός·","english":"and altogether more paradoxical than what has already been grasped, it marvels at what continually appears before it, yet never ceases from its desire to see, because what is hoped for is altogether more magnificent than what has been seen; whence, even if it has appeared, as though not yet manifested, it announces its manifestation by its own voice. Accordingly, as one who speaks and knocks, it rouses itself to obedience. And having given heed with its ears in stillness, it hears the word that sounded through the voice, when he rose and stood among the disciples with the doors shut. Open to me, my sister, my near one, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. {Of Philo.} To the great Moses God appeared first through light in the bush; then he converses with him through a cloud; then, having become already more exalted, he sees God in the darkness. What we learn through these things is as follows. The first withdrawal from false and erroneous opinions about God is the passage from darkness to light; the closer understanding of hidden things, which leads the soul by the hand through things that appear to the invisible nature, becomes like a kind of cloud, overshadowing all that appears and leading the soul by the hand to look toward what is hidden; and the soul that journeys upward through these things, as far as is attainable by human nature, having left behind, comes to be within the innermost sanctuaries of the knowledge of God, encompassed on every side by the divine darkness, in which, with all that appears and is comprehended left outside, only the invisible and incomprehensible remains for the soul's contemplation, in which God is.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":121,"ref":"p121","source":"ἦν οὖν ποτε καὶ ἡ Νύμφη μέλαινα τοῖς ἀφωτίστοις δόγμασιν, τῇ δὲ πηγῇ τοῦ φωτὸς διὰ τοῦ μυστικοῦ φιλήματος προσαγαγεῖν τὸ στόμα ποθήσασα, καλὴ γίνεται, καὶ τὸ μέλαν τῆς ἀγνοίας ἀπέκλυσεν ὕδατι. Εἶτα ὡς ἵππος δραμοῦσα, καὶ ὡς περιστερὰ διαπτᾶσα, πρότερον μὲν τῇ σκιᾷ τοῦ μήλου μετ' ἐπιθυμίας ὑπαναπαύεται, μῆλον ἀντὶ νεφέλης τὸ ἐπισκιάζον κατονομάζουσα. Νῦν δὲ ἤδη ἀπὸ τῆς θείας νυκτὸς περιέχεται· καθ' ἣν ὁ Νυμφίος παραγίνεται μὲν, οὐ φαίνεται δέ· ἀλλ' αἴσθησίν τινα τῆς παρουσίας δίδωσι τῇ ψυχῇ· ἅπτεται δὲ τῆς σωματικῆς τῶν ἐναρέτων διανοίας ὁ λόγος· αὕτη γὰρ θύρα δι' ἧς εἰσοικίζεται τὸ ζητούμενον· ἐκφεύγει δὲ τὴν ἐν ἀρχῇ κατανόησιν, τῷ ἀοράτῳ τῆς φύσεως κρυπτόμενος. Ἔξω τοίνυν ἑστῶσα τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἡ ἀλήθεια, διὰ τῆς ἐκ μέρους γνώσεως, καθά φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἐν ὑπονοίαις τισὶ καὶ αἰνίγμασι, θυροκρουτεῖ τὴν διάνοιαν, Ἄνοιξον, λέγουσα· καὶ μετὰ τῆς προτροπῆς ὑποτιθεμένη τὸν τρόπον, ὅπως ἀνοιγῆναι προσήκει τὴν θύραν, οἷόν τινας [κλεῖδας] ὀρέγουσα τὰ καλὰ ταῦτα ὀνόματα, δι' ὧν τὸ κεκλεισμένον ἀνοίγεται· κλεῖδες γάρ εἰσιν ἄντικρυς αἱ τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐμφάσεις τὰ κρυπτὰ διανοίγουσαι. Ἀδελφὴ καὶ πλησίον καὶ περιστερὰ τελεία· εἰ γὰρ Βούλει σὺ, φησὶν, ἀνοιγῆναι τὴν θύραν, καὶ ἐπαρθῆναι τῆς ψυχῆς σου τὰς πύλας ἵνα καὶ εἰσέλθῃ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης, χρή σε ἀδελφήν μου γενέσθαι ἐν τῷ τὰ θελήματά μου ποιεῖν. Χρὴ δὲ καὶ προσεγγίσαι καὶ πλησίον γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐν τῇ φύσει τῆς περιστερᾶς ἔχειν τὸ τέλειον· τοῦτο δέ ἐστι, τὸ ἀνελλιπῆ καὶ πεπληρωμένην εἶναι πάσης κακίας [ιτα ξοδ. ῃατ.; ξ. β.","english":"So the Bride too was once black in unenlightened doctrines, but desiring to bring her mouth to the fount of light through the mystical kiss, she becomes beautiful, and she washed away the blackness of ignorance with water. Then, running like a horse and flying like a dove, she first rests with desire in the shadow of the apple, calling the thing that overshadows her an apple instead of a cloud. But now at last she is encompassed by the divine night, in which the Bridegroom comes near but is not seen; yet he gives the soul some perception of his presence. And the Word touches the bodily understanding of the virtuous; for this is the door through which the sought-for one is brought in; but he escapes the understanding that is at the beginning, hidden by the invisibility of his nature. Therefore the truth, standing outside our nature, through knowledge in part, as the Apostle says, in certain conjectures and riddles, knocks at the understanding, saying, Open; and along with the exhortation, suggesting the manner in which the door ought to be opened, as it were offering certain keys—these fair names—by which what is closed is opened; for the very expressions of the names are keys that open up the hidden things. Sister and near and perfect dove: for if you wish, he says, that the door be opened, and the gates of your soul be lifted up so that the King of glory may also enter, you must become my sister in doing my will. And you must also draw near and become close, and possess perfection in the nature of the dove; and this means to be without defect and filled full of every evil—","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":122,"ref":"p122","source":"ἀκακίας] καὶ καθαρότητος· ταῦτα δὲ γενομένη ἔσται σοι κέρδος ἐκ τοῦ εἰσδέξασθαι· ἡ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς μου δρόσος, ἧς πλήρης εἰμὶ, ἥτις ἴασίς ἐστι, κατὰ τὸν Προφήτην· καὶ αἱ ψεκάδες τῆς νυκτός· ἐπεὶ μὴ δυνατὸν τὸν ἐντὸς τῶν ἀδύτων γενόμενον, ὄμβρῳ τινὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐντυχεῖν· ἀλλ' ἀγαπητὸν εἰ λεπταῖς τισι καὶ ἀμυδραῖς διανοίαις ἐπιψεκάζει τὴν γνῶσιν αὐτῷ ἡ ἀλήθεια τῆς λογικῆς σταγόνος ἀποῤῥεούσης· βοστρύχους γὰρ αὐτοῦ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀπαιωρῆσθαί φησι, προφήτας, ἀποστόλους, εὐαγγελιστάς· οἵτινες ὅσον ἐχώρουν, ἐκ τῶν σκοτεινῶν τε καὶ ἀποκρύφων καὶ ἀοράτων θησαυρῶν ἀρυόμενοι, ἡμῖν μὲν ποταμοὶ γίνονται πλήρεις ὑδάτων, ὡς δὲ πρὸς τὴν ὄντως ἀλήθειαν δροσώδεις εἰσὶ ψεκάδες. {Νείλου.} Δρόσον καὶ ψεκάδας νυκτὸς, τάχα τὰς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς ἀγνοίας ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐρχομένας καλεῖ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ\n\nἐπαινεῖται ἡ δρόσος ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ προσθήκης τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· ἧς πλησθεῖσαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλὴν ὁ Νυμφίος ἀπομάξαι ζητεῖ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τῆς Νύμφης γενόμενος· οἷκος δὲ τῆς Νύμφης, ἢ τὸ ἑκάστου τῶν ποιημάτων ἡγεμονικὸν, ἢ αὐτὴ ἡ Ἐκκλησία· εἰ δέ τις ἰδεῖν βούλεται πῶς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς βλάβης ψεκάδας ἀπομάσσει τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ Νυμφίου ἡ Νύμφη, βλεπέτω τὸν λῃστὴν πῶς μετὰ τὰ ὀνείδη τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων βοᾷ τὸ Μνήσθητι· θεραπευτικὴ γὰρ ἡ δόξα αὕτη τῆς δυσφημίας ἐκείνης. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἀναγκαίως ἡ τοῦ, μοι, προσθήκη, κ.τ.λ. γʹ. Ἐξεδυσάμην τὸν χιτῶνά μου, πῶς ἐνδύσομαι αὐτόν; ἐνιψάμην τοὺς πόδας μου, πῶς μολυνῶ αὐτούσ;","english":"Of guilelessness] and purity; and having become these things, it will be a gain to you from receiving: the dew from my head, with which I am full, which is healing, according to the Prophet; and the drops of the night; since it is not possible for one who has come within the innermost shrines to encounter some shower of knowledge; but it is a beloved thing if, by certain subtle and faint thoughts, the truth sprinkles knowledge upon him, as the rational drop flows down; for he says that the locks of his head hang down—prophets, apostles, evangelists; who, as far as they had capacity, drawing from the dark and hidden and unseen treasures, become for us rivers full of waters, but in relation to the truth itself they are dewy drops. {Of Nilus.} Dew and drops of the night, perhaps he calls the things coming upon him from Jewish ignorance. For even if\n\ndew is praised in the Scripture, yet with the addition of \"from man\"; with which the Bridegroom, having filled his own head, seeks to wipe it off when he has come into the house of the Bride; and the house of the Bride is either the governing principle of each of the poems, or the Church herself; but if anyone wishes to see how the Bride wipes off the drops from the head of the Bridegroom from Jewish harm, let him look at the robber, how after the reproaches of the chief priests and scribes he cries out, \"Remember me\"; for this glory is healing of that blasphemy. {Of Origen.} Necessarily the addition of \"to me,\" etc. 3. I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":123,"ref":"p123","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Καλῶς ἤκουσεν τοῦ κελεύσαντος ἀδελφὴν αὐτὴν καὶ πλησίον καὶ τελείαν καὶ περιστερὰν γενέσθαι· ἵνα διὰ τούτων εἰσοικισθῇ τῇ ψυχῇ ἡ ἀλήθεια. Ἐποίησε γὰρ ἅπερ ἤκουσεν, ἐκδυσαμένη τὸν δερμάτινον χιτῶνα, ὃν μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν περιεβάλετο· καὶ ἀπονιψαμένη τῶν ποδῶν τὸ γεῶδες ᾧ ἐνειλήθη, ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν παραδείσῳ διαγωγῆς εἰς γῆν ἀναλύσασα, διὰ τούτων ἤνοιξεν ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ λόγῳ τὴν εἴσοδον. Οὐκοῦν ὁ τὸν παλαιὸν ἀπεκδυσάμενος ἄνθρωπον, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἁμαρτία καὶ ὁ θάνατος, καὶ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος περιελὼν τῆς καρδίας τὸ κάλυμμα, τῶν τε ψυχικῶν βάσεων ἀποκλείσας τὸν ῥύπον ἤνοιξε τῷ λόγῳ τὴν εἴσοδον, ὃν ἔνδον γενόμενον ἐνδύεται· Ἰησοῦς δέ ἐστι τὸ ἔνδυμα· ἡ δὲ περὶ τοῦ μηκέτι τὸν ἀποβληθέντα χιτῶνα πάλιν ἐπαναλαβεῖν, εἴτ' οὖν μὴ ἐπιστρέψαι εἰς τὰ πρώην τῆς Νύμφης, ὁμολογία, ἀνοίγει τῷ Νυμφίῳ τὴν θύραν πρὸς εἴσοδον τοῦ ἁγιασμοῦ· καὶ μηδὲ δύο χιτῶνας ἔχειν, ἀρκεῖσθαι δὲ τῷ ἐνὶ, κατὰ τὸν δοθέντα νόμον τοῖς μαθηταῖς· ὃν διὰ τῆς ἄνωθεν γεννήσεως ἀνακαινισθεῖσα, μετημφιάσατο· καὶ μηδαμῶς ἐπενδύσασθαι τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας χιτῶνα· τίς γὰρ κοινωνία τῷ σκοτεινῷ ἐνδύματι, πρὸς τὸ φωτοειδές τε καὶ ἄϋλον; οὐδὲ τοὺς πόδας νιψαμένη πάλιν τῇ βάσει τὸν ἐκ τῆς γῆς μολυσμὸν παραδέχεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ Μωσῆς ἐν τῇ τῆς ἁγίας γῆς ἐπιβάσει τὴν δερματίνην νέκρωσιν τῶν ποδῶν ἐκβαλὼν, ἀνειληφέναι ταύτην αὖθις ἱστόρηται· οὐδὲ γὰρ τὴν ἱερὰν ἐσθῆτα, κατὰ τὸν ἐν τῷ ὄρει δειχθέντα τύπον φιλοτεχνήσας, τοῖς ποσί τινα κόσμον ἐπετεχνήσατο· ἱερατικοῦ δὲ ποδὸς ἡ γυμνότης γέγονε κόσμῳ·","english":"Of Gregory. She rightly heard the one who commanded her to become a sister and a neighbor and perfect and a dove, so that through these things the truth might be settled in the soul. For she did what she heard, having stripped off the leathern tunic which she put on after sin; and having washed away from her feet the earthy matter in which she had been wrapped, having returned to the earth from the way of life in paradise, through these things she opened the entrance to the Word upon the soul. Therefore the one who has stripped off the old man, which is sin and death, and through baptism has removed the veil of the heart, and has shut out the filth of the soul's foundations, opened the entrance to the Word, whom, having come within, he puts on; and Jesus is the garment. And the confession concerning no longer taking back again the tunic that was cast off, that is, not turning back to the former things of the Bride, opens the door to the Bridegroom for the entrance of sanctification; and that she has not even two tunics, but is content with one, according to the law given to the disciples, which, having been renewed through the birth from above, she has put on as a new garment; and that she in no way puts on over it the tunic of sin. For what fellowship has the dark garment with the light-bearing and immaterial? Nor, having washed her feet, does she again admit defilement from the earth through her step. For not even Moses, in setting foot on the holy land, having cast off the leathern deadness of his feet, is recorded to have taken it up again; for neither did he, having elaborately wrought the sacred vesture according to the pattern shown on the mountain, contrive any ornament for his feet; but the nakedness of the priestly foot has become an ornament.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":124,"ref":"p124","source":"χρὴ γὰρ ἀεὶ βαίνειν ἐπὶ τῆς ἁγίας γῆς τὸν ἱερέα, ἧς μετὰ νεκρῶν δερμάτων ἐπιβατεύειν οὐ θέμις· διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὁ Κύριος ἀπαγορεύει τὰ ὑποδήματα· ἐπειδὴ κελεύει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὁδὸν ἐθνῶν μὴ πορεύεσθαι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἁγίας ὁδοῦ προϊέναι. Οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς δὲ πάντως τὴν ἁγίαν ὁδὸν, δι' ἧς οἱ μαθηταὶ τρέχειν κελεύονται, μαθὼν παρὰ τοῦ εἰπόντος· \"Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός·\" ἧς οὐκ ἔστιν ἄψασθαι, μὴ ὑπολυσάμενον τὴν τοῦ νεκροῦ περιβολήν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν ταύτῃ ἐγένετο τῇ ὁδῷ ἡ Νύμφη, ἐν ᾗ τῶν δι' αὐτῆς περιπατούντων ὁ Κύριος νίπτει τοὺς πόδας τῷ ὕδατι, ἐκμάσσει τῷ λεντίῳ ᾧ διεζώσατο· δύναμις δέ ἐστι καθαρτικὴ τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διάζωσμα. Διὰ τοῦτο καθαρθεῖσα τοὺς πόδας ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἑαυτὴν φυλάττει, οὐκ ἐκκλίνουσα εἰς δεξιὰ ἢ ἀριστερὰ, ἵνα μὴ καθ' ἕτερον ἔξω τῆς ὁδοῦ παρενεγκοῦσα τὸ ἴχνος, μολύνῃ τῷ πηλῷ τὸν πόδα. Νοεῖς δὲ πάντως τὸ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων δηλούμενον, ὅτι ἅπαξ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ὑπολυσαμένη τὰ ὑποδήματα (ἴδιον γὰρ τοῦ βαπτίζοντος ἔργον, τὸ λύειν τοὺς ἱμάντας τῶν ὑποδημάτων· ὅπερ Ἰωάννης ἐπὶ μόνου τοῦ Κυρίου μὴ δύνασθαι ποιῆσαι διεμαρτύρατο· πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἔλυσε, τὸν μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῷ ἱμάντι τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐνδεδεμένον;) αὕτη τοὺς πόδας ἐνίψατο, πάντα γήϊνον ῥύπον συναποβαλοῦσα τοῖς ὑποδήμασι· φυλάσσει τοίνυν ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς πεπλανημένης τὴν βάσιν ἀμόλυντον. {Νείλου.} Οὐ τὸ ἀνοῖξαι παραιτεῖται κατὰ τὴν ἠθικὴν ἔννοιαν· ἀλλ' ἐννοεῖ τὸν πόνον ὃν ὑπέστη, ἵνα ἀποδύσηται τὸν τῆς κοσμικῆς μερίμνης χιτῶνα·","english":"For the priest must always walk upon the holy ground, which it is not lawful to tread upon with dead skins. For this reason the Lord also forbids shoes to the disciples, since he commands them not to go in the way of the Gentiles, but to proceed along the holy way. And you are certainly not ignorant of the holy way, along which the disciples are commanded to run, having learned it from the one who said, \"I am the way,\" which it is not possible to touch without first unloosing the garment of the dead. Since, then, the Bride has come to be in this way, in which the Lord washes the feet of those who walk through it with water, and wipes them with the towel with which he was girded—and the Lord's girding is a purifying power. For this reason, having been cleansed as to her feet, she keeps herself on the royal road, not turning aside to the right or to the left, lest, carried off the road to one side or the other, she defile her foot with the mud. And you surely understand what is signified by these words: that once, through baptism, she has unloosed her shoes (for it is the proper work of the one who baptizes to loose the thongs of the shoes, which John testified he could not do even for the Lord alone; for how could he have loosed them, when he was not bound at all by the thong of sin?), she washed her feet, casting off with her shoes every earthly filth. She therefore keeps her step undefiled on the road that had gone astray. Of Nilus. She does not refuse to open according to the ethical sense, but she considers the toil which she endured in order to put off the garment of worldly care.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":125,"ref":"p125","source":"καὶ ἵνα τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἐπιπορεύεσθαι τοῖς γηΐνοις προσγενόμενον τῷ λόγῳ ῥύπον τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπόθηται· καὶ μολυνθῆναι πάλιν ὀκνεῖ, ἀνοῖξαι μὲν βουλομένη, μολῦναι δὲ τοὺς ἄπαξ τῆς γῆς ἀναχωρήσαντας οὐ καταδεχομένη πόδας. Ὅμως οὐκ ἀκίνδυνος πρὸς τὸ ἀνοῖξαι ἡ μέλλησις, ὡς δηλοῖ τὰ ἐπιφερόμενα· κἂν γὰρ\n\nγένηται τὸ καλὸν, μεθ' ὑπερθέσεως δὲ, οὐκ ἔξω ἐστὶ μέμψεως· κατάγνωσιν τὸν ὄκνον, τῷ μὴ σπουδαίως ἐνεργήσαντι ψηφιζόμενον. δʹ. Ἀδελφιδός μου ἀπέστειλε χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς ὀπῆς· καὶ ἡ κοιλία μου ἐθροήθη ἐπ' αὐτόν. {Φίλωνος.} Λέγει δ' ἂν ἀπὸ τῆς ὀπῆς· ἐπείπερ ἔλεγε τῷ Θωμᾷ, \"Βάλε τὸν δάκτυλόν σου εἰς τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων·\" δάκτυλοι μὲν σμύρναν πλήρεις· ἔγνων ὅτι τὸ σῶμα τὸ ταφὲν, αὐτὸ καὶ ἀνέστη. 1681 {Γρηγορίου.} Πάλιν ὑπερκειμένης ἀναβάσεως ἅπτεται ἡ καθαρθεῖσα ψυχή· μηκέτι φωνῆς τὴν καρδίαν θυροκρουστούσης, ἀλλ' αὐτῆς τῆς θείας χειρὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ἐντὸς παρεισδυείσης· ἀνοίγει τὴν θύραν περιελομένη τὸ τῆς καρδίας κάλυμμα· διέσχισε τὰς θύρας τὸ τῆς σαρκὸς παραπέτασμα· πᾶσα ἠνοίγη τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ πύλη, ἵνα εἰσέλθῃ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης· ἀλλ' ἀπεδείχθη τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ εὐρυχωρία μικρά τις ὀπὴ, δι' ἧς οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ Νυμφίος, ἀλλ' ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ μόγις ἐχώρει· ὥστε δι' αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ἐντὸς γενέσθαι, καὶ ἅψασθαι τῆς ἐπιθυμούσης τὸν Νυμφίον ἰδεῖν· ἢ τοσοῦτον ἐκέρδανε μόνον, ὅσον γνῶναι ὅτι ἡ χείρ· οὕτω δὲ σκοπήσωμεν.","english":"and so that the soul may put off the defilement that has accrued to the word from walking upon earthly things; and she shrinks from being defiled again, willing to open, but not consenting to defile the feet that have once withdrawn from the earth. Nevertheless, the delay in opening is not without danger, as what follows makes clear; for even if\n\nthe good thing is done, yet since it is done with postponement, it is not free from blame; the judgment reckons the hesitation as condemnation, since he did not act earnestly. 4. My beloved sent his hand from the opening; and my belly was troubled at him. {Of Philo.} He would say \"from the opening,\" since he was saying to Thomas, \"Put your finger into the marks of the nails\"; fingers full of myrrh; I knew that the body that was buried, the same also rose. 1681 {Of Gregory.} Again the purified soul attains to a higher ascent; no longer does the voice knock at the heart's door, but the divine hand itself steals in to the inner parts; she opens the door, having removed the veil of the heart; the curtain of the flesh has split the doors; the whole gate of the soul was opened, so that the King of glory might enter; but the spaciousness of the soul proved to be a certain small opening, through which not the Bridegroom himself, but his hand barely found room; so that through it he might come to the inner parts, and touch her who longed to see the Bridegroom; or she gained only this much, to know that it was the hand; and let us consider it thus.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":126,"ref":"p126","source":"Ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη ψυχὴ, δύο φύσεων οὖσα μεθόριος, ὧν ἡ μὲν ἀσώματός ἐστι καὶ νοερὰ, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα σωματικὴ καὶ ὑλώδης καὶ ἄλογος, ἐπειδ' ἂν τάχιστα τῆς πρὸς τὸν παχὺν καὶ γεώδη βίον σχέσεως ἐκκαθαρθεῖσα δι' ἀρετῆς, ἀναβλέψῃ πρὸς τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ θειότερον, οὐ παύεται διερευνωμένη καὶ ἀναζητοῦσα τὴν τῶν ὅντων ἀρχήν. Πάντα δὲ περιεργαζομένη, ὥστε ἀπολαύειν τὸ ζητούμενον, ὅρον ποιεῖται τῆς καταλήψεως τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, τὴν μέχρις ἡμῶν κατιοῦσαν, ἧς διὰ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν αἰσθανόμεθα· οἷον ὁρᾷ τὸ κάλλος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τῶν ἀστέρων τὴν ποικιλίαν, τὰς πολυειδεῖς τῶν ζώων φύσεις, τάς τε τῶν φυτῶν ἰδέας, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα, ἵνα μὴ καθ' ἕκαστον λέγω, δι' ὧν ἡ ἐνέργεια τοῦ Θεοῦ δείκνυται. Ταῦτα τοίνυν ὁρῶσα διὰ τοῦ θαύματος τῶν φαινομένων, ἀναλογίζεται τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸν διὰ τῶν ἔργων νοούμενον· ἴσως γὰρ κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν μέλλοντα ἑτέρως γνωσόμεθα τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φύσιν, καὶ τρανοτέρως καταληψόμεθα τὸ εἶδος τῆς ἀφθάρτου μακαριότητος· τέως δὲ ἀγαπητὸν τῇ ψυχῇ, ἡ ἐμφαινομένη τοῖς οὖσιν ἐνέργεια· ἥτις ἑρμηνεύεται χεὶρ τροπικῶς, ἢν ἀπέστειλε διὰ τῆς ὀπῆς· οὐ γὰρ ἐχώρει ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη πενία τὴν ἀόρατον καὶ ἀπερίληπτον φύσιν ἐν ἑαυτῇ δέξασθαι· πᾶσα δὲ αὐτῆς ἡ διανοητικὴ δύναμις, ἥτις ἐστὶ κοιλία, ἐθροήθη συγκινηθεῖσα πρὸς τὸ θαῦμα τῶν διὰ τῆς θείας χειρὸς ἐνεργουμένων· ὧν ἡ κατανόησις ὑπερκειμένη τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως, τὸ ἀκατάληπτον τῆς τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος φύσεως δι' ἑαυτῆς ἑρμηνεύει·","english":"The human soul, being a boundary between two natures—of which the one is incorporeal and intellectual, and the other bodily and material and irrational—as soon as it has been cleansed through virtue from its attachment to the coarse and earthly life, and looks up toward what is akin to it and more divine, does not cease searching out and seeking the principle of beings. And examining all things so as to enjoy what it seeks, it makes the limit of its comprehension of God to be the activity that descends even to us, of which we are aware through our life; for example, it sees the beauty of heaven, the variety of the stars, the manifold natures of animals, the forms of plants, and all the rest—not to speak of each in turn—through which the activity of God is shown. Seeing these things, then, through the wonder of things that appear, it reasons in its mind to the one understood through his works; for perhaps in the age to come we shall know the nature of the good in another way, and shall comprehend more clearly the form of incorruptible blessedness; but for now what is beloved to the soul is the activity that is manifest in beings; which is figuratively interpreted as the hand which he sent through the hole; for human poverty could not contain within itself the invisible and incomprehensible nature to receive it; but its whole intellectual power, which is the belly, was stirred, being moved to wonder at the things wrought through the divine hand; the understanding of which, being beyond human power, interprets through itself the incomprehensibility of the nature of the one who works.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":127,"ref":"p127","source":"πᾶσα γὰρ ἡ τῶν ὄντων κτῆσις τῆς χειρὸς ἐκείνης ἔργον ἐστὶ, κατὰ τὸ, \"Ἡ χείρ μου ἐποίησε ταῦτα πάντα.\" Εἰ οὖν τὰ τῆς ἐνεργείας ἐκείνης καταλαβεῖν ἔργα οὐ χωρεῖ, πῶς τὴν ὑπερκειμένην τούτων καταλήψεται φύσιν; Τάχα δὲ καὶ τοῦτο δηλοῖ, ὅτι ἡ τῶν πάντων ποιητικὴ χεὶρ διὰ σαρκὸς ἡμῖν ἐπιφανεῖσα, θρόησιν ἐποίησε καὶ ξενισμὸν ταῖς ψυχαῖς· πῶς Θεὸς ἐν σαρκί; πῶς λόγος σάρξ; πῶς ἐν παρθενίᾳ τόκος; καὶ τὰ λοιπά. Ὅτε γὰρ ἐπὶ γῆς ὤφθη ὁ Κύριος καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη, τότε καθαρόν τε καὶ ἄϋλον τοῦ Νυμφίου κάλλος, διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐνεργειῶν χειρὸς, ἤγουν τῆς τῶν θαυμάτων δυνάμεως ἐγνωρίσαμεν. Ταῦτα πάσχει, ἐπεὶ μὴ προθύμως ὑπήκουσε τῷ λόγῳ· ἵνα δειχθῇ, ὅτι καὶ ὁ πολυτίμιος Θεῷ, ἄνεσιν διώκων, καὶ ἀναπεπτωκὼς, καταφρονεῖται, καὶ τιμωρίας πεῖραν λαμβάνει. Ἀπέστειλε γὰρ, φησὶ, τὴν παιδεύσουσαν τοὺς ἀπειθεῖς χεῖρα, καὶ κατέφλεξε· ὡς ἐκ τῆς ἀγωνίας θροηθῆναι τὴν κοιλίαν. Διὸ καὶ σπουδαιότερον μετὰ τὴν τῆς παιδείας αἴσθησιν ἀνέστην ἀνοῖξαι· καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐκ προαιρέσεως, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀνάγκης τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, αἱ χεῖρές μου ἔσταξαν σμύρναν, τὴν νεκρὰν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἐνέργειαν· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἀπροαιρέτως γινόμενον, νεκρόν ἐστι καὶ θελήματος ζωτικοῦ ἄμοιρον· ἔστι γὰρ εὐοδούμενόν τινα καταφρονεῖν τῶν ἐντολῶν, ὅταν δὲ πεῖραν λάβῃ παιδείας, εὐθὺς ζητεῖ τὸν Θεόν. Ἀλλ' ὁ προσέχων οὐ τοῖς γινομένοις, ἀλλὰ τῇ ποιούσῃ διαθέσει, παρῆλθε καὶ ἐξέκλινεν ἐκ μεταμελείας, τῇ προθέσει παρών· οὐκοῦν ἐδεξιώσατο ὡς πάντα","english":"For the entire possession of existing things is the work of that hand, according to the saying, \"My hand made all these things.\" If, then, it cannot comprehend the works of that activity, how will it comprehend the nature that transcends them? And perhaps this also indicates that the creative hand of all things, having appeared to us through flesh, produced a trembling and a strange astonishment in souls: how is God in flesh? How is the Word flesh? How is there a birth in virginity? And the rest. For when the Lord appeared on earth and conversed with men, then we came to know the pure and immaterial beauty of the Bridegroom through the hand of his activities, that is, the power of his wonders. These things she suffers because she did not readily obey the word, so that it might be shown that even one precious to God, pursuing ease and reclining, is despised and receives a taste of punishment. For he sent, it says, the hand that would discipline the disobedient, and it set them on fire, so that from the agony the belly was thrown into trembling. Therefore also, more earnestly after the perception of discipline, I arose to open; and because I did this not from free choice but from necessity, my hands dripped myrrh—the dead activity, so to speak; for everything that happens without free choice is dead and devoid of a life-giving will. For it is possible for one who is prospering to despise the commandments, but when he has a taste of discipline, he immediately seeks God. But he who attends not to the things that happen but to the disposition that produces them passed by and turned aside out of regret, being present in intention; therefore he welcomed as all","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":128,"ref":"p128","source":"περιελθοῦσαν αὐτήν· καὶ διὰ τὸ ἐγκαταλειφθῆναι τραυματισθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τῶν φυλασσόντων τὴν πόλιν δυνάμεων, καὶ τὴν καλύπτραν τῆς παρθενικῆς αἰδοῦς, ὅπερ θέριστρον ὀνομάζει, ἀφαιρεθεῖσαν εʹ. Ἀνέστην ἐγὼ ἀνοῖξαι τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου· χεῖρές μου ἔσταξαν μύρα, δάκτυλοί μου σμύρναν πλήρη. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἔλαβον, φησὶν, δύναμιν ἀναστάσεως διὰ τοῦ νεκρῶσαί μου τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐκουσίως μοι τῆς τῶν μελῶν ἐνεργηθείσης νεκρώσεως· ἀπέῤῥεον γὰρ αἱ χεῖρες σμύρναν, αἵτινές εἰσιν αἱ ἐνεργητικαὶ τῆς ψυχῆς κινήσεις, ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν στάζουσαν τὴν σμύρναν, καὶ οὐκ ἄλλοθεν, ὑποδεξάμεναι, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς ἐμῆς προαιρέσεως· ὡς ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν, ἅπερ δακτύλους ὠνόμασεν, ἀνελλιπῆ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐνορᾶσθαι διάθεσιν· ὡς μὴ τεθνάναι μὲν ἀκολασίᾳ τυχὸν, ζῇν δὲ τύφῳ ἢ θυμῷ, ἢ φιλοχρηματίᾳ, ἤ τινι τούτῳ· οὗ κακῶς ζῶντος οὐκ ἔστι πλήρεις τοὺς δακτύλους ἐπιδεῖξαι τῆς σμύρνης. Οὐ γὰρ διὰ πάντων φαίνεται τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἡ τοῦ κακοῦ νέκρωσις· οὔσης γὰρ διπλῆς ἐν ἡμῖν τῆς ζωῆς, τῆς μὲν παχείας καὶ ὑλικῆς καὶ βαρείας, τῆς δὲ νοερᾶς καὶ κούφης, μέσον ἀμφοῖν ἑστῶσα ἡ αὐτεξούσιος ἡμῶν προαίρεσις, ἐν ᾧ ἂν μέρει γένηται, τούτῳ δίδωσι κατὰ τοῦ ἄλλου τὰ νικητήρια· καὶ ἐν ᾗ ἂν ζῇ, τῇ ἑτέρᾳ πάντως ἀποθνήσκει. Ἐπὶ χεῖρας τοῦ κλείθρου, [ ʹ] ἤνοιξα ἐγὼ τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου. {Γρηγορίου.} Πρὸς τοσοῦτον μέγεθος ἐπαρθεῖσα, οὔπω ἔγνω καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι· οὐδὲ λογίζεται καθ' ἑαυτὴν κατειληφέναι, ἀλλ' ἔτι πρὸς τὸ ὑπερκείμενον τρέχει, τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἑαυτὴν ἐπεκτείνουσα.","english":"having gone about it; and because she was left behind, she was wounded by the powers that guard the city, and was stripped of the veil of virginal modesty, which he calls a theristron. 5. I arose to open to my beloved; my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with full myrrh. {Of Gregory.} I received, he says, the power of resurrection by putting to death my members that are on the earth, the putting to death of the members having been worked in me willingly; for my hands dripped myrrh, which are the active movements of the soul, having received the myrrh dripping from themselves and not from elsewhere, but from my own free choice; so that in all virtuous pursuits, which he called fingers, such a disposition is seen to be without deficiency; so as not to have died to licentiousness perhaps, but to live in pride or anger or love of money or some such thing; for one who lives badly in this way cannot show his fingers full of myrrh. For the putting to death of evil is not manifest through all pursuits; for since life in us is twofold, the one coarse and material and heavy, the other intelligible and light, our free choice stands in the middle of both, and in whichever part it comes to be, to that part it gives the victory over the other; and in whichever it lives, it certainly dies to the other. Upon the handles of the lock I opened to my beloved. {Of Gregory.} Having been raised to such greatness, she did not yet know as she ought to know; nor does she reckon that she has grasped it for herself, but still runs toward what lies above, stretching herself out to the things that are before.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":129,"ref":"p129","source":"Ἡ γὰρ πλήρης γενομένη τῆς σμύρνης, πᾶσι τοῖς τοῦ βίου ἐπιτηδεύμασι τὴν πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἐπισημαίνουσα νέκρωσιν· καὶ τὸ ἑκούσιον τῆς ἀρετῆς διὰ τὸ οἴκοθεν ἀποστάξαι τῶν χειρῶν τὴν σμύρναν· ἅψασθαι, φησὶ, τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς τοῦ κλείθρου, ἤγουν τὰ ἔργα αὐτῆς ἐγγίσαι τῇ στενῇ καὶ τεθλιμμένῃ ὁδῷ ἧς τὸ κλεῖθρον ἐγχειρίζει τοῖς κατὰ Πέτρον ὁ λόγος· ἀνοίγει τοίνυν ἑαυτῇ τῆς βασιλείας τὴν θύραν, διά τε τῶν χειρῶν ἃ τὰ ἔργα δηλοῦσι, καὶ διὰ τοῦ κλείθρου τῆς πίστεως· δι' ἀμφοτέρων γὰρ τούτων ἡ κλεὶς τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ λόγου ἐν ἡμῖν κατασκευάζεται. Ἀδελφιδός μου παρῆλθε· ψυχή μου ἐξῆλθεν ἐν λόγῳ αὐτοῦ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὅτε ἤλπισε κατὰ Μωσέα γνωστῶς ἰδεῖν τὸν ποθούμενον, τότε παρῆλθε τὴν κατάληψιν αὐτῆς ὁ ζητούμενος· παρῆλθε δὲ, οὐ καταλιπὼν τὴν ἑπομένην αὐτῷ ψυχὴν, ἀλλὰ πλέον αὐτὴν ἐφελκόμενος· ἡ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐσμεν ἔξοδος, τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἀγαθῶν εἴσοδος γίνεται. Αὐτὴν οὖν ἐξῆλθεν ἡ ψυχὴ τὴν ἔξοδον, ὁδηγῷ κεχρημένη τῷ λόγῳ εἰπόντι, ὅτι· \"Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα καὶ ἡ ὁδός· καὶ ὅτι δι' ἐμοῦ ἐάν τις εἰσέλθῃ, διελεύσεται καὶ ἐξελεύσεται.\" {Ὠριγένους.} Ἡνίκα ἔφθασεν ἡ Νύμφη τὸ κλεῖθρον, κ.τ.λ. Ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον· ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσέ μου. {Ὠριγένους.} Συνεχῶς ἡ ψυχὴ, κ.τ.λ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὅτε ἀνέστη διὰ τοῦ θανάτου, ὅτε ἐπληρώθη τῆς σμύρνης, ὅτε προσήγαγε τῷ κλείθρῳ διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ εἰσοικίσασθαι τὸν ποθούμενον ἤλπισε, τότε ὁ μὲν παρέρχεται, ἡ δὲ ἐξέρχεται, οὐκ ἔτι μένουσα ἐν οἷς ἦν·","english":"For she who has become full of myrrh, indicating to all the pursuits of life the mortification that is toward evil; and the voluntary nature of virtue, because from within she let myrrh drip from her hands; \"I touched,\" she says, \"my hands to the latch,\" that is, her works drew near to the narrow and constricted way, whose latch the word hands over to those according to Peter. She opens for herself, then, the door of the kingdom, both through her hands, which signify works, and through the latch of faith; for by both of these the key of the kingdom of the word is fashioned in us. My beloved passed by; my soul went out at his word. {Gregory.} When she hoped, according to Moses, to see the beloved one knowingly, then the one sought passed beyond her comprehension; and he passed by, not abandoning the soul that follows him, but drawing it on all the more; for the departure from that in which we are becomes an entrance into the good things that lie above. So the soul went out in that departure, having as guide the word that said, \"I am the door and the way; and that through me, if anyone enters, he shall pass through and shall go out.\" {Origen.} When the Bride reached the latch, etc. I sought him, and did not find him; I called him, and he did not answer me. {Origen.} Continually the soul, etc. {Gregory.} When she arose through death, when she was filled with myrrh, when she brought her hands to the latch through her works, and hoped to take in the beloved, then he passes by, and she goes out, no longer remaining in the things in which she was.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":130,"ref":"p130","source":"οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τῷ καταλαμβάνεσθαι τὸ μέγεθος τῆς θείας γνωρίζεται φύσεως, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ παριέναι πᾶσαν καταληπτικὴν φαντασίαν καὶ δύναμιν· ἡ γὰρ ἐκβᾶσα ἤδη τὴν φύσιν ψυχὴ, ὡς ἂν μηδενὶ τῶν συνήθων πρὸς τὴν γνῶσιν τῶν ἀοράτων κωλύοιτο, οὔτε ζητοῦσα τὸ μὴ εὑρισκόμενον ἵσταται, οὔτε καλοῦσα τὸ ἀνεκφώνητον παύεται· πῶς γὰρ ἂν καὶ εὑρεθείη, ὃν μηνύει τῶν εὑρεθέντων οὐδέν; οὐ τόπος, οὐ σχῆμα, οὐ χρῶμα, οὐ ποσότης, οὐ περιγραφὴ, ἀλλὰ πάσης καταληπτικῆς ἐφόδου ἐστὶν ἐξώτερον· ἐζήτησα τοίνυν αὐτὸν διὰ τῶν εὑρετικῶν τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεων· ἐν λογισμοῖς καὶ νοήμασι, καὶ πάντων ἐξώτερον ἦν, τὸν προσεγγισμὸν τῆς διανοίας διαδιδράσκων· καὶ ἐκάλουν ὅση δύναμις, ἐπινοοῦσα φωνὰς ἐνδεικτικὰς τῆς ἀφράστου μακαριότητος· ὁ δὲ κρείττων ἦν τῆς τῶν σημαινομένων ἐνδείξεως. ζʹ. Εὕροσάν με φύλακες οἱ κυκλοῦντες ἐν τῇ πόλει· ἐπάταξάν με, ἐτραυμάτισάν με, ἦραν τὸ θέριστρον ἀπ' ἐμοῦ φύλακες τῶν τειχέων. {Γρηγορίου.} Ταῦτα ἴσως δόξει τισὶν ὀδυρομένης μᾶλλον,","english":"For the greatness of the divine nature is not known by being comprehended, but by passing beyond every apprehensive imagination and power; for the soul that has already gone beyond nature, so that it is hindered by none of the customary things in the knowledge of things invisible, neither stops seeking what is not found, nor ceases calling upon the unutterable; for how could that be found which none of the things found makes known? It is not place, not shape, not color, not quantity, not circumscription, but is more exterior than every apprehensive approach. I sought him, then, through the soul's powers of discovery; in reasonings and thoughts, and he was more exterior than all things, eluding the approach of the mind; and I called with all my power, devising voices indicative of the ineffable blessedness; but he was mightier than the indication of the things signified. 7. The watchmen who go about in the city found me; they struck me, they wounded me, the watchmen of the walls took away my veil. {Of Gregory.} These things will perhaps seem to some to be rather the words of one lamenting,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":131,"ref":"p131","source":"ἤπερ εὐφραινομένης εἶναι τὰ ῥήματα· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ, ἀλλ' ἢ μᾶλλον ἐγκαυχωμένης. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ κίνδυνοι ᾅδου εὗρον αὐτὴν, ἢ λῃσταῖς αὐτὴν εὑρῆσθαι λέγει, χαλεπὸν ἦν τὸ τῶν τοιούτων αὐτὴν εὕρεμα γίνεσθαι· εἰ δὲ οἱ φύλακες αὐτὴν εὕροσαν οἱ κυκλοῦντες ἐν τῇ πόλει, μακαριστή ἐστι τῆς εὑρέσεως· ἡ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν φυλάκων εὑρεθεῖσα ψυχὴ, ἅτινά ἐστι λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα, φρουροῦν τα τὴν πόλιν, ἥτις ἐστὶ ψυχὴ, τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκητήριον, ὑπὸ λῃστῶν κλαπῆναι οὐ δύναται· ἡ δὲ θεία ῥάβδος ἡ διὰ τοῦ πατάσσειν ἐνεργοῦσα τὴν ἴασιν, τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν, οὗ καρπὸς καὶ ἡ παιδαγωγία τῆς ἐναρέτου πολιτείας ἐγκρατής. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ταῖς τοιαύταις πληγαῖς καὶ Παῦλος ἐγκαυχώμενος ἔλεγε· \"Τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματί μου περιφέρω· δεικνὺς τὴν ἐν παντὶ κακῷ ἀσθένειαν· διὸ καὶ λέγειν εἶχεν· Ἡ γὰρ κατὰ Χριστὸν δύναμίς μου ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται, εἴτ' οὖν ἐν ἀρετῇ, διὰ τοῦ τοιούτου τραύματος, ἡ τοῦ θερίστρου γέγονεν αὐτῇ ἀφαίρεσις· ἥτις νοοῖτο ἂν πᾶσα διστάζουσά τε καὶ κραδαινομένη διάνοια, ὡς ἀνακαλυφθῆναι τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ κάλλος, μὴ ἐπισκοτοῦντος ἔτι τοῦ ἐπιβλήματος, ἀλλὰ καθαρῶς πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν βλέπειν. Πόθεν δὲ τὸ θέριστρον τῇ ἀποβαλούσῃ τὸν παλαιὸν ἤδη χιτῶνα, πρὸς τῶν ἐπιτηρούντων τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ψυχῆς τὰς διόδους; δῆλον ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς προκοπῆς. Καθήρθη γὰρ τοσοῦτον, ὡς πρὸ τούτου δοκεῖν, οὔπως ἀποδεδύσθαι τὸν παλαιὸν χιτῶνα· τοῦ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν ἀναβαίνοντος ἀεὶ πρὸ τοῦ παχύτερον. Τὸ δὲ θέριστρον, περιβόλαιον νυμφικὸν, συγκαλύπτον αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον· τουτὶ γὰρ καὶ περὶ Ῥεβέκκας ἱστόρηται·","english":"The words are not those of one rejoicing, but rather of one boasting. For if the dangers of Hades had found her, or he says that she had been found by robbers, it would be a grievous thing for her to become the discovery of such as these; but if the guards who encircle the city found her, she is blessed in that finding; for the soul found by the guards—which are ministering spirits who keep watch over the city, that is, the soul, the dwelling-place of God—cannot be stolen by robbers. And the divine rod that works healing through striking is the Spirit, whose fruit is also the discipline of the virtuous conduct that is self-controlled. Since Paul too, boasting in such wounds, said: \"I bear in my body the marks of Christ,\" showing his weakness in every evil; therefore he could also say: \"For my power according to Christ is made perfect in weakness\"—whether then in virtue, through such a wound, the removal of the veil has come about for her; which would be understood as every wavering and trembling mind, so that the beauty of the soul might be revealed, with the covering no longer darkening it, but it looks clearly toward the truth. But whence comes the veil to her who has already cast off the old garment, from those who watch over the passages of the human soul? Clearly from her progress. For she was purified to such an extent that before this it seemed she had not thus put off the old garment; for what ascends according to God is always before what is coarser. And the veil is a bridal covering, concealing her head and face; for this is also recorded concerning Rebekah.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":132,"ref":"p132","source":"τὸ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἀφαιρεθῆναι αὐτῆς, ἔδειξε λέγων ὁ Παῦλος· Ὅταν δὲ ἐπιστραφῇ πρὸς Κύριον, περιαιρεῖται τὸ κάλυμμα. Καλὸν δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ καλοῦ ποιμένος πρόβατον· καὶ ἡ δραχμὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ λύχνου, ἐφ' ᾗ χαίρουσι πάντες οἱ φίλοι καὶ γείτονες. Εἴποις δ' ἂν καὶ οὕτως, ὡς ζητοῦσα ὃν οὐχ εὗρε καὶ καλοῦσα τὸν ἄῤῥητον, διδάσκεται διὰ τῶν φυλάκων, ὡς τοῦ ἀνεφίκτου ἐρᾷ· δι' ὧν πλήσσεται καὶ τραυματίζεται τῇ τοῦ ποθουμένου ἀνελπιστίᾳ. Ἀλλὰ περιαιρεῖται τῆς λύπης τὸ θέριστρον τῷ μαθεῖν ὅτι προκόπτει ἀεὶ διὰ τοῦ ζητεῖν· καὶ τὸ μηδέποτε τῆς ἀνόδου παύεσθαι, τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ ἀληθὴς τοῦ ποθουμένου ἀπόλαυσις. Ὡς οὖν περιείλατο τῆς ἀνελπιστίας τὸ θέριστρον, καὶ εἶδε τὸ ἀόριστόν τε καὶ ἀπερίγραπτον τοῦ ἠγαπημένου κάλλος, ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ἀϊδιότητι τῶν ἀνθρώπων κρεῖττον ἀεὶ εὑρισκόμενον, σφοδροτέρῳ γίνεται πόθῳ καὶ μηνύει τῷ ἀγαπωμένῳ διὰ τῶν τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ θυγατέρων, τὴν τῆς καρδίας διάθεσιν, καί φησιν· ηʹ. Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ· ἐὰν εὕρητε τὸν ἀδελφιδόν μου, τί ἀπαγγέλητε αὐτῷ; ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ εἰμι. {Γρηγορίου.} Ὅτι οὐχ ἕτερα παρὰ τὰ ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις εἰρημένα τὸ, \"Μὴ ὀμόσαι ὅλως, ἀλλὰ τὸ, Ναὶ, ναὶ, καὶ τὸ, Οὒ, οὔ·\" δῆλον ἂν γένοιτο ἐκ τούτων· ἐν ἑτέρᾳ γὰρ ἐκδόσει, \"Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς κατὰ τῶν δορκάδων καὶ τῶν ἐλάφων,\" εὑρέθη· καὶ διδασκόμεθα διὰ τούτων, ἐν τίσιν ἡ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἰσχύς τε καὶ δύναμις· ἃ πρὸς βεβαίωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας δι' ὅρκου παρείληπται· δύο τοίνυν ἡμᾶς οἰκειοῖ τῷ Θεῷ, πίστις ὀρθὴ καὶ τρόπος ζωῆς·","english":"And what follows from its being taken away, Paul showed when he said: \"But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.\" And the sheep is a good thing, even under the good shepherd; and the drachma on the lamp, over which all the friends and neighbors rejoice. And one might also say thus, that she who seeks what she has not found and calls upon the ineffable is taught through the guards that she loves the unattainable; through whom she is struck and wounded by the hopelessness of the beloved. But the veil of grief is taken away by learning that she always advances through seeking; and never to cease from the ascent—this is the true enjoyment of the beloved. When, therefore, she had taken away the veil of hopelessness, and saw the boundless and uncircumscribed beauty of the beloved, always found greater in all the eternity of men, she comes to a more vehement longing and makes known to the beloved through the daughters of Jerusalem the disposition of her heart, and says: I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field: if you find my beloved, what will you report to him? That I am wounded with love. {Of Gregory.} That this is not other than what was said in the Gospels—\"Do not swear at all,\" but \"Yes, yes,\" and \"No, no\"—would be clear from these things; for in another edition it was found: \"I adjure you by the gazelles and the deer\"; and we are taught through these things in what the strength and power of this world consist; which things have been taken for the confirmation of the truth through an oath. Two things, then, make us belong to God: right faith and a manner of life.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":133,"ref":"p133","source":"δορκὰς μὲν γὰρ ἀπλανῶς ὁρᾷ, ἔλαφος δὲ τῶν ἰοβόλων ἐστὶν ἀναιρετική· ὑποτίθεται τοίνυν ταῖς νεάνισιν ἡ Νύμφη κάθαρσιν καὶ ἀλήθειαν· οὕτω γὰρ τὸ ἀμετάθετον ἡμῖν βεβαιοῦται ὁ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν πιστούμενος ὅρκος, ἐν ᾧ πᾶς ὁ ὀμνύων ἐπαινεῖται κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνήν. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ ὁ ἐν τοῖς δυσὶ τούτοις, τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατορθώσας, ἕν τε τῷ λόγῳ τῆς πίστεως, ὅταν ἀπλανῶς πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν βλέπῃ, καὶ ἐν τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς ζωῆς, ὅταν παντὸς καθαρεύῃ τοῦ ἐκ πονηρίας μολύσματος· οὗτος ὄμνυσι τῷ Κυρίῳ μὴ ἀναβῆναι ἐπὶ κλίνης στρωμνῆς, μὴ δοῦναι ὕπνον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἕως οὗ εὕρῃ τόπον τῷ Κυρίῳ, σκηνώματα τῷ ἐν αὐτῷ οἰκοῦντι γενόμενος. Μάθωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκ τῆς νύμφης, εἰ τέκνα τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ ἐσμεν, ὅπως ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τὸν ποθούμενον· ἐὰν γὰρ ὅρκιον ἑαυτῆς ποιήσωμεν τόν τε πρακτικὸν καὶ θεωρητικὸν βίον, ὀψόμεθα καθαρῶς τὸν\n\nΝυμφίον τῆς ἀγάπης τοξότην· ὃς διὰ βάθους ἐντίθησι τὸ ἑαυτοῦ βέλος, τὴν τῆς θεότητος, φημὶ, κοινωνίαν τῇ ψυχῇ διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν πίστιν ἀκίδος γινομένην. {Νείλου.} Εἶδε τὸ σφάλμα ἑαυτῆς, καὶ τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν ἐπέγνω τοῦ ποθουμένου ἐκ πολλῆς ἀποστροφῆς, καὶ ζητεῖ ὅτῳ δήποτε τρόπῳ γνωσθῆναι τούτῳ, ποθοῦσα καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην οὐ φέρουσα τοῦ χωρισμοῦ· ὅθεν ἐκείνης ἀντιλαβοῦσα παρακαλεῖ πρεσβεῦσαι πρὸς τὸν Νυμφίον, καὶ δηλῶσαι τὰ παρ' αὐτῆς ἐκείνῳ· αἷς πρὸ ὀλίγου σεμνυνομένη τῷ ἀξιώματι, ἔλεγεν· Εἰσήγαγέ με ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ, δεικνὺς πῶς μέγα συνείδησις πεπαῤῥησιασμένη, καὶ πῶς πάλιν ταπεινὸν παῤῥησίας ἀφαίρεσις.","english":"For the gazelle sees without wandering, and the deer is destructive of venomous creatures; the Bride therefore suggests to the maidens purity and truth; for thus the oath that also guarantees the truth confirms for us the unchangeable, in which everyone who swears is praised according to the prophet's voice. For truly the one who in these two things has achieved what is secure in himself—both in the word of faith, when he looks without wandering toward the truth, and in the manner of life, when he is pure from every defilement that comes from wickedness—this one swears to the Lord not to go up to the bed of his couch, not to give sleep to his eyes, until he finds a place for the Lord, having become dwellings for the one who dwells in him. Let us therefore also learn from the bride, if we are children of Jerusalem, how the beloved may be seen; for if we make as our oath both the practical and the contemplative life, we shall see clearly the Bridegroom of love as an archer; who sinks his own arrow into the depths—I mean the communion of the Godhead with the soul, coming about through the sting of faith. {Of Nilus.} She saw her own error, and recognized the indignation of the beloved from her great turning away, and she seeks in whatever way she might be known to him, longing and unable to bear the pain of separation; therefore, taking hold of them, she begs them to intercede with the Bridegroom and to make known her concerns to him; she who a little before was proud in their company because of her rank, saying: The king brought me into his chamber, showing how great is a conscience that has boldness, and how again humility is the removal of boldness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":134,"ref":"p134","source":"{Φίλωνος.} Παῤῥησιάζεται ἡ ἁγία Ἐκκλησία ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτοῖς τέκνοις τοῖς μάρτυσι, δι' ὧν ἐτρώθη· καί φησιν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ταῦτα καὶ προφήταις. θʹ. Τί ἀδελφιδός σου ἀπὸ ἀδελφιδοῦ ἡ καλὴ ἐν γυναιξίν; {Νείλου.} Ἀποροῦσιν αἱ νεάνιδες ὁρκισθεῖσαι, τίς ἄρα εἴη καὶ ποταπὸς ὁ ἀγαπώμενος, ὅτι τοιούτῳ ὡρκίσθησαν ὅρκῳ· ὅθεν καὶ οὕτως ἀναπτερωθείσας αὐτὰς ἰδοῦσα ἡ Νύμφη, διαγράφει τὸν ζητούμενον χωρίζουσα τὸ κάλλος αὐτοῦ τῆς τῶν ἄλλων κοινωνίας, ἵνα μὴ τῶν πολλῶν εἷς λογίζεται ἁγίων, δεικνύουσα τὴν διαφορὰν τοῦ ἑαυτῆς ἀδελφιδοῦ, καὶ τῶν ἀδελφιδῶν τῶν νεανίδων. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἤγουν τί πεποίηκεν ὁ ἀδελφιδός σου, ἢ τί ἀπὸ ἀδελφιδοῦ σου ἔχεις; Τί ἀδελφιδός σου ἀπὸ ἀδελφιδοῦ, ὅτι οὕτως ὥρκισα ἡμᾶσ; {Γρηγορίου.} Αἱ ὁρκισθεῖσαι θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ, πυνθάνονται ὁποῖος ὁ χαρακτὴρ τοῦ Νυμφίου, ὡς εἰ περιτύχωσιν αὐτῷ ἐπίγνωσιν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ δοθησομένων σημείων. Διὸ καὶ χαρακτῆρα παραδίδωσιν· οὐχ ὃ ἦν ἀρχή· ἄῤῥητος γὰρ οὐχ οἷος τε δυνάμει λόγων φανερωθῆναι· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν διὰ σαρκὸς ἐπιφάνειαν χειραγωγεῖ τὰς παρθένους, ὥσπερ καὶ πεποίηκεν Ἰωάννης· \"Ὃ μὲν ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς,\" σιωπήσας· \"Ὃ δὲ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν περὶ τοῦ Λόγου τῆς ζωῆς,\" τοῦτο μετ' ἐπιμελείας διηγησάμενος. ιʹ. Ἀδελφιδός μου λευκὸς καὶ πυῤῥὸς, ἐκλελοχισμένος ἀπὸ μυριάδων. {Φίλωνος.} Λευκὸς μὲν, διὰ τὸ ἀναμάρτητον· πυῤῥὸς δὲ, διὰ τὸ αἷμα τὸ ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας χυθέν. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἢ λευκὸς, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθινὸς, πυῤῥὸς δὲ διὰ τὴν σάρκωσιν.","english":"{From Philo.} The holy Church speaks boldly among her own children, the martyrs, through whom she was wounded; and she says these things to the apostles and prophets. 9. What is your beloved more than another beloved, O fair among women? {From Nilus.} The maidens, having been put under oath, are at a loss as to who and of what sort the beloved might be, since they were sworn by such an oath; hence the Bride, seeing them thus stirred up, describes the one they seek, separating his beauty from the fellowship of others, so that he is not reckoned as one of the many saints, showing the difference between her own beloved and the beloveds of the maidens. {From Cyril.} That is, what has your beloved done, or what do you have from your beloved? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you have thus put us under oath? {From Gregory.} The daughters of Jerusalem who were put under oath inquire what is the character of the Bridegroom, as if they might encounter him and recognize him from the signs that will be given concerning him. Therefore she also delivers a description; not what he was in the beginning—for the ineffable cannot be made manifest by the power of words—but she leads the virgins by the hand toward the appearance through the flesh, just as John also did: \"What was from the beginning,\" he passed over in silence; but \"What we have seen and heard, and our hands have handled concerning the Word of life,\" this he recounted with care. 10. My beloved is white and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. {From Philo.} White, because of his sinlessness; ruddy, because of the blood shed for the Church. {From Origen.} Or white, since God is true, and ruddy because of the incarnation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":135,"ref":"p135","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Ἡ τελεία ψυχὴ ταῖς παρθένοις ὑπογράφει ψυχαῖς, τοῦ ποθουμένου καὶ ζητουμένου τὰ γνωρίσματα, διὰ τῶν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ φανερωθέντων ἡμῖν· καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ἓν σῶμα τοῦ Νυμφίου ποθήσασα, ἴδιόν τι νόημα δι' ἑκάστου τῶν μελῶν ἐν τῇ ὑπογραφῇ τοῦ κάλλους ἐνδείκνυται· δι' ὧν ὅλος ἐκ τῶν κατὰ μέρος θεωρουμένων τὸ τοῦ σώματος κάλλος συμπαρεικάζεται. Ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τοίνυν τῆς κατηχήσεως ἄρχεται, καθὰ καὶ Ματθαῖος πεποίηκεν. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ τὴν κατὰ σάρκα τις ἀκούων γένεσιν, πρὸς τὰ τῆς φύσεως πάθη κατολισθήσειε τῇ διανοίᾳ, τούτου χάριν τὸν κοινωνήσαντα ἡμῖν σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος, λευκὸν μὲν εἶναί φησι καὶ πυῤῥὸν, τὴν τοῦ σώματος δι' ἀμφοτέρων φύσιν αἰνιττομένη· οὐ μὴν ὁμοιότροπον αὐτοῦ τὴν λοχείαν τῷ κοινῷ τόκῳ· ἔχειν γὰρ κατ' ἐξαίρετον τὸ μὴ ἐκ λέχους γεγενῆσθαι· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἐκλελοχισμένος· ἀπὸ μυριάδων δὲ τῶν ἀφ' ὧν γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι, καὶ εἰς ὃ προελεύσεται ῥέουσα, διὰ τοῦ τόκου τῶν ἐπιγενομένων ἡ φύσις. Ἐπὶ γὰρ τῆς ἀπειρογάμου τὸ τῆς λοχείας ὄνομα, οὐκ ἔστι κυρίως εἰπεῖν· οὗ γὰρ ἀσυνδύαστος μὲν ἡ κυοφορία, ἀμόλυντος δὲ ἡ λοχεία, ἀνώδινος δὲ ἡ ὠδὶν, θάλαμος δὲ ἡ τοῦ Ὑψίστου δύναμις, οἷόν τις νεφέλη τὴν παρθενίαν ἐπισκιάζουσα· πυρσὸς δὲ γαμήλιος, ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἔλλαμψις· κλίνη δὲ ἡ ἀπάθεια, καὶ γάμος ἡ ἀφθαρσία· τούτου χωρὶς λοχείας ἡ γένεσις ὥσπερ καὶ χωρὶς γάμου ἡ σύστασις· ᾧ οὐχὶ συνήργησε πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι ἡ φύσις, ἀλλ' ὑπηρέτησεν· οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος γένεσις τὸ τῆς λοχείας πάθος οὐ παρεδέξατο·","english":"{From Gregory.} The perfect soul outlines for the virgin souls the distinguishing marks of the one desired and sought, through the things that were revealed to us for salvation; and having desired the whole Church as one body of the Bridegroom, she displays a particular meaning through each of the members in the outline of beauty; through which the beauty of the body as a whole is jointly represented from the parts viewed individually. She begins, then, from the body of the catechesis, just as Matthew also has done. But so that no one, hearing of the generation according to the flesh, might slip down in his mind to the passions of nature, for this reason she says that the one who shared in flesh and blood is white and ruddy, hinting at the nature of the body through both; yet his birth is not of the same manner as common childbirth; for he has as an exception the fact that he was not born from a marriage bed; for this is \"born out of wedlock.\" But from the myriads of those from whom men have come, and into which the nature flows through the birth of those who come after. For in the case of the one who knows no marriage, the name of childbirth cannot be spoken properly; for where conception is without union, and delivery undefiled, and travail without pain, and the bridal chamber is the power of the Most High, overshadowing her virginity like a cloud; and the wedding torch is the illumination of the Holy Spirit; and the couch is impassibility, and the marriage is incorruption; apart from this, generation is without childbirth, just as the constitution is without marriage; for nature did not cooperate with him for his coming to be, but served; yet indeed the generation from water also did not admit the passion of childbirth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":136,"ref":"p136","source":"καὶ ἡ ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν παλιγγενεσία, καὶ ἡ τῆς θείας ταύτης κτίσεως πρωτοτοκία, ἀλλ' ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις καθαρεύει τῆς λόχου ὁ τόκος. {Νείλου.} Ἀνωτέρω μὲν τὰ μέλη τῆς Νύμφη, προέγραψεν, ἅτινα τοῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐφήρμοσται διαφόροις τάγμασι· νῦν δὲ τὰ τοῦ Νυμφίου σκιαγραφεῖ,\n\nπολλὴν ἔχοντα τὴν ἀσφάλειαν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος ἐν τούτοις διαγράφεται, θεῖαι δυνάμεις ἔσονται πάντως ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἐκείνοις χαρακτηριζόμεναι· οὐ γὰρ μελῶν συνθέσει σχηματίζεται τὸ ἀσώματον· ἐνεργείαις δὲ νοηταῖς ὡσανεὶ σῶμα τὸ ποιούμενον, διὰ τὸ ἄλλως τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ παραδέχεσθαι, τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην οὐ πεφυκέναι αἴσθησιν. Ὀφθαλμοὺς γὰρ, τί ἄλλο ὑπολάβοι Θεοῦ, ἢ τὴν ἐποπτικὴν δύναμιν; καὶ κοιλίαν ἣν λέγει γεννᾷν, τὸ γνήσιον τῆς ὠδῖνος; πόδας καὶ πορείαν ἐπίσημον, τὴν προνοητικὴν ἐνέργειαν; ὡς ἐν ἴχνεσι τρανῶς τοῖς κηδεμονικῶς συμβαίνουσιν ἑκάστῳ κατ' οἰκονομίαν τοῦ κρείττονος θεωρουμένην· ὁμοίως ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν· εἰ δὲ ὁ Κυριακὸς ἄνθρωπος σημαίνοιτο, εἴη ἂν κεφαλὴ, χρυσίῳ Κεφὰζ παρεικασμένη, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται πέτρα, ὁ κορυφαιώτατος τῶν ἀποστόλων Πέτρος· καὶ τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐπὶ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῆς πίστεως οἰκοδομηθῆναι παρασκευάσας· κοιλία ὁ Παῦλος, ὁ τοὺς ἐν Χριστῷ μορφουμένους ὠδίνων· στύλοι μαρμάρινοι περὶ ὧν φησι Παῦλος, \"Οἱ δοκοῦντες στύλοι εἶναι·\" καὶ ἕκαστος κατὰ τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν λοιπῶν χαρισμάτων· ὁ μὲν σιαγόνων ἐπέχει τόπον φυουσῶν μυρεψικὰ, ὁ δὲ χειλέων κρίνοις ὁμοιουμένων στάζουσι τὴν σμύρναν πλήρη· οἳ τὸ χρειῶδες καὶ ἐγκρατὲς παραινοῦντες τοῖς ὑπηκόοις, καὶ νεκροῦν τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.","english":"And the regeneration from the dead, and the firstborn status of this divine creation, but in all these things the birth is pure of the childbed. {From Nilus.} Above, he wrote beforehand the members of the Bride, which have been applied to the various orders of the Church; but now he sketches in outline the things of the Bridegroom, which have great security. If, then, God the Word is depicted in these things, they will certainly be divine powers characterized in those members; for the incorporeal is not shaped by a composition of members; but by intelligible activities, as it were a body, the thing that is made, because human sense is not naturally able otherwise to receive the things concerning God. For eyes, what else would one understand of God than the overseeing power? And a belly which he says gives birth, the genuineness of travail? Feet and a conspicuous walk, the providential activity; as in traces clearly seen in the things that providentially happen to each one according to the economy of the superior; similarly in the rest; but if the Lord's man is signified, there would be a head likened to the golden Cephas, which is interpreted \"rock,\" the most eminent of the apostles, Peter; and he prepared the building of the Church to be built on the confession of faith; a belly, Paul, who travails for those being formed in Christ; marble pillars, concerning which Paul says, \"Those who seem to be pillars;\" and each according to the difference of the other gifts; one holds the place of cheeks producing perfumes, another of lips likened to lilies dripping full myrrh; who advise what is needful and continent to their subjects, and put to death the members that are upon the earth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":137,"ref":"p137","source":"Εἶεν δ' ἂν βόστρυχοι, οἱ τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν φέροντες τῶν Χριστοῦ παθημάτων· καὶ ὀφθαλμοὶ πάλιν οἱ τὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος φυλάσσοντες δώρημα, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ὑδάτων ἀγρύπνως καθήμενοι· νηπιάζουσι δὲ, παιδικὴ ἡλικία. Λελουμένοι γάρ εἰσιν ἐν γάλακτι καὶ καθήμενοι ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων· καὶ τὸ ἀκέραιον τῆς περιστερᾶς, καὶ τὸ ἄκακον τῆς γαλακτοτροφουμένης ἔχοντες ἡλικίας· λευκὸς δέ ἐστι διὰ τὸν ἐν ἀρχῇ Θεὸν Λόγον φῶς λεγόμενον τοῦ κόσμου· πυῤῥὸς δὲ δι' ὃν ἀνείληφεν ἄνθρωπον, ἐκ γῆς πλασθέντα πυῤῥᾶς· εἶδος δὲ ὑποφαίνων, καὶ τὴν ὀσμὴν τῆς γνώσεως φανερὰν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις δεικνύων τοῖς τύποις τῶν ἥλων καὶ τῇ τῆς λόγχης ὀπῇ· καὶ ἐκλεκτός ἐστιν ὡς κέδρος· περὶ ὧν ἔλεγε· \"Δίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει, ὡσεὶ κέδρος ἡ ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ πληθυνθήσεται·\" τὸν γὰρ φάρυγγα ἔχει γλυκασμὸν οὐ γλυκαινόμενον, ἀλλὰ γλυκαίνοντα· οὐ γὰρ ποιοῦται, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ ποιότης ἐστίν· ἐπὶ πᾶσι δέ ἐστιν ὅλος ἐπιθυμία, οὐ μετέχων τῆς ἕξεως, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ ἕξις τυγχάνων. Ταῦτα δέ φησιν ἡ Νύμφη, ἵνα δείξῃ δικαίως ἐρῶσαν ἑαυτήν· ἀπολογίαν τοῦ πάθους, τὸ κάλλος τοῦ ἀγαπωμένου προβαλλομένη. ιαʹ. Κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ, χρυσίον κεφάζ· βόστρυχοι αὐτοῦ, ἐλάται, μέλανες ὡς κόραξ. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἡ μὲν κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἡ πάσης τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀπαρχὴ Χριστὸς, τὸ καθαρόν τε καὶ πάσης ἀμιγὲς κακίας χρυσίον ἐστί· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ κεφάζ· βόστρυχοι δὲ οἵ ποτε ζοφώδεις κατὰ τοὺς κόρακας· οἷς ἔργον ἐστὶ τὸ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκόπτειν, ὡς ἡ Παροιμία φησίν·","english":"And the locks would be those that bear the reproach of Christ's sufferings; and again the eyes are those that keep watch over the gift of baptism, and sit unsleeping upon the fullness of the waters; and they are infant-like, a childlike age. For they have been washed in milk and sit upon the fullness of waters; and they possess the purity of the dove and the guilelessness of the age that is fed on milk. And he is white because of the God Logos who in the beginning is called the light of the world; and ruddy because of the man he took up, who was molded from ruddy earth; and he shows his form, and makes the fragrance of knowledge manifest to the apostles by the marks of the nails and the wound of the spear; and he is choice as the cedar; concerning which things he said: \"The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree, he shall be multiplied as the cedar in Lebanon.\" For he has a throat that is sweetness, not made sweet but making sweet; for it is not made, but is itself a quality; and above all he is wholly desire, not partaking of a state but being himself a state. These things the Bride says, in order to show that she loves him justly, offering as a defense of her passion the beauty of the beloved. 11. His head is fine gold; his locks are firs, black as a raven. {From Gregory.} The head of the body of the Church, Christ, the firstfruits of our whole nature, is the pure gold and unmixed with any evil; for this is the fine gold; and the locks are those once dark as ravens, whose work it is to pluck out the eyes, as the Proverbs say.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":138,"ref":"p138","source":"οὗτοι ἐλάται, τὰ ὑψηλά τε καὶ οὐρανομήκη δένδρα γενόμενοι, διὰ τοῦ ἀναδραμεῖν ἐκ γῆς πρὸς τὸ οὐράνιον ὕψος, προσθήκη τοῦ κάλλους γίνονται τοῦ Νυμφίου τῆς θείας κεφαλῆς ἐξαρτήσαντες ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἄρα περισοβούμενοι· δι' ὧν οἶμαι δηλοῦσθαι τοὺς ἀποστόλους, ὧν τινες ζοφώδεις ἐν οἷς ἔπραττον ἦσαν, ὁ τελώνης, ὁ λῃστὴς, ὁ διώκτης, κατὰ τὸ μέλαν τε καὶ σαρκοβόρον· καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἀφανιστικὸν, τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους. {Ὠριγένους.} Οἱ βόστρυχοι διὰ τὴν πυκνότητα, κ.τ.λ. ιβʹ. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς περιστεραὶ ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων, λελουμέναι ἐν γάλακτι, καθήμεναι ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων. {Γρηγορίου.} Εἶεν ἂν ὀφθαλμοὶ οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καθηγούμενοι· καὶ ὃς δὲ τῶν τοιούτων ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἔπαινος ἡ ἀκακία· ἣν κατορθοῦσι, μηκέτι τῷ σαρκώδει βίῳ ἐμμολυνόμενοι, ἀλλὰ ζῶντες καὶ στοιχοῦντες τῷ πνεύματι. Ὁ γὰρ πνευματικός τε καὶ ἄϋλος βίος, τῷ τῆς περιστερᾶς εἴδει χαρακτηρίζεται, διὰ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἐν εἴδει ὀφθῆναι περιστερᾶς ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ. Χρὴ τοίνυν τὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ τῷ σώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὑπὸ Θεοῦ τεταγμένον, εἰ μέλλοι καθαρῶς ἐπισκοπεῖν καὶ ἐφορᾷν πᾶσαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας λύμην","english":"These are the firs, having become the tall and heaven-reaching trees, through running up from the earth to the heavenly height, they become an addition of beauty to the divine head of the Bridegroom, having attached themselves to it, and being thus spun around by the Spirit; through which I think the apostles are indicated, some of whom were dark in the things they did—the tax collector, the robber, the persecutor—according to the black and flesh-devouring [nature]; and destructive of the eyes, the ruler of the authority of darkness. {Of Origen.} The locks, because of their density, etc. 12. His eyes are like doves upon the fullness of waters, washed in milk, seated upon the fullness of waters. {Of Gregory.} The eyes would be those who lead the Church; and the praise of such eyes is also their guilelessness, which they achieve, no longer being defiled by the fleshly life, but living and walking in the Spirit. For the spiritual and immaterial life is characterized by the form of the dove, because the Holy Spirit was seen in the form of a dove in the Jordan. It is necessary, therefore, that the one appointed by God as an eye for the body of the Church, if he is to oversee purely and look upon all the defilement from evil","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":139,"ref":"p139","source":"ἀποκλύζειν τῷ ὕδατι· πολλὰ δὲ τῶν ῥυπτικῶν ὑδάτων εἶναι, φησὶ, τὰ πληρώματα. Ὅσαι γὰρ ἀρεταὶ, τοσαῦται καθαρσίων ὑδάτων πηγαὶ, καὶ καθαρωτέρους ἀεὶ ποιοῦσαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς· οἷον πηγὴ καθαρσίων ὑδάτων, ἡ σωφροσύνη· ἄλλη πηγὴ ταπεινοφροσύνης, ἡ ἀλήθειά τε καὶ δικαιοσύνη καὶ ἀνδρεία, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἅτινα ὕδατά ἐστιν, ἐκ μιᾶς μὲν πηγῆς, διαφόρων δὲ ῥείθρων εἰς ἓν ἀθροιζόμενα πλήρωμα· δι' ὧν πάσης ἐμπαθοῦς λύπης γίνεται τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὰ καθάρσια· Ἀλλ' εἰσὶ μὲν ἐπὶ τὰ πληρώματα τῶν ὑδάτων οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ, διὰ τῆς ἀκεραιότητός τε καὶ ἀκακίας, ταῖς περιστεραῖς ὡμοιωμένοι· τὸ δὲ γάλα τούτων εἶναι λουτρόν φησι, ὅτι μόνον ἐν ὑγροῖς τοῦτο εἰδώλου τινὸς ἀνεπίδεκτον καὶ ὁμοιώματος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ Ἐκκλησία μάταιόν τι καὶ πεπλανημένον καὶ ἀνυπόστατον ἐν ἑαυτῇ σκιαγραφεῖ παρὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν· τὸ δὲ ἐπαγόμενον, νόμος ἐστὶ τοῖς ἐπαΐουσι· περὶ ἃ χρὴ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχειν. Τὴν διηνεκῆ γὰρ προσεδρείαν τῆς περὶ τὰ μαθήματα προσοχῆς, τὸ Καθήμεναι ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων, δηλοῖ· καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων πεφυτευμένου· οὕτω γὰρ ὅ τε καρπὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰδίου καιροῦ προβληθήσεται, καὶ ὁ κλάδος ἀειθαλὴς φυλαχθήσεται· τοιούτους εἶναι βούλεται τοὺς ὁρῶντας καὶ ἐπισκοποῦντας ὁ λόγος· ὧν χρὴ προβεβλῆσθαι μὲν τὴν τῶν θείων δογμάτων ἀσφάλειαν, ἐπικαλύπτεσθαι δὲ τῇ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ, καθάπερ τινὶ περιβολῇ τὸ καθαρόν τε καὶ στίλβον τῆς πολιτείας· μήποτε ἡ τῆς οἰήσεως δοκὸς ἐμπεσοῦσα τῷ καθαρῷ τῆς κόρης, ἐμποδὼν γένηται πρὸς τὴν ὅρασιν.","english":"To wash with water; and he says that there are many fullnesses of cleansing waters. For as many as are the virtues, so many are the springs of cleansing waters, always making the eyes purer; for example, a spring of cleansing waters is chastity; another spring is that of humility, truth and righteousness and courage, and the like, which are waters, from one spring indeed, but from different streams gathered into one fullness; through which the cleansing means for the eyes come from all passionate grief. But the eyes are upon the fullnesses of the waters, through sincerity and guilelessness, made like doves; and he says that their milk is a bath, because this alone among moist things is incapable of receiving any image and likeness. For the Church does not sketch in herself anything vain and wandering and without substance contrary to the truth; but what is brought in is law to those who understand, concerning what things it is necessary to keep the eyes. For the constant assiduity of attention to learning, the sitting upon fullnesses of waters, makes clear; according to the likeness of the tree planted by the passages of waters; for thus both the fruit will be put forth in its own season, and the branch will be kept ever-green; such the word wishes those to be who see and observe; whose safety in divine doctrines must be put forward, and covered with humility, as with a garment, the pure and shining thing of the conduct; lest the beam of conceit falling into the pure of the pupil become a hindrance to sight.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":140,"ref":"p140","source":"{Φίλωνος.} Εἰ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ Ἐκκλησία, εἴη ἂν αὐτοῦ ἕκαστον μέλος, ἕκαστον τάγμα τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ· καὶ πρῶτόν γε οἱ πατριάρχαι, ἐξ ὧν τὸ κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸς, τῆς πίστεως αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν, ἀπεικαζόμενοι χρυσίῳ τινὶ ἰσχυρῷ· κεφὰζ γὰρ, πέτρα ἑρμηνεύεται. Εἶτα τοὺς ἀποστόλους, ἐλάτας λέγων καὶ μέλανας, τὴν κακοπάθειαν αὐτῶν σημαίνων· καὶ ἑπταόφθαλμος δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος δύναμις ἐφορῶσα τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἴρηνται· πληρώματα δὲ τῶν ὑδάτων τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη· ἢ ἵνα τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ λουτροῦ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας δείξῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ τῆς κακίας λευκότητι, ἐπὶ πληρώμασι τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν καθεζομένους τοὺς ἱερεῖς. ιγʹ. Σιαγόνες αὐτοῦ, ὡς φιάλαι τοῦ ἀρώματος, φύουσαι μυρεψικά. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἀκολούθως ἐπαινοῦνται μετὰ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αἱ σιαγόνες· ὧν ἕργον ἐστὶ, τὸ λεπτύνειν τὴν θείαν Γραφήν· δι' ἧς ἡ τοῦ σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας συντηρεῖται δύναμις· ὡς εἶναι πάντα τηλαυγῆ καὶ νηπίοις κατάδηλα, καὶ δίχα τινὸς δολερᾶς κοιλότητος. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ φιάλη αἰνίττεται· μήτε ἄγαν βαθυνομένου τοῦ σχήματος αὐτῆς, μήτε δι' εὐθείας ἐξυπτιάζοντος· ὡς μήτε κοῖλον ἀκριβῶς εἶναι δοκεῖν, μήτε ἐπίπεδον. Εἰ οὖν τοιαῦταί εἰσιν αἱ φιάλαι τοῦ λόγου, οὐκ ἐκ γηΐνης ὕλης δηλονότι συστήσονται, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ ἀρώματος αὐτῆς ἔσται ἡ φύσις ἐκείνου τοῦ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀρώματα, καθὼς ἐν προοιμίοις φησὶν ἡ Νύμφη. {Ὠριγένους.} Σιαγόνας Χριστοῦ τοὺς διακονουμένους λόγῳ Θεοῦ καὶ τροφῇ πνευματικῇ νοητέον, κ.τ.λ. Χείλη αὐτοῦ, κρίνα στάζοντα σμύρναν.","english":"If the Church is the body of Christ, each member of it would be his, each order of those in the Church; and first indeed the patriarchs, from whom Christ came according to the flesh, being likened, because of the strength of their faith, to a certain strong gold; for Cephas is interpreted as a rock. Then the apostles, calling them firs and dark ones, signifying their endurance of hardship; and the seven-eyed power of the Holy Spirit overseeing the Church is called his eyes; and the fullnesses of these waters are love; or that he may show the fullness of the bath of regeneration also in the whiteness of evil, the priests sitting upon the fullnesses of the Churches. 13. His cheeks are as bowls of spice, producing perfumes. Following the eyes, the cheeks are praised; whose work is to refine the divine Scripture; through which the strength of the body of the Church is preserved; so that all things are transparent and clear even to infants, and without any deceitful hollow. For this is what the bowl hints at; neither its shape being too deeply sunk, nor bulging out in a straight line; so that it seems neither exactly hollow nor flat. If, then, the bowls of the word are such, they will clearly not be composed of earthy matter, but the nature of that which is above all spices will be from its aroma, just as the Bride says in the prologue. The cheeks of Christ must be understood as those who minister by the word of God and spiritual food, etc. His lips, lilies dropping myrrh.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":141,"ref":"p141","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Ἐπαινεῖται μετὰ τὰς σιαγόνας τὰ χείλη, δι' ὧν ὁ λόγος ἀρωματίζων προέρχεται. Δύο δὲ κατὰ ταυτὸν μαρτυρεῖ ἀρετὰς τῷ λόγῳ διὰ τοῦ διπλοῦ ὑποδείγματος· ὧν μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια λαμπροτέρα τε καὶ φωτοειδὴς, ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις θεωρουμένη ὥσπερ κρίνον, ἑτέρων δὲ, τὸ μόνην τὴν νοητὴν καὶ ἄϋλον ζωὴν ὑπὸ τῆς διδασκαλίας προδείκνυσθαι, διὰ τῆς τῶν νοητῶν θεωρίας, ἀπονεκρουμένης τῆς κάτω ζωῆς, τῆς διὰ σαρκός τε καὶ αἵματος ἐνεργουμένης. Ἡ γὰρ ἀποῤῥέουσα τοῦ στόματος σμύρνα, καὶ τὴν δεχομένην πληροῦσα ψυχὴν, ἐμφαίνει τὴν τοῦ σώματος νέκρωσιν· ὁ τοίνυν τέλειος καὶ καθαρὸς ὀφθαλμὸς ὁ τὴν σιαγόνα φιάλην ποιῶν τὴν τὰ μύρα ἐξ ἑαυτῆς πηγάζουσαν, οὗτος ἀνθεῖ τὰ κρίνα τῶν λόγων διὰ τοῦ στόματος, τῶν τῇ θείᾳ κεκαλλωπισμένων λαμπρότητι· οὕτω γὰρ τοὺς δι' ἀρετῆς εὐποροῦντας ὀνομάζει ὁ λόγος· ἀφ' ὧν γίνεται ἡ τῆς σμύρνης σταγὼν, ἀνελλιπῶς πληροῦσα τὴν τῶν δεχομένων διάνοιαν·\n\nὅπερ ἐστὶν ἡ τῆς ὑλικῆς ὑπεροψία, διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἀγαθῶν ἐπιθυμίαν, ἀνενεργήτων τε καὶ νεκρῶν γενομένων. {Κυρίλλου.} Τὰ στάζοντα σμύρναν λέγει, τὰ ὁμολογοῦντα χείλη τὸν θάνατον. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Αὐτὸς μὲν οἷα κρίνον ἀκμάζει, ἡμῖν δὲ τὴν διὰ θανάτου πρὸς ζωὴν εἰσηγεῖται μετάθεσιν. ιδʹ. Χεῖρες αὐτοῦ τορευταὶ, χρυσαῖ, πεπληρωμέναι θαρσείσ. 1700 {Φίλωνος.} Τορευταὶ αἱ διατρηθεῖσαι χεῖρες· χρυσαῖ διὰ τὸ ἀναμάρτητον· πεπληρωμέναι τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν· Θαρσεὶς γὰρ ἐπιστροφὴ χαρᾶς.","english":"After the cheeks, the lips are praised, through which the word comes forth perfumed. And by the double example he bears witness to two virtues at once in the word: for the truth of some things is more brilliant and luminous, contemplated in what is said like a lily; and of others, that only the intelligible and immaterial life is shown forth beforehand by the teaching, through the contemplation of intelligible things, the lower life being put to death, the life that is worked out through flesh and blood. For the myrrh that flows from the mouth, and fills the soul that receives it, signifies the mortification of the body. Therefore the perfect and pure eye, the one that makes the cheek a bowl that fountains the myrrh from itself, this one blooms the lilies of the words through the mouth, of those adorned with divine splendor; for thus the word names those who are rich through virtue; from whom comes the drop of myrrh, filling without fail the mind of those who receive it—\n\nwhich is the contempt of material things, through the desire of the goods that lie above, when they have become inactive and dead. He means the lips that drip myrrh, the lips that confess death. He himself, like a lily, flourishes, but to us he introduces the transfer through death to life. 14. His hands are turned, golden, filled with tharsis. Turned: the hands that have been pierced through; golden: because of sinlessness; filled with the conversion of the nations; for Tharsis is a conversion of joy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":142,"ref":"p142","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Ὅτι μὲν ἀτελής ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἡ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ χάρις, τῆς τῶν χειρῶν ὑπουργίας διαζευγμένη, σαφῶς παρὰ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου μεμαθήκαμεν λέγοντος· Οὐ δύναται ὀφθαλμὸς εἰπεῖν τῇ χειρὶ, Χρείαν σου οὐκ ἔχω· Τότε γὰρ μάλιστα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἡ ἐνέργεια δείκνυται, ὅταν τὰ ἔργα μαρτυρεῖ τὴν ὀξυοπίαν τῷ ὄμματι, διὰ τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ καλὰ σπουδῆς τὴν ὁδηγίαν ἐπισημαίνοντα· οἷστισιν οὖν τὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς εἶδος ἐγκωμιάζεται, διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ταῖς χερσί· κεφαλὴν δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐνοήσαμεν, χρυσίον παρὰ τοῦ λόγου κατονομασθέντα, διὰ τὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας ἐκτὸς εἶναι· χρυσᾶς οὖν καὶ τὰς χεῖρας δι' ὧν τὸ καθαρόν τε καὶ ἀναμάρτητον, καὶ πάσης κακίας ἀμιγές τε καὶ ἀπαράδεκτον ἐμφαίνει. Χεῖρα δὲ νοοῦμεν πάντως, τὴν τὰ κοινὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας εἰς τὰς τῶν ἐντολῶν χεῖρας διαχειρίζουσαν· ἧς ἔπαινος τὸ ὁμοιωθῆναι τῇ τῆς κεφαλῆς φύσει κατὰ τὸ καθαρόν τε καὶ ἀναμάρτητον· καθαρὰ γίνεται ἡ χεὶρ ὅταν διὰ τῆς τορείας ἀποξύσηται τὸ ἐμποδίζον ἅπαν τῷ κάλλει· οἷον τὸ ἀνθρωπάρεσκον, τὸ φίλαυτον, τὸ φιλοκερδὲς, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια· τῆς δὲ Θαρσεὶς λέξεως, ποτὲ μὲν λαμβανομένης ἐπὶ κακοῦ, ὡς τό· \"Συντρίψει πλοῖα Θαρσείς·\" ποτὲ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ μεμακαρισμένου καὶ ἀγαθοῦ, ὡς τὸ ἐν Ἡσαΐᾳ [Ἰεζεκιὴλ] καὶ τό· \"Εἶδος αὐτοῦ, ὡς εἶδος Θαρσείς·\" τῇ τοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ κρείττονος ἐχρήσατο σημασίᾳ, δηλούσης τῆς λέξεως τὸ ἀχρωμάτιστον καὶ νοητὸν καὶ ἀσώματον.","english":"That the grace of the eye is incomplete in the body of the Church when separated from the service of the hands, we have clearly learned from the Apostle, who says: The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. For then especially is the activity of the eyes shown, when works bear witness to the sharpness of sight for the eye, signifying guidance through zeal for what is good. Therefore, for those whose form of the head is praised, through the same things the hands are praised too. And we have understood the head to be Christ, named gold by the Word, because he is outside all sin. So the hands are golden too, through which he shows forth what is pure and sinless, and unmixed with and unreceptive of every evil. And we understand the hand to be, in every way, that which administers the common affairs of the Church into the hands of the commandments; whose praise is to be likened to the nature of the head in purity and sinlessness. The hand becomes pure when, through carving, it scrapes away everything that hinders its beauty: such as people-pleasing, self-love, love of gain, and the like. And the word Tharseis, sometimes taken in a bad sense, as in: He will crush the ships of Tharseis; and sometimes in a blessed and good sense, as in Isaiah [Ezekiel] and in: His form, as the form of Tharseis; he has used it in the signification of the better, the word indicating what is colorless and intelligible and incorporeal.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":143,"ref":"p143","source":"Τότε οὖν γίνονται αἱ χεῖρες χρυσαῖ πλήρεις Θαρσεὶς, ὅταν ἀκριβῶς ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν πᾶν τὸ περιττὸν καὶ σωματοειδὲς ἀποτορεύσασαι ἐκ προαιρέσεως, πρὸς τὸ θεῖόν τε καὶ νοητὸν μεταβαίνουσι, τὴν ὑλώδη πᾶσαν καὶ βαρεῖαν περὶ τὰ πράγματα σχέσιν ἐκτιναξάμεναι. Κοιλία αὐτοῦ πυξίον ἐλεφάντινον, ἐπὶ λίθου σαπφείρου. {Γρηγορίου.} Κοιλία, τὸ διανοητικὸν καὶ λογιστικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐν ᾧ ἀποτίθεται καθαρῷ τε ὄντι καὶ λείῳ καὶ στίλβοντι· καθάπερ τὸ πυξίον τὸ ἐλεφάντινον· ὥστε τρανήν τε καὶ ἀσύγχυτον τὴν τῶν θείων λογίων ἐντυποῦσθαι Γραφήν. Ὁ οὐρανοειδὴς δὲ σάπφειρος, σύμβολον τοῦ τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν ταῦτα δεξαμένην τὰ μαθήματα τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖν, ὅπου τὸν θησαυρὸν ἐναποτίθεται· κἀκεῖ τὰς ὄψεις τῇ ἐλπίδι προσαναπαύειν· ὥστε μὴ κάμνειν ἐν τῇ προσοχῇ τῶν θείων παραγγελμάτων· τῆς οὐρανίας ἐλπίδος τὸ ὀπτικὸν τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ὀμμάτων ἀναπαυούσης· ὥσπερ φασὶ τὴν λίθον ταύτην διὰ τοῦ κυανέου χρώματος προσαναπαύειν τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν κάμνοντα. {Ὠριγένους.} Κοιλία ἐστὶ τοῦ λόγου, οἱ χωρητικοὶ τῶν μυστηρίων, κ.τ.λ. 1701 {Κυρίλλου.} Εἶεν δ' ἂν οὗτοι καὶ βάσεις· οἱ γὰρ οἰκοδομούμενοι ἐποικοδομοῦνται τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν. ιεʹ. Κνῆμαι αὐτοῦ, στύλοι μαρμάρινοι, τεθεμελιωμένοι ἐπὶ βάσεις χρυσᾶσ. Ἀκολούθως τὰς κνήμας μετὰ τὴν κοιλίαν ἐπαινεῖ, ἅς φησι στύλους εἶναι μαρμαρίνους τεθεμελιωμένους ἐπὶ βάσεις χρυσᾶς· στύλοι δὲ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, οἷον Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἳ θεμέλιον τὸν Χριστὸν χρυσὸν λεχθέντες· μαρμάρινοι δὲ, οὕσπερ εἶπε Παῦλος ἑδραίωμα·","english":"Then the hands become golden, full of Tarshish, when they have precisely chiseled away from themselves all that is superfluous and bodily by their own choice, and pass over to the divine and intelligible, shaking off all material and heavy attachment to things. His belly is a tablet of ivory, upon a stone of sapphire. {Of Gregory.} The belly is the thinking and reasoning part of the soul, in which the divine oracles are deposited, since it is pure and smooth and gleaming, like the ivory tablet, so that the writing of the divine oracles may be impressed upon it clearly and without confusion. The sapphire, which is like heaven, is a symbol that our heart, having received these teachings, sets its mind on things above, where it stores up its treasure, and there rests its eyes in hope, so as not to grow weary in attending to the divine commandments, since heavenly hope gives rest to the vision of the eyes of the soul, just as they say this stone, by its dark-blue color, gives rest to the weary eye. {Of Origen.} The belly of the Word are those who can contain the mysteries, etc. {Of Cyril.} These might also be the bases; for those who are built up are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. 15. His legs are marble pillars, founded upon golden bases. In sequence after the belly he praises the legs, which he says are marble pillars founded upon golden bases; and the pillars of the Church are, for instance, Peter and John, who are called golden because Christ is their foundation; and marble, which Paul called the ground:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":144,"ref":"p144","source":"διὰ τὸ ἑδραῖον καὶ ἀσάλευτον, καὶ τῷ λαμπρῷ βίῳ καὶ τῷ ὑγιαίνοντι λόγῳ τὸ κοινὸν σῶμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας βαστάζοντές τε· 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 χρυσοῦ θεμελίου τῆς κατὰ πίστιν βάσεως τὸ ἀκλινὲς καὶ\n\nἀμετάθετον· καὶ τῷ ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ πάγιον τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἐμποιοῦντος. ι ʹ. Εἶδος αὐτοῦ ὡς Λίβανος ἐκλεκτὸς, ὡς κέδροι· φάρυγξ αὐτοῦ γλυκασμὸς καὶ ὅλος ἐπιθυμία· οὗτος ἀδελφιδός μου, καὶ οὗτος πλησίον μου θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλήμ. {Γρηγορίου.} Μετὰ τοὺς κατὰ τὸ μέρος ἐπαίνους, καθάπερ κεφαλαιουμένη ὅλον τοῦ Νυμφίου τὸ κάλλος, ταῦτά φησι· δηλοῦσα, ὡς οἶμαι, ὅτι περὶ τὸ βλεπόμενον κάλλος τοῦ Νυμφίου ἐστὶν ὁ ἔπαινος· ἐκεῖνό φημι τὸ βλεπόμενον· ὃ διὰ τὸν καθ' ἕκαστον μελῶν τῶν συμπληρούντων τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν σωματοποιεῖ ὁ Ἀπόστολος. Ἓν γὰρ εἶδος αὑτοῦ, φησὶν εἶναι τὰς μυριάδας τῶν κέδρων, αἷς διείληπται πανταχόθεν ὁ Λίβανος· δηλοῦσα διὰ τῶν λεγομένων ὅτι οὐδὲν ταπεινὸν καὶ χαμαίζηλον συντελεῖ πρὸς τὴν εὐμορφίαν τοῦ σώματος, ἐὰν μή τι κατὰ τὴν κέδρον ὑψηλὸν ᾖ καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἄνω τῇ ἀρετῇ ἐπειγόμενον. Ὁ Λίβανος δὲ ὄρος ἐστὶ περιφανές τε καὶ λάσιον· καὶ ἐπειδὴ πολλάκις καὶ ὁ διάβολος Λίβανος ὀνομάζεται, καὶ κέδροι οἱ δαίμονες, ὡς τό·","english":"Because of their steadfastness and immovability, and by their radiant life and sound doctrine, they bear the common body of the Church; and to love God with the whole heart and one's neighbor as oneself is, as it were, through marble columns, to bear the common body of the Church. For the one who has been 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, as if supported by certain legs of the golden foundation of the faith-based foundation, is kept unswerving and unchangeable; and he who is firm in every good thing produces this in their thoughts. 10. His appearance is like Lebanon, chosen, like cedars; his throat is sweetness, and he is wholly desirable; this is my beloved, and this is my neighbor, daughters of Jerusalem. {Of Gregory.} After the praises in detail, as if summing up the whole beauty of the Bridegroom, she says these things, indicating, as I think, that the praise concerns the visible beauty of the Bridegroom—that visible beauty, I mean, which the Apostle embodies through each of the members who make up the Church. For he says that his one appearance is the myriads of cedars with which Lebanon is everywhere interspersed; indicating by these words that nothing lowly and earthly contributes to the beauty of the body, unless it be something lofty like the cedar and hastening upward by virtue. And Lebanon is a conspicuous and wooded mountain; and since the devil too is often called Lebanon, and the cedars demons, as in the passage:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":145,"ref":"p145","source":"\"Καὶ συντρίψει Κύριος τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου·\" νῦν ἡ Νύμφη τῷ ἐκλεκτῷ Λιβάνῳ τὸ εἶδος τοῦ Νυμφίου παρείκασεν, ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον ἐκλαμβάνουσα τὴν ὀνομασίαν· ὡς ἐν τῷ, \"Δίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει, ὡσεὶ κέδρος ἡ ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ πληθυνθήσεται.\" Διὰ τί δέ ποτε μὲν ἐπὶ καλοῦ λαμβάνεται ὁ Λίβανος ἅμα τοῖς κέδροις, ποτὲ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐναντίου; Ἐπειδὴ πέφυκε παρυφίστασθαι τῇ ἀρετῇ ἡ κακία, καὶ ἐξομοιοῦσθαι αὐτῇ· ὅθεν καὶ, Ὡς Λίβανος ἐκλεκτὸς, φησίν· ἐκλογὴ δὲ πάντως διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἐναντίου παραθέσεως γίνεται· διὸ ὁμώνυμόν ἐστι τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἐπί τε τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος τοιοῦτον, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄντος μὲν, ὑποκρινομένου δὲ δι' ἀπάτης καὶ δοκοῦντος εἶναι ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν. Ὁ μὴ διαμαρτάνων τοίνυν τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσεως, τὸ ἐξειλεγμένον ἀγαθὸν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἠπατημένου προσείλετο. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ σῶμα Χριστοῦ διὰ τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον πληροῦται μελῶν, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ μέλη ἓν σῶμα γίνεται κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, τούτου χάριν ὅλον τοῦ Νυμφίου τὸ κάλλος τὸν ἐκλεκτὸν ὠνόμασε Λίβανον, τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀπόβλητον διαφορὰν τῷ ἐκλεκτῷ διαστείλασα· ἐπειδὴ δὲ κηρία μέλιτος οἱ καλοί εἰσι λόγοι, ἡ δὲ τῆς φωνῆς γέννησις ἐκ τοῦ φάρυγγος, ἐν ᾧ τὸ πνεῦμα προσπῖπτον ἐκ τῆς ἀρτηρίας ἠχεῖ· ἔοικε δὲ διὰ ταύτης τοὺς ὑπηρέτας τοῦ λόγου δηλοῦν, ἐν οἷς λαλεῖ ὁ Θεὸς, τὸ μέλι, τὸ λεῖον διὰ τοῦ φάρυγγος τοῦ ἰδίου πηγάζοντας· χαρακτηρίσασα δὲ δι' ὧν ἠδύνατο τὸν ποθούμενον, τότε δεικτικῶς, Οὗτός ἐστι, φησὶν, ὃς διὰ τοῦ ἀδελφὸς γενέσθαι ἐξ Ἰούδα ἡμῖν ἀνατείλας πλησίον ἐγένετο. ιζʹ. Ποῦ ἀπῆλθεν ὁ ἀδελφιδός σου, ἡ καλὴ ἐν γυναιξί; ποῦ ἀπέβλεψεν ὁ ἀδελφιδός σου;","english":"And the Lord will shatter the cedars of Lebanon. Now the Bride has likened the form of the Bridegroom to the chosen Lebanon, taking the name in a better sense; as in the verse, The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and like a cedar in Lebanon shall he be multiplied. But why is Lebanon sometimes taken in a good sense together with the cedars, and sometimes in the opposite sense? Because evil naturally stands beside virtue and is made to resemble it; whence also it says, As a chosen Lebanon; and choice surely comes about through the juxtaposition of its opposite; therefore the good is homonymous, both in the case of that which truly is such, and in the case of that which exists but is counterfeited through deceit and seems to be what it is not. The one, then, who does not err in the judgment of the beautiful has chosen the good that is chosen out, instead of the one that is deceived. Since, therefore, the body of Christ is filled up through the individual members, and the many members become one body according to the Apostle, for this reason he called the whole beauty of the Bridegroom the chosen Lebanon, having marked out by the chosen the difference from the rejected; and since the honeycombs of honey are the good words, and the generation of the voice is from the throat, in which the spirit falling in from the windpipe resounds; and through this he seems to indicate the servants of the word, in whom God speaks, pouring forth the honey, that which is smooth, through their own throat; and having characterized the Beloved by the means he could, then he says demonstratively, This is he who, by becoming a brother from Judah, rose for us and came near. 17. Where has your brother gone, you fair among women? Where has your brother looked?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":146,"ref":"p146","source":"καὶ ζητήσομεν αὐτὸν μετὰ σοῦ. {Γρηγορίου.} Πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τοῦ, τί ἐστιν, ἐποιήσαντο τὸν λόγον αἱ παρθένοι ψυχαὶ, ὅπερ ἐδιδάχθησαν δι' ὧν αὐτὸν ὑπέγραψε. Διὸ ἀρτίως περὶ τοῦ ποῦ πυνθάνονται, ἵνα ὅπου μέν ἐστι μαθοῦσαι, προσκυνήσωσιν εἰς τὸν τόπον οὗ ἔστησαν οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ· ὅπου δὲ ἀπέβλεψεν, οὕτως ἑαυτὰς στήσωσιν, ὥστε καὶ αὐταῖς ἐποφθῆναι τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, οὗ ἡ ἐπιφάνεια σωτηρία τῶν ἐποφθέντων γίνεται· καθηγεῖται τοίνυν αὐτῶν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ζητουμένου κατάληψιν· καθάπερ Φίλιππός ποτε τῷ Ναθαναὴλ, \"Ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε·\" ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἴδε, τὸν τόπον ὑποδεικνύουσα ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ὁ ζητούμενος, καὶ ὅπου βλέπει. {Νείλου.} Ἔπεισεν αὐτὰς ἐξηγουμένη τὸ κάλλος τοῦ Νυμφίου, καὶ διέθηκεν ὡς ἐβούλετο· ὅθεν καὶ τῷ λόγῳ συνεψηφίσαντο τῷ τῆς Νύμφης ἔρωτι, καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις βεβαιοῦσι τὸν πόθον· καὶ τῇ ἐρώσῃ συμπάσχουσαι, καὶ ἐρωτικὸν παθοῦσαί τι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς διηγήσεως. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ ὄντως καλὰ, καὶ ὁρώμενα χειροῦται πρὸς πόθον, καὶ ἀκουόμενα ἐφέλκεται πρὸς διάθεσιν· διὸ καὶ ζητεῖν αὐτὸν μετ' αὐτῆς λοιπὸν σπουδάζουσιν. {Ἀπολλιναρίου.} Πανταχῆ μὲν πάρεστιν ὁ Νυμφίος Λόγος· πρὸς δὲ τὸ ἐπιτήδειον ποιεῖται τὰς ἐνεργείας, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ πρότερον, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ τὸ ὅλον τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡ παρουσία, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις· ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν διὰ τῶν συμβόλων δείκνυσιν αὐτὸν διατρίβοντα· τὸν καιρὸν αἰνιξαμένη καθ' ὃν ἔφη πατάσσεσθαι, καὶ τραυματίζεσθαι, καὶ τὴν περιβολὴν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι. ΚΕΦΑΛ. ʹ.","english":"And we will seek him with you. {From Gregory.} First the virgin souls discoursed on what he is, which they were taught by the things he inscribed. Therefore now they inquire where he is, so that having learned where he is, they may worship toward the place where his feet stood; and where he looked, they may station themselves so that his glory may also be seen by them—his appearing being the salvation of those who behold it. She therefore leads them on to the apprehension of the one sought, just as Philip once did to Nathanael: \"Come and see\"—instead of, See, she points out the place in which the one sought is, and where he looks. {From Nilus.} By expounding the beauty of the Bridegroom she persuaded them, and disposed them as she wished; whence they too have joined their vote to the Bride's love, and by their deeds confirm their longing; and suffering together with the loving woman, and having themselves experienced something of love toward him from the narrative. For such are the things that are truly beautiful: when seen they captivate toward longing, and when heard they draw toward affection; therefore they now hasten to seek him with her. {From Apollinarius.} Everywhere the Bridegroom Word is present; but he performs his activities in relation to what is fitting, as formerly in Israel, and now in the Church the whole presence of the Savior, and especially in the saints. Here, then, through the symbols she shows him dwelling; having hinted at the time in which he said he was struck and wounded and stripped of his garment. Chapter 10.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":147,"ref":"p147","source":"αʹ. Ἀδελφιδός μου κατέβη εἰς κῆπον αὐτοῦ· εἰς φιάλας τοῦ ἀρώματος ποιμαίνει ἐν κήποις, συλλέγειν κρίνα. {Γρηγορίου.} Αὕτη μὲν ἡ σημαντικὴ τοῦ λόγου πρὸς τὰς νεάνιδάς ἐστιν ὁδηγία· δι' ὧν μανθάνουσι καὶ ὅπου ἐστὶ, καὶ ὅπου βλέπει· διὰ τούτων δὲ τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν μυστήριον μανθάνομεν. Ἀδελφιδὸς γὰρ παρ' αὐτῆς ὀνομάζεται, διὰ τὸ ἀδελφιδοὺς ὑπάρχειν τῶν τε ἐξ ἐθνῶν λαῶν, καὶ τῶν ἐξ Ἰουδαίων· τὸ δὲ κατέβη διὰ τὸν ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἱεριχὼ καταβάντα, καὶ γενόμενον ἐν λῃσταῖς. Κατέβη γὰρ ἐκ τῆς ἀφράστου μακαριότητος φανερωθὲν ἐν σαρκὶ, τοῦ ποιῆσαι πάλιν κῆπον τὴν ἔρημον, τῇ τῶν ἀρετῶν φυτείᾳ καλλωπιζόμενον. Ἀναφυτεύει γὰρ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ γεώργιον ὁ ἀληθινὸς γεωργὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν αὐτοῦ γεώργιον· αἱ δὲ τοῦ ἀρώματος φιάλαι, ἐν μὲν τῇ τοῦ κάλλους ὑπογραφῇ πρὸς τὸ τῶν σιαγόνων ἐγκώμιον παρελήφθησαν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τόπος εἶναι τοῦ Νυμφίου καὶ ἐνδιαίτημα παρὰ τοῦ Λόγου μηνύεται· τοῦτο μανθανόντων ἡμῶν, ὅτι οὔτε ἐν ἑρήμῳ τῶν ἀρετῶν ψυχῇ ὁ Νυμφίος λόγος αὐλίζεται· ἀλλ' εἴ τις φιάλη ἀρώματος γένοιτο φύουσα μυρεψικὰ, ὁ τοιοῦτος κρατὴρ τῆς σοφίας γενόμενος, δέχεται ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν θεῖον ἀκήρατον οἶνον· δι' ὧν γίνεται τῷ δεξαμένῳ εὐφροσύνη. Νομὴν δὲ νέμεται τοῦ Νυμφίου τὸ ποίμνιον, οὐκ ἐν ἐρήμοις ἀκάνθας, οὐδὲ πόαν χορτώδη, τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῶν κήπων ἀρώματά τε καὶ κρίνα, ἅτινά ἐστιν ὅσα σεμνὰ, ὅσα δίκαια, ὅσα προσφιλῆ, ὅσα εὔφημα· εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος· ἅπερ εἰς τροφὴν αὐτῆς ὁ καλὸς συλλέγει ποιμήν·","english":"1. My beloved has gone down to his garden; he shepherds among the gardens into bowls of aromatic spice, to gather lilies. {From Gregory.} This is the significant guidance of the word to the young women, through which they learn both where he is and where he looks; and through these things we learn the gospel mystery. For she calls him \"my beloved\" because he is the beloved of both the peoples from the Gentiles and those from the Jews; and \"he has gone down\" refers to the one who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers. For he went down from the ineffable blessedness, revealed in the flesh, to make the desert a garden again, adorned with the planting of virtues. For the true husbandman replants his own field—we, the human race. For we are his field; and the bowls of aromatic spice, in the description of beauty, were introduced for the praise of the cheeks; but here the Word indicates that this is the place and dwelling of the Bridegroom, as we learn that the Bridegroom Word does not lodge in a soul that is a desert of virtues; but if anyone becomes a bowl of aromatic spice, growing perfumer's plants, such a one, having become a mixing bowl of wisdom, receives within himself the divine undefiled wine, through which joy comes to the one who receives it. And the Bridegroom's flock grazes not on thorns in the deserts, nor on grassy herbage, but on the aromatics and lilies from the gardens—which are all things that are honorable, all things that are just, all things that are lovely, all things that are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise—these the good Shepherd gathers for its food.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":148,"ref":"p148","source":"τὰ μὲν γὰρ κρίνα τοῦ λαμπροῦ καὶ καθαροῦ τῆς διανοίας αἴνιγμα γίνεται, ἡ διὰ τῶν ἀρωμάτων εὔπνοια, τοῦ πάσης ἁμαρτιῶν δυσωδίας ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν. {Νείλου.} Ὅσην μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ λέξει ζηλοτυπίαν ἔχει τὸ ῥητόν· διακρούεται γὰρ τὰς μετ' αὐτὴν ζητεῖν βουλομένας, ἀπεληλυθέναι λέγουσα αὐτὸν, ὅπου δυσχερὲς ἢ ἀδύνατον ἐκείνας καταβῆναι· ἡ δὲ διάνοια δηλοῖ, ὅτι καταβέβηκεν ὁ Νυμφίος εἰς κῆπον οἰστικὸν λαχάνων, ἅ ἐστι ἀσθενῶν τροφὴ καὶ ὀλιγοπίστων ἔδεσμα· τάχα οὐκ ἂν καταβὰς, εἰ παράδεισος ὁ κῆπος ἐτύγχανεν ὤν. Εἰσέρχεται γὰρ εἰς τὰ τελειότερα· ὡς ἐπιπέδοις ὁμαλῶς ἐπιβαίνων τοῖς ἰσοτίμοις· καταβαίνει δὲ εἰς τὰ ὑποδεέστερα, τὴν τῆς συγκαταβάσεως οἰκονομίαν ὀνομάζων κατάβασιν· καὶ τοῦ ποιμαίνειν δὲ ἐν κήποις τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ποιμαινομένους συγκατάβασιν δηλοῖ· οὐ δυνηθέντας προβῆναι δι' ἀσθένειαν τοῖς ὄρεσι τῆς φυσικῆς καὶ ἀρχαίας εὐδιαγώγου νομῆς, πρὶν ὁ ποιμὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς καταβῇ· ἐκεῖ διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν γενόμενος, ὅπου αὐτοὶ κατέπεσον δι' ἀμέλειαν· ποιμαίνων δὲ τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους, ἐν τοῖς τῆς συγκαταβάσεως κήποις, εἴπου εὕρῃ κρίνα ἀνθεῖν ἀρξαμένους τὸ τῆς ἐπὶ Θεὸν πεποιθήσεως ἄνθος· καὶ τὴν μέριμναν τῆς σωματικῆς ἀνάγκης ἐπιῤῥίψαντα ἐπ' αὐτόν. Συλλέγει δὲ ταῦτα μεταφυτεύων ἐν ἐπιτηδειοτέρῳ τόπῳ πάντως καὶ τάγματι· κρίνων γὰρ ἐπιτήδειον τούτοις τὴν ἐν κήποις διαγωγήν· ἵνα μὴ καὶ τοῦ ἔθνους ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἕλκοντος κατάστασιν, καὶ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς τοιούτους πολλῆς κοινωνίας ἐρεθιζούσης πρὸς ζῆλον μιμήσεως ἐπὶ τὴν παλαιὰν κατενεχθῶσι συνήθειαν. 1708 {Φίλωνος.} Κατέβη πρὸς τὰς ἐν ᾄδου τῶν δικαίων ψυχάς·","english":"For the lilies are a riddle of the bright and pure quality of the mind, and the fragrance through the spices means to be estranged from every foul odor of sins. {From Nilus.} How great a jealousy the literal text has for its wording! For it drives away those who wish to seek after him, saying that he has gone away where it is difficult or impossible for them to descend. But the meaning shows that the Bridegroom has gone down into a garden that bears vegetables, which are the food of the weak and the fare of the little-faithful; perhaps he would not have gone down, if the garden happened to be a paradise. For he enters into the more perfect things, as one who walks evenly on level ground among those of equal honor; but he goes down to the inferior things, naming the economy of condescension a \"descent.\" And \"to shepherd among the gardens\" shows his condescension toward those who are shepherded—those who were unable to advance, through weakness, to the mountains of the natural and ancient easy-going pasture, until the shepherd should go down to them, having come there through love for humanity, where they themselves fell through negligence—shepherding the weaker in the gardens of condescension, wherever he may find lilies beginning to bloom, the flower of trust in God, and casting the care of bodily necessity upon him. And he gathers these, transplanting them into a more suitable place and rank altogether; for he judges the sojourn in gardens suitable for them, lest, while the nation draws them back to the ancient condition, and much fellowship with such people provokes them to a zeal of imitation, they be brought down to the old custom. {From Philo.} He went down to the souls of the righteous in Hades.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":149,"ref":"p149","source":"φιάλαι γὰρ αὗται τοῦ ἀρώματος· πρῶτον γὰρ οἱ πατριάρχαι τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ἔπνευσαν πίστιν· καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τὰς κατὰ τόπον ἐκκλησίας ποιμαίνειν· συλλέγειν δὲ κρίνα τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας, ἢ τὸν λόγον τῆς ὁμολογίας αὐτῶν. βʹ. Ἐγὼ τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου· ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ ὁ ποιμαίνων ἐν τοῖς κρίνοισ. {Γρηγορίου.} Κανὼν καὶ ὅρος τῆς κατ' ἀρετὴν τελειότητός ἐστιν οὗτος. Μανθάνομεν γὰρ διὰ τούτων τὸ μὴ δεῖν πλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ μηδὲν ἔχειν, μηδὲ πρὸς ἄλλο τι βλέπειν τὴν κεκαθαρμένην ψυχὴν, ἀλλ' οὕτως ἑαυτὴν ἐκκαθᾶραι παντὸς ὑλικοῦ πράγματός τε καὶ νοήματος, ὡς ὅλην δι' ὅλου μετατεθεῖσαν πρὸς τὸν νοητόν τε καὶ ἄϋλον, ἐναργεστάτην εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀρχετύπου κάλλους ἑαυτὴν ἀπεργάσασθαι. Λέγει οὖν τὴν φωνὴν ταύτην ἡ Νύμφη τὸ προαιρετικόν τε καὶ ἔμψυχον κάτοπτρον· ὅτι Ἐπειδὴ ὅλῳ τῷ κύκλῳ ἐγὼ τὸ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ πρόσωπον βλέπω, διὰ τοῦ ὅλον τῆς ἐκείνου μορφῆς\n\nτὸ κάλλος ἐν ἐμοὶ καθορᾶσθαι· οἷος ἦν Παῦλος ὁ εἰπών· \"Ἐμοὶ τὸ ζῇν Χριστός.\" Οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν ὑλικῶν καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων μαθημάτων ἐν αὐτῷ ζῇ, οὐ λύπη, οὐ θυμὸς, οὐ φόβος, οὐ δειλία, οὐ τύφος, οὐ θράσος, οὐ φιλοδοξία, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν τὴν ψυχὴν διά τινος σχέσεως κηλιδούντων· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνός μοι μόνος ἐστὶν, ὃς οὐδὲν τούτων ἐστὶν, ἀλλ' ἢ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ ἀφθαρσία, καὶ φῶς, καὶ ἀλήθεια, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, ὅσα ποιμαίνει ψυχὴν, οὐκ ἐν χόρτοις ἢ φρυγάνοις, ἀλλ' ἐν ταῖς λαμπρότησι τῶν ἁγίων. Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ ὑελίνου σκεύους, οἷον ἂν ᾖ τὸ ἐμβαλλόμενον, διαφανὲς γίνεται· οὕτω τρέφεται μὲν ψυχὴ τοῖς κρίνοις, εἴτ' οὖν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς·","english":"For these are bowls of fragrance; for first the patriarchs breathed forth faith in Christ, and after the resurrection, to shepherd the churches in each place; and to gather lilies—the good men, or the word of their confession. 2. I am my beloved's; my beloved is mine, who shepherds among the lilies. {From Gregory.} This is the canon and boundary of perfection according to virtue. For through these things we learn that the purified soul must have nothing except God, nor look to anything else, but so cleanse itself of every material thing and thought as to be wholly and entirely transferred to the intelligible and immaterial, and to render itself the most vivid image of the archetypal beauty. The Bride, then—the deliberate and living mirror—utters this voice: that since with my whole circle I behold the face of my beloved, through the whole of his form the beauty is seen in me; such a one was Paul who said, \"For to me to live is Christ.\" For none of the material and human disciplines lives in him—not grief, not anger, not fear, not cowardice, not vanity, not rashness, not love of glory, nor anything else of the things that stain the soul through some disposition; but he alone is mine, who is none of these things, but rather sanctification and incorruption, and light, and truth, and such things as shepherd a soul, not in meadows or enclosures, but in the splendors of the saints. And just as in the case of a glass vessel, whatever is put into it becomes transparent, so the soul is nourished by the lilies—that is, by the virtues.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":150,"ref":"p150","source":"ὧν ὁ τῆς ἀγαθῆς πολιτείας ἐμφορηθεὶς, ἐπίδηλον ποιεῖ διὰ τοῦ βίου ἑκάστης ἀρετῆς τὸ εἶδος, διὰ τοῦ ἤθους ἐπιδεικνύμενος. {Νείλου.} Ὅτι ζηλοτύπως ἡ λέξις ἐσχημάτισται· ἵνα γὰρ μὴ νομίσωσι κοινὸν εἶναι πασῶν, καὶ οὔπω τέως ἀξίων τὸν πρὸς τῶν τοιούτων ἔρωτα, μόνην μόνῳ ἑαυτῷ ἀνατίθησι. Πῶς δὲ νῦν ἐν κρίνοις ποιμαίνει; ποιμαίνων ἐν κήποις πρότερον ἢ πάντων προκοψάντων τῶν ποιμαινομένων. Ὥσπερ \"τὸ σῶμα, οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ,\" οὕτω καὶ ἡ Νύμφη τῷ Κυρίῳ· καὶ ἔμπαλιν· εἰ δέ τι ἄνθος ὡραῖον ἐν ἀνθρωπίναις ψυχαῖς, ἐκεῖνο συλλέγων ὡς ἄξιον τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ποιμέσι ποιμαντικῆς. {Φίλωνος.} Ἤγουν ἐγὼ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῷ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμοὶ τὸν μισθόν. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Ὡς ἂν μή τις νομίσῃ διεστάναι τὸν κῆπον αὐτῆς, καὶ τὴν ἐκεῖ τοῦ Νυμφίου διατριβὴν, δείκνυσιν ἑαυτὴν εἶναι τὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ νεμομένην· καὶ αὐτὴν εἶναι τὰ κρίνα. Ταῦτα εἰπούσης, ὁ Νυμ φίος ἐπιφαίνεται, ἐγκώμιά τε λέγων αὐτῆς, καὶ τὸ εὐδοκεῖν ἐν αὐτῇ, κατὰ τὸ \"Ἐγὼ τοὺς ἐμὲ φιλοῦντας ἀγαπῶ.\" {Κυρίλλου.} Ἐγὼ αὐτῷ τὴν πίστιν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμοὶ τὴν βασιλείαν· ποιμαίνει δὲ ἐν τῇ καθαρότητι τῶν Γραφῶν καὶ τῶν ἁγίων δογμάτων. γʹ. Καλὴ εἶ ἡ πλησίον μου, ὡς εὐδοκία· ὡραία, ὡς Ἱερουσαλήμ· θάμβος, ὡς τεταγμέναι. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἀναθεῖσα ἑαυτὴν τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ, καὶ δεξαμένη τοῦ ἀγαπηθέντος τὸ κάλλος ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ μορφῇ, οἵων ἀξιοῦται παρ' αὐτοῦ; Τί δέ ἐστιν ὅ φησιν, ἐνδείκνυται ὁ λόγος τὸ διὰ τῆς κατορθουμένης ἀνόδου μέχρις ἐκείνου τὴν ψυχὴν ὑψωθῆναι, ὡς πρὸς τὰ τοῦ Δεσπότου θαύματα ἑαυτὴν ἀποκλῖναι.","english":"Having been filled with these things of good conduct, he makes evident through his life the form of each virtue, displaying it through his character. {Of Nilus.} The phrase has been shaped with zeal; for lest they should think it common to all, and not yet worthy of the love of such things, he assigns it to one alone, to himself alone. But how does he now shepherd among the lilies? Shepherding in gardens previously, before all the shepherded had advanced. Just as \"the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord,\" so also the Bride is for the Lord; and conversely: if there is any beautiful flower in human souls, gathering that as worthy for his own shepherds of pastoral care. {Of Philo.} That is, I give him the works, and he gives me the reward. {Of Apollinaris.} So that no one should think that her garden is separated from the Bridegroom's dwelling there, she shows that she herself is the one pastured by him, and that she herself is the lilies. When she had said these things, the Bridegroom appears, speaking praises of her and his good pleasure in her, according to \"I love those who love me.\" {Of Cyril.} I give him faith, and he gives me the kingdom; and he shepherds in the purity of the Scriptures and of the holy doctrines. 3. You are beautiful, my neighbor, as good pleasure; comely, as Jerusalem; a wonder, as ordered ranks. {Of Gregory.} Having dedicated herself to the beloved, and having received the beauty of the loved one in her own form, of what things is she deemed worthy by him? And what is it that he says? The word shows that through the accomplished ascent the soul is lifted up to that point, so as to incline herself to the wonders of the Master.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":151,"ref":"p151","source":"Εἰ γὰρ ὁ ἐν κόλποις τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡμῶν ἐνηνθρώπησεν εὐδοκίας, ἵνα γένηται ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, δηλονότι τὸ κάλλος ἑαυτῆς πρὸς τὴν εὐδοκίαν ὁμοιώσασα τὴν αὐτοῦ, Χριστὸν μιμουμένη τοῖς κατορθώμασι, γίνεται τοῖς ἄλλοις ὅπερ ὁ Χριστὸς τῇ ἀνθρώπων γέγονε φύσει. Καὶ λέγεται Ἱερουσαλὴμ πόλις τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ εἰς οἴκησιν καὶ περίπατον· χωρήσασα τὸν ἀχώρητον, καὶ τῇ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος ὡραιότητι καλλωπιζομένη, καὶ πάντα εὐσχημόνως καὶ κατὰ τάξιν ποιοῦσα κατὰ μίμησιν τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων, αἵ τινες ὑπὸ Θεοῦ εἰσι τεταγμέναι, μηδὲ μιᾶς κακίας ἀνατρεπούσης αὐτῶν τὴν εὐταξίαν· ὡς κοινῶν ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς τὸ θαῦμα καὶ τὴν ἔκπληξιν. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἑρμηνεύει τὸ θάμβος τοιοῦτον· οἷον ἐν ταῖς τεταγμέναις ἐστίν. {Ὠριγένους.} Ὅσον πλησίον γίνεται τοῦ Νυμφίου, κ.τ.λ. δʹ. Ἀπόστρεψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου ἀπεναντίον μου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἀνεπτέρωσάν με. {Γρηγορίου.} Τινὲς μὲν παρὰ τοῦ Δεσπότου πρὸς τὴν καθαρὰν ταῦτα εἰρῆσθαι ψυχὴν λέγουσιν, ἐγὼ παρὰ τῆς Νύμφης τοῦτο οἶμαι εἰρῆσθαι. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἀποῤῥήτως τῇ Γραφῇ πτέρυγας εἶναι περὶ τὴν θείαν εἴρηται φύσιν, κατὰ τὸ ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου σκεπάσεις με· καὶ διεὶς τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτοῦ ἐδέξατο αὐτούς· ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐγένετο κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ καὶ ὁμοίωσιν· πτερωτὴν συμβαίνει λέγεσθαι καὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὴν φύσιν, ἐν ᾧ τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα ἐφυλάττετο. Ἀπεγύμνωσε δὲ αὐτὸν τῶν τοιούτων πτερῶν ἡ κακία δυνάμεώς τε, φημὶ, καὶ μακαριότητος, καὶ ἀφθαρσίας τούτων νοουμένων· ἀλλ' ἐπεφάνη ὁ Χριστὸς ἵνα δι' ὁσιότητος καὶ δικαιοσύνης αὖθις πτεροφυήσωμεν·","english":"For if the one who is in the bosom of the Father became man for the sake of our good pleasure, so that peace might come upon the earth, it is clear that she, having likened her own beauty to his good pleasure and imitating Christ through her right actions, becomes for others what Christ has become for human nature. And she is called Jerusalem, the city of the great God, for a dwelling and a walking-place: having contained the uncontainable, and being adorned with the beauty of the one who dwells in her, and doing all things decently and in order in imitation of the powers above, which have been appointed by God, with no single vice overturning their good order—so that on her own she holds the wonder and the astonishment as things shared. For this is what the amazement means: such a thing as exists among the ordered ranks. {Of Origen.} As much as she draws near to the Bridegroom, etc. 4. Turn your eyes away from me, for they have given me wings. {Of Gregory.} Some say that these things were spoken by the Master to the pure soul, but I think that this was spoken by the Bride. For since ineffably the Scripture has said that there are wings about the divine nature, according to the verse, In the shadow of your wings you will cover me; and, spreading out his wings, he received them; and man came to be according to the image and likeness of God—it follows that the nature of man too is said to be winged, in whom the according-to-the-image was preserved. But wickedness stripped him of such wings—of power, I mean, and blessedness, and incorruption, these being understood. But Christ appeared so that through holiness and righteousness we might again grow wings.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":152,"ref":"p152","source":"ὁμοῦ τε γὰρ φιλανθρώποις ἡμᾶς οἶδεν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν φύσιν ἀνεπτερώθημεν. Ὅταν οὖν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἐπιβλέπωσιν, ἀποστρέφονται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐναντίου· οὐ γὰρ ὄψονταί τι ἐν ἐμοὶ τῶν ἐναντιουμένων τῷ πτέρυγας περιστερᾶς ἀναλαβεῖν διὰ τῶν\n\nἀρετῶν, καὶ πετασθῆναι καὶ καταπαῦσαι. 1712 {Ὠριγένους.} Ἡ Ἐκκλησία τῇ ὡραιότητι, κ.τ.λ. {Νείλου.} Πολλὴν τῆς Νύμφης παῤῥησίαν δηλοῖ, ἐκ τοῦ ἐνατενίζειν ἀδεῶς τῷ Νυμφίῳ. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Λόγος ἐστὶν ὁ Νυμφίος, ἀναπτεροῦται καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖον οὗτος ἀναβαίνει πρὸς ὕψος θεωρίας χωρῶν, ὅταν εὕρῃ θεωρητικὴν ψυχὴν, τῇ νοήσει παρακολουθῆσαι δυναμένην, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, ἀναιδῶς πᾶσιν ἐνατενίζειν τοῖς θεωρουμένοις. Ἀλλὰ παραινῶν κηδεμονικῶς, μὴ ἀτενὲς ἔχειν πάντοτε τὸ τοιοῦτον ὄμμα· καί ποτε δὲ ἀποστρέφειν αὐτὸ καὶ καμμύειν· ἵνα μὴ πολὺ πτερωθέντος τοῦ ἀτενιζομένου ἀτενίσῃ πρὸς τὴν συνανάβασιν καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἐφιεμένη· καὶ πρὸς τὰ λοιπὰ νοήματα, ἀμβλυωπέστερα γένηται. {Φίλωνος.} Ἤγουν τὰς ἐμὰς ὁδοὺς οἱ μεταστραφέντες τηρείτωσαν ὀφθαλμοί· τὸν σὸν γάρ μοι τοῦτο πόθον ἐργάζεται. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἀπὸ τῶν ἀπειθούντων σοι τοὺς σοὺς ἀπόστρεψον ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ κλῖνον· αὐτοὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, τὴν ἀγάπην ἐξήγειράν σε. εʹ. Τρίχωμά σου ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν αἰγῶν, αἳ ἀνέβησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Γαλαάδ· ὀδόντες σου, ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν κεκαρμένων αἳ ἀνέβησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ λουτροῦ· αἱ πᾶσαι διδυμεύουσαι, καὶ ἀτεκνοῦσα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖσ. {Γρηγορίου.} Μόναι τοῦ σώματος αἱ τρίχες ἀμοιροῦσιν αἰσθήσεως· ἃς γυναιξὶν εἶναι κόσμον εἶπεν ὁ Παῦλος, ὡραϊζούσας τὴν κεφαλήν.","english":"For at the same time God knows us with eyes of loving-kindness, and according to our ancient nature we have taken wing. When, then, your eyes look upon me, they are turned away from the adversary; for they will see nothing in me of the things that oppose the taking up of dove's wings through the\n\nvirtues, and flying and coming to rest. 1712 {Of Origen.} The Church, by her beauty, etc. {Of Nilus.} He shows the great boldness of the Bride, from her gazing fearlessly upon the Bridegroom. But if the Word is the Bridegroom, he himself takes wing and rises further to the height of contemplation, going forward whenever he finds a contemplative soul able to follow with the understanding, so to speak, to gaze shamelessly upon all things contemplated. But he exhorts with fatherly care that such an eye should not always be fixed intently; but that sometimes one should turn it away and close it; lest, when the contemplated object has been much winged, it gaze intently toward the ascent together and, desiring things beyond nature, it become dimmer of sight also toward the remaining thoughts. {Of Philo.} That is, let the eyes that have been turned back keep my ways; for this works in me your longing. {Of Cyril.} From those who disobey you turn away your eyes, and incline them to me; for these, he says, stirred up your love. 5. Your hair is like flocks of goats that have come up from Gilead; your teeth are like flocks of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing; all of them bear twins, and none is barren among them. {Of Gregory.} The hairs of the body alone are devoid of sensation; which Paul said are an ornament to women, adorning the head.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":153,"ref":"p153","source":"Διδάσκει τοίνυν ὅτι χρὴ τοὺς περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς Νύμφης θεωρουμένους, δι' ὧν ἡ Ἐκκλησία δοξάζεται, κρείττους τῶν αἰσθήσεων εἶναι· κρύπτοντας διὰ τῆς σοφίας τὴν αἴσθησιν κατὰ τὴν Παροιμίαν· \"Ὅτι σοφοὶ κρύπτουσιν αἴσθησιν·\" οἷς οὐχ ὅρασις τοῦ καλοῦ κριτήριον γίνεται, οὐ γεύσει τὸ ἀγαθὸν δοκιμάζεται, οὐκ ὀσφρήσει, οὐχ ἁφῇ· νεκρώσαντες γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰς αἰσθήσεις, ἐφάπτονται διὰ μόνης τῆς ψυχῆς τῶν κατ' ἔννοιαν ἀγαθῶν ὀρεγόμενοι· καὶ οὕτω δοξάζουσι γυναῖκα τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, οὔτε τιμαῖς διογκούμενοι, οὔτε μικροψυχίαις πρὸς τὰ λυπηρὰ συστελλόμενοι, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ πείρᾳ τῶν τριχῶν ἀναισθησίαν ὑποκρινόμενοι. Εἴληφε δὲ τὰς αἶγας εἰς παραβολὴν, ἢ διὰ τὸ φύσει δασὺ, ἢ ὅτι τῶν ἄκρων ἐπιβαῖνον τὸ ζῶον, οὐ περιολισθαίνει ταῖς πέτραις· ὅπερ τοῖς τὴν τραχεῖαν τῶν ἀρετῶν ὁδὸν κατορθοῦσι, προσφυῶς ἁρμόζεται· ἢ διὰ τὸ πρὸς πολλὰ τῆς νομικῆς ἱερουργίας παρειλῆφθαι συντελεῖν πρὸς ἐγκώμιον τῇ κεφαλῇ· κἀν ταῖς Παροιμίαις δὲ ἐν τοῖς τέσσαρσι τοῖς ἐνοδουμένοις, ὁ τράγος ἠρίθμηται, τοῦ αἰπολίου ἡγούμενος. Λεκτέον οὖν ὥσπερ εὑρεθὲν ἐπιτήδευμα, διὰ πολλῶν τῶν ἐφεξῆς διατρέχον, ἐπὶ τὸν εὑρετὴν ἀναφέρεται· ὡς ἐπὶ τὸν Θοβὲλ ἡ χαλκευτικὴ, καὶ ἡ ποιμαντικὴ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄβελ, καὶ ἡ γεωργικὴ ἐπὶ τὸν Κάϊν, καὶ ἡ ἀμπελουργικὴ ἐπὶ τὸν Νῶε· οὕτως ἐπειδὴ τοῦ θείου ζήλου διαφερόντως Ἠλίας καθηγήσατο, ὅσοι μετ' ἐκεῖνον τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ἴχνεσιν ἐπηκολούθησαν, τὸν ἐκείνου μιμησάμενοι βίον, αἰπόλιον γεγόνασι τοῦ ἡγησαμένου τῆς τοιαύτης ζωῆς·","english":"He teaches, then, that those who are seen around the head of the Bride, through whom the Church is glorified, must be superior to the senses, hiding the senses through wisdom, according to Proverbs: \"For the wise hide sense\"; for whom neither sight is the criterion of the beautiful, nor is the good tested by taste, nor by smell, nor by touch. For having put to death, he says, the senses, they touch through the soul alone, reaching out after the good things perceived by thought; and thus they glorify the Church as a woman, neither puffed up by honors, nor contracted by small-mindedness toward sorrowful things, but in the experience of the hairs feigning insensibility. He has taken the goats as a parable, either because of their naturally shaggy nature, or because the animal, treading upon the heights, does not slip off the rocks—which is fittingly applied to those who successfully traverse the rough road of virtues—or because being taken up in many things of the legal priesthood contributes to the praise of the head; and in Proverbs also, among the four that walk well, the he-goat is numbered, leading the flock. One must say, then, that just as a discovered practice, running through many things in succession, is referred back to the discoverer—as bronze-working to Tubal, and shepherding to Abel, and farming to Cain, and vine-dressing to Noah—so, since Elijah especially led the way in divine zeal, as many as followed in his footsteps after him, imitating his life, have become a flock of the one who led such a life.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":154,"ref":"p154","source":"οἵ τινες δόξα καὶ ἔπαινος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας γίνονται, εἰς τὸν τῶν τριχῶν καταγέντες κόσμον, ὃν ἡ αἰσθητικὴ ζωὴ κεχώρισταί τε καὶ ἠλλοτρίωται· διὰ δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ τοὺς τρέφοντας τὸ σῶμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὀδόντας ἐπαινεῖ, οὓς εἶναι βούλεται διὰ παντὸς, ὡς ἀπὸ λουτροῦ καθαροὺς, καὶ τὰς τρίχας ἔχειν ἀπερίττους ὡς ἀπὸ προσφάτου κουρᾶς· καὶ κατὰ τὸν τόκον τῶν ἀρετῶν διδυμεύοντας, τῆς διπλῆς καθαρότητος γίνεσθαι πατέρας· τῆς τε κατὰ ψυχὴν καὶ τῆς κατὰ σῶμα θεωρουμένης· καὶ μηδὲν ἔχει ἀγονοῦν ἐν τῷ κρείττονι. {Ὠριγένους.} Εἴρηται δεύτερον ταῦτα τῇ Νύμφῃ, κ.τ.λ. ʹ. Ὡς σπαρτίον κόκκινον χείλη σου· καὶ ἡ λαλιά σου ὡραία· ὡς λέπυρον τῆς ῥόας, μῆλόν σου· ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου. {Γρηγορίου.} Μέτρου ὄνομα τὸ σπαρτίον· τὴν μὲν οὖν μεμετρημένην τοῦ λόγου διακονίαν δηλοῖ, ἢν ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς φυλακὴν καὶ θύραν περιοχῆς ὠνόμασε· τότε δὲ μάλιστα τυγχάνει τοῦ μέτρου ὁ λόγος, ὅταν τῷ τοῦ Σωτῆρος περικέχρηται αἵματι· ὁ τοίνυν λαλοῦντα ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν Χριστὸν, αὐτὸς ἔχει τὸ σχοινίον ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος τὸ γεωμετρικὸν, τῷ τοῦ λυτρωτοῦ καλλωπιζόμενον αἵματι· λαλιὰν δὲ ὡραίαν ὀνομάζει τὸ σπαρτίον τὸ κόκκινον, δι' οὗ πάλιν σημαίνει τὸ καθαρὸν καὶ ἔμμετρον· τὸ γὰρ ἀκριβῶς ὡραῖον ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ καιρῷ","english":"These become the glory and praise of the Church, having descended into the adornment of the hairs, from which the sensory life has been separated and estranged; and through these same things he also praises the teeth that nourish the body of the Church, which he wishes to be always clean as from a bath, and to have the hairs without excess as from a fresh shearing; and, in the bearing of the virtues, doubling, to become fathers of a double purity—that which is contemplated according to the soul and that according to the body—and to have nothing barren in the better part. {Of Origen.} These things are said a second time to the Bride, etc. 9. Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your speech is beautiful; your cheek is like the rind of a pomegranate, apart from your silence. {Of Gregory.} The cord is the name of a measure; it signifies the measured ministry of the word, which the psalmist called the guard and door of enclosure; and the word especially attains its measure when it has been furnished with the blood of the Savior. Therefore the one who has Christ speaking within himself has the geometrical cord upon his body, adorned with the blood of the Redeemer; and he calls the scarlet cord beautiful speech, through which again he signifies what is pure and measured; for that which is precisely beautiful in its own season","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":155,"ref":"p155","source":"τῆς ἀκμῆς προσφερόμενον, οὔτε ἄωρόν ἐστιν, οὔτε ἐξέωρον· τῷ δὲ λεπύρῳ τῆς ῥόας τὸ μῆλον τῆς παρειᾶς ὡραΐζων, μεγάλην τινὰ προσμαρτυρεῖ τῇ Νύμφῃ τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τελειότητα· σημαίνει γὰρ μὴ ἐν ἄλλῳ τινὶ τὸν θησαυρὸν αὐτῇ παρασκευάσθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτὴν εἶναι θησαυρὸν ἑαυτῆς, παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ παρασκευὴν ἐν ἑαυτῇ περιέχουσαν. Ὡς γὰρ τῷ λεπύρῳ περιέχεται τῆς ῥόας τὸ ἐδώδιμον, οὕτως ἐνδείκνυται τῷ φαινομένῳ κάλλει τοῦ βίου, τὸν ἔνδον αὐτῆς θησαυρὸν περιέχεσθαι. Οὗτος οὖν ἐστιν ὁ κρυπτὸς θησαυρὸς τῶν ἐλπίδων, ὁ ἴδιος καρπὸς τῆς ψυχῆς, τῷ ἐναρέτῳ βίῳ καθάπερ τινὶ ῥόας λεπύρῳ κρατούμενος· τὸ δὲ ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐκ τῶν φαινομένων τοσοῦτόν ἐστι ὅσα τῷ λόγῳ μηνύεται, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ὅσα τῇ σιωπῇ ἀποκρύπτεται, τὴν τοῦ λόγου διαφεύγοντα μήνυσιν· ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ ἐκτὸς τοῦ λόγου σιωπὴ νοεῖται, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἐκτὸς σιωπήσεως, τὸν λόγον νοήσεις. Ἐκεῖνο γὰρ σιωπῶμεν ὃ διὰ τῶν λόγων ἐξαγγέλλειν ἀδυνατοῦμεν· φησὶν οὖν ὅτι καλὰ μὲν καὶ μεγάλα τῷ λόγῳ φανῆναι δυνάμενα ὃ ἐκτός ἐστι τῆς σιωπήσεως· τὰ δὲ τοῦ λόγου ἐκτὸς τὰ τῇ σιωπῇ καλυπτόμενα, τὰ ἄῤῥητά τε καὶ ἀνεκφώνητα, μείζω πάντως καὶ θαυμασιώτερα τῶν ἐκφαινουμένων ἐστίν. ζʹ, ηʹ. Ἑξήκοντά εἰσι βασίλισσαι, καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα παλλακαὶ, καὶ νεάνιδες ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός. Μία ἐστὶ περιστερά μου τελεία μου· μία ἐστὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς· ἐκλεκτή ἐστι τῇ τεκούσῃ αὐτήν· εἴδοσαν αὐτὴν θυγατέρες, καὶ μακαριοῦσι· βασίλισσαι καὶ παλλακαὶ, καὶ αἰνέσουσιν αὐτήν.","english":"Being offered in its prime, it is neither unseasonable nor out of season; and by adorning the apple of the cheek with the husk of the pomegranate, he testifies to a great perfection in good things in the Bride; for he signifies that the treasure has not been prepared for her in something else, but that she herself is a treasure to herself, containing in herself the provision of every good thing. For just as the edible part is contained by the husk of the pomegranate, so it is shown that by the visible beauty of her life the treasure within her is contained. This, then, is the hidden treasure of hopes, the soul's own fruit, held fast by the virtuous life as by a kind of pomegranate husk; and what is outside your silence is of this sort, that the praise is not so much from things that appear as is made known by word, but rather as much as is hidden by silence, escaping the declaration of word. For just as what is outside word is understood as silence, so also what is outside silence you will understand as word. For we are silent about that which we are unable to proclaim through words. He says, then, that those things which can appear by word are beautiful and great—that is what is outside silence; but the things outside word, the things covered by silence, the ineffable and unutterable, are altogether greater and more wonderful than those that are revealed. 7, 8. There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and maidens without number. One is my dove, my perfect one; one is she to her mother; she is chosen to her who bore her. The daughters saw her and will call her blessed; queens and concubines, and they will praise her.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":156,"ref":"p156","source":"{Γρηγορίου.} Δόγμα ἐστὶ τῶν ἀστειοτέρων ἐν τοῖς ῥητοῖς τούτοις, φιλοσοφίαν διὰ τῶν ἐπαίνων τῆς Νύμφης παρατίθεται· ὅτι οὐ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς τάξεως καὶ ἀκολουθίας κτίζεται τὰ ὄντα καὶ ἀνακτίζεται. Ὅτε μὲν γὰρ κατ' ἀρχὰς διὰ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως παρήχθη ἡ κτίσις, ἐφ' ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων ἀδιαστάτως τῇ ἀρχῇ συναπηρτίσθη τὸ πέρας· πᾶσι τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγενομένοις, ὁμοῦ τῇ ἀρχῇ συνανισχούσης τῆς τελειότητος· ἓν δὲ τῶν κτισθέντων καὶ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ὑπάρξεως συμπλασθεῖσα τῇ τελειότητι. Κατ' εἰκόνα γὰρ Θεοῦ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὁμοίωσιν· δεικνύντος τοῦ λόγου τὸ ἀκρότατον καὶ τελειότατον· τί γὰρ ὑπέρτερον τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμοιότητος; ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς πρώτης κτίσεως ἀδιαστάτως τῇ ἀρχῇ συνανεφάνη τὸ πέρας, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τελειότητος ἡ φύσις τοῦ εἶναι ἤρξατο, ἐπεὶ δὲ διὰ κακίας θανάτῳ παρεδόθη, οὐκ ἀθρόαν πάλιν ἐπαναλαμβάνει τὴν τελειότητα, ἀλλ' ὁδῷ τινὶ καὶ τάξει πρόεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον, κατ' ὀλίγον ἀποσκευαζομένη τὴν πρὸς τὰ ἐναντία προσπάθειαν, δι' ἀστειοτέρας διαγωγῆς περιξυομένη τὴν συμφυΐαν τοῦ χείρονος· ὅθεν καὶ πολλὰς μονὰς εἶναι παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ μεμαθήκαμεν, κατὰ ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἑκάστῳ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν σχέσεως καὶ τῆς τοῦ χείρονος ἀποστάσεως, ἑτοιμαζομένης πᾶσι τῆς ἀντιδόσεως. Ὁ μὲν γάρ τις ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς τοῦ βελτίονός ἐστι βιώσεως· ἄρτι καθάπερ ἐκ βυθοῦ τινος τοῦ κατὰ κακίαν βίου, πρὸς τὴν μετουσίαν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀνανηξάμενος· τῷ δέ τις γέγονεν ἤδη δι' ἐπιμελείας καὶ προσθήκη τοῦ κρείττονος· ἄλλος ἐπὶ πλεῖον διὰ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπηυξήθη·","english":"{From Gregory.} This is a doctrine of the more elegant sort in these words; he sets forth philosophy through the praises of the Bride: that things which exist are not created and re-created with the same order and sequence. For when in the beginning creation was brought forth by divine power, in the case of each existing thing the end was joined inseparably to the beginning; for all things that came to be out of non-being into being, perfection shone forth together with the beginning at once; and one of the things created, human nature too, was fashioned together with perfection from its first existence. For man was made in the image and likeness of God, the word showing the highest and most perfect; for what is higher than likeness to God? In the first creation, then, the end appeared inseparably together with the beginning, and the nature began to be from perfection; but when through wickedness it was handed over to death, it does not again recover perfection all at once, but advances toward the greater by a certain way and order, gradually stripping off its attachment to things contrary, scraping away the inborn union with the worse through a more refined manner of life; whence we have learned that there are many mansions with the Father, in proportion to each one's relation to the good and his departure from the worse, the recompense being prepared for all. For one man is at the beginning of a better life, having just now, as it were, swum up from some deep of the life of wickedness toward participation in the truth; for another there has already come, through diligence, an addition of the better; another has been increased further through desire for good things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":157,"ref":"p157","source":"ὁ δὲ μέσως ἔχει τῆς τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἀναβάσεως· ἕτερος καὶ τὸ μήπου παρέδραμεν. Εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἱ καὶ τούτων ὑπεράραντες· ἄλλοι κἀκείνους παρήλασαν· καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτους ἕτεροι πρὸς τὸν ἄνω δρόμον συντείνονται· καὶ ὅλως κατὰ τὴν ποικίλην τῶν προαιρέσεων διαφορὰν ἕκαστον ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ προσδέχεται τάγματι, τὰς οἰκείας ἑκάστῳ ἀμοιβὰς ἀποδιδούς. Ταῦτα διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ῥητῶν φιλοσοφεῖν τὸν λόγον ὑπενοήσαμεν, τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν ψυχῶν, οἳ πρὸς τὸν Νυμφίον ὁρῶσιν, ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἡμῖν διαστείλαντα· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄρτι καθάπερ νηδύος τινὸς, τῆς ἐν βάθει κειμένης ἀπάτης ἔξω γινόμενοι, ἀρτιγενεῖς ὄντες, καὶ οὔπω διηρθρωμένον τὸν λόγον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς χωρήσαντα, τῇ ἀλογωτέρᾳ συγκαταθέσει τῆς πίστεως ἐν ἀπείρῳ θεωροῦντες πλήθει· σωτηρίον μὲν εἶναι πεπιστευκότες τοῦ μυστηρίου τὸν λόγον· οὐ μὴν ἐπιστήμῃ τινὶ καὶ τῇ διὰ τοῦ λόγου πληροφορίᾳ καθυδριμένην ἔχοντες ἐν\n\nἑαυτοῖς τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Αὗταί εἰσιν αἱ ὀνομασθεῖσαι νεάνιδες, διὰ τὸ ἔτι νέαν ἄγειν τὴν πνευματικὴν ἡλικίαν· αἱ γεννηθεῖσαι μὲν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς πίστεως, οὔπω δὲ διὰ τῆς προσηκούσης αὐξήσεως τοιαῦται γεγόνασιν ὡς ἐπὶ γάμον ἀκμὴν προελθεῖν, καὶ φθᾶσαι εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον γαμικῆς ἡλικίας, ὥστε τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Κυρίου δύνασθαι κυοφορῆσαι, καὶ Πνεῦμα σωτηρίας παιδοποιήσασθαι. Πλὴν καὶ οὗτοι τῶν σωζομένων· τῶν δὲ διὰ τῆς καθηκούσης ἐπιμελείας αὐξηθέντων τῇ διανοίᾳ, καὶ καταλελοιπότων ἤδη τὴν νηπιότητα, διπλῆν ὑπὸ τοῦ Λόγου τὴν διαφορὰν διδασκόμεθα. Γίνονται μὲν γὰρ αἱ ψυχαὶ σύσσωμοι τῷ Λόγῳ, καὶ αὗται κἀκεῖναι·","english":"But the one who is in the middle of the ascent of lofty things is another, and he has not yet run past. And there are some who have surpassed even these; others have passed by those as well; and others beyond these strain toward the upward course; and in general, according to the varied difference of their choices, God receives each one in his own rank, rendering to each his proper recompense. These things we supposed the discourse to philosophize through the aforementioned utterances, having set forth in what we have said the difference of the souls who look toward the Bridegroom. For some, just now coming out, as it were, from some womb of deception lying in the depths, being newly born, and not yet having received the word distinctly articulated within themselves, behold in an infinite multitude by the more irrational assent of faith—having believed that the word of the mystery is salvific, yet not possessing the truth within themselves established by any knowledge and by the full assurance that comes through reason. These are the ones named maidens, because they still lead a young spiritual age; begotten indeed by the word of faith, but not yet through the fitting growth having become such as to come forth to the prime of marriage, and to reach a perfect man, to the measure of the marriageable age, so as to be able by the fear of the Lord to conceive and to beget children of the Spirit of salvation. Nevertheless even these are among those being saved. But of those who have grown in understanding through the fitting care, and have already left infancy behind, we are taught by the Word a twofold difference. For the souls become consubstantial with the Word, both these and those;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":158,"ref":"p158","source":"ἀλλ' αἱ μὲν ἐρωτικαὶ, τινὶ διαθέσει προσκολλῶνται· αἵ τινες διὰ τῆς τελειοτέρας διαθέσεως ἀνακραθεῖσαι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθαρότητι, βασίλισσαι ὀνομάζονται, διὰ τὴν τῆς βασιλείας κοινωνίαν· οἷα ἦν ἡ τοῦ Δαβὶδ λέγουσα· \"Ἐμοὶ δὲ τῷ προσκολλᾶσθαι τῷ Θεῷ ἀγαθόν ἐστι·\" καὶ ἡ τοῦ Παύλου· \"Οὐδεὶς ἡμᾶς χωρήσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ.\" Αἱ δὲ φόβῳ κολάσεως τὰς μοιχικὰς ἀποφεύγουσαι πείρας, μένουσαι καὶ αὖται ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ, ἀλλὰ φόβῳ μᾶλλον ἢ πόθῳ παιδαγωγούμεναι, αἵ τινες παλλακαὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου κατονομάζονται· οὔπω γάρ τις αὐτῶν μήτηρ βασιλέως, καὶ κοινωνὸς τῆς ἀξίας δυνατῶς ἔχει· διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀναλαβέσθαι τὸ ἀδέσποτον καὶ αὐτοκρατὲς τοῦ ἐναρέτου φρονήματος· ἡ δὲ κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν διαφορὰ τῆς τῶν δύο ταγμάτων διαστολῆς, τοιοῦτόν μοι δοκεῖ νοῦν ἔχειν. {Γρηγορίου.} Ἕξ εἰσιν ἐντολαὶ δι' ὧν ἡ βασιλεία τοῖς δεξιοῖς ὀνομάζεται. Λογισώμεθα τούτων ἑκάστην, τὸ δεσποτικὸν εἶναι τάλαντον· προσήκει δεκαπλασιασθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ πιστοῦ οἰκέτου παρὰ τῆς ἐργασίας. Εἰ τοίνυν διὰ τῶν ἓξ τούτων ἐντολῶν, ἢ τῆς βασιλείας γίνεται κοινωνία τῇ ψυχῇ, τὸ δὲ τέλειον τῆς ἐργασίας ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἐστὶ, τὸ δεκαπλασιάσαι τὴν ἐντολὴν, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀγαθὸς δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος, ὅτι ἴδε δέκα τάλαντα τὸ ἕν σου τάλαντον ἐποίησεν, εὑρίσκομεν ἐκ τοῦ ἀκολούθου τὴν μίαν βασίλισσαν εἰς ἐξήκοντα πλατυνομένην· τὴν διὰ τοῦ δεκαπλασιασμοῦ τῶν ἑξήκοντα ἐντολῶν εἰς κοινωνίαν τῆς βασιλείας παραδεχθεῖσαν· ὡς πολλὰς εἶναι τὴν μίαν, τῷ πολυτρόπῳ χαρακτῆρι τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐμμερισθεῖσαν, καὶ ἑκάστῳ τῶν κατορθωμάτων ἰδιαζόντως ἐμμορφωθεῖσαν·","english":"But the erotic ones cleave to him by a certain disposition; and these, having been mingled through the more perfect disposition with the purity of God, are called queens, because of their communion with the kingdom; such was the one of David who said, \"But for me, to cleave to God is good;\" and the one of Paul: \"No one will separate us from the love of Christ.\" But those who by fear of punishment flee adulterous experiences, remaining themselves also in incorruption and sanctification, but being disciplined by fear rather than by longing, these are named concubines by the word; for not yet is any of them a mother of a king, and able to be a partaker of the dignity; because they have not taken up the masterless and self-ruling character of virtuous thought; but the difference in number of the distinction of the two orders seems to me to have this meaning. {Of Gregory.} There are six commandments through which the kingdom is named for those on the right. Let us reckon each of these, that the master's talent is; it is fitting that it be multiplied tenfold by the faithful servant through his labor. If, then, through these six commandments communion with the kingdom comes to the soul, and the perfection of the work in each is to multiply the commandment tenfold, just as that good servant says, \"Behold, your one talent has made ten talents,\" we find from what follows the one queen broadened into sixty; the one received into communion of the kingdom through the tenfold multiplication of the sixty commandments; so that the one is many, having been divided by the manifold character of the commandments, and having been formed individually in each of the right actions.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":159,"ref":"p159","source":"ἀκολούθως καὶ διὰ τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα, τὸ τῆς ὀγδόης μυστήριον παραδηλοῦσθαί φαμεν· πρὸς ἣν βλέποντες οἱ φόβῳ παιδαγωγούμενοι, τῆς τῶν κακῶν κοινωνίας ἀπείργονται. Οὕτω γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ψαλμῳδίαις ἐμάθομεν, ἐν αἷς προτέτακται διὰ τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς ἡ ὀγδόη. Μαστιγουμένων γὰρ ἄντικρυς αἱ φωναὶ τῷ φόβῳ τῶν ἐλπιζομένων εἰς ἔλαιον ἐπικάμπτουσαι τὴν ἀκοήν· φησὶ γὰρ πρὸς τὸν κριτὴν ὁ πρὸς τὴν ὀγδόην βλέπων· \"Κύριε, μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξῃς με, μηδὲ τῇ ὀργῇ σου παιδεύσῃς με· ἐλέησον με, Κύριε, ὅτι ἀσθενής εἰμι·\" ἔσται τοίνυν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἀναλόγως τῆς ἐντολῆς, ἡ ἐπὶ τὸ δεκαπλάσιον αὔξησις, γενόμεναι ὀγδοήκοντα παλλακαὶ, τὴν δευτέραν τάξιν ἔχουσαι μετὰ τὴν βασίλισσαν· αἳ φόβῳ δουλικῷ καὶ οὐχὶ ἔρωτι νυμφικῷ τῷ ἀγαθῷ προσεγγίζουσι. Πλὴν εἰ ἔξω βάλλει τελείως ἡ ἀγάπη τὸν φόβον, καὶ μεταποιηθεὶς ὁ φόβος ἀγάπη γένοιτο, τότε εὑρίσκεται μονὰς τὸ σωζόμενον, ἐν τῇ πρὸς τὸν μόνον ἀγαθὸν συμφυΐᾳ· πάντων ἀλλήλοις ἑνωθέντων, διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν περιστερὰν τελειότητος· ἵνα καθώς φησιν ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις· \"Ἓν ὦσι, καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν ἐσμεν·\" τὸ δὲ συνδετικὸν τῆς ἑνότητος ταύτης τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· ὁ τοίνυν ἐκ μὲν νηπίου εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον ἀναδραμὼν διὰ τῆς αὐξήσεως, καὶ φθάσας εἰς τὸ μέτρον τῆς νοητῆς ἡλικίας, ἐκ δὲ τῆς δούλης τε καὶ παλλακίδος τὴν τῆς βασιλικῆς ἀξίαν μεταλαβὼν, δεκτικὸς δὲ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος δόξης γενόμενος δι' εὐπαθείας καὶ καθαρότητος, οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ τελεία περιστερά. Μητέρα δὲ αὐτοῦ λέγει εἶναι τὴν περιστερὰν ἐκείνην, τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταπτᾶσαν·","english":"Correspondingly, we say that through the eighty the mystery of the eighth is also indicated; looking to this, those who are trained by fear are kept away from communion with evils. For so we have learned in the psalmody, in which the eighth is placed first through the inscription. For the voices of those being scourged, bending the hearing to oil through fear of the things hoped for, say plainly to the judge—the one who looks to the eighth: \"O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath; have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.\" There will therefore be, also in this matter, in proportion to the commandment, the increase to tenfold, there having become eighty concubines, holding the second rank after the queen; who approach the good by servile fear and not by bridal love. Except if love casts out fear completely, and fear, being transformed, becomes love, then the saved one is found to be a unity, in the coalescence with the only good; all things having been united to one another through the perfection according to the dove; so that, as he says in the Gospels, \"they may be one, as we are one.\" And the unifying bond of this unity is the Holy Spirit. Therefore the one who has run up from infant to perfect man through growth, and has reached the measure of the spiritual stature, and from slave and concubine has received the worth of the royal, and has become receptive of the glory of the Spirit through good disposition and purity—this one is the perfect dove. And he says that his mother is that dove which flew down from heaven at the Jordan.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":160,"ref":"p160","source":"τῷ γὰρ τέκνῳ πάντως, ἡ τοῦ γεγεννηκότος ἐπιθεωρεῖται φύσις· ταύτην τὴν ψυχὴν μακαριοῦσιν οἱ νεάνιδες· ταύτην αἰνοῦσι παλλακαὶ καὶ βασίλισσαι· κοινὸς γὰρ ἐπὶ\n\nπαντὸς τάγματος πάσαις ψυχαῖς ὁ δρόμος, πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην μακαριότητα· φύσις δέ ἐστι πᾶσι πρὸς τὸ μακάριόν τε καὶ ἐπαινουμένοις τῆς ἐπιθυμίας συντείνεσθαι· ὥστε εἰ μακαρίζουσι τὴν περιστερὰν αἱ θυγατέρες, ἐπιθυμοῦσι πάντως γενέσθαι περιστεραὶ καὶ αὗται· καὶ τὸ αἰνεῖσθαι παρὰ τῶν παλλακίδων καὶ βασιλίδων, τεκμήριόν ἐστι τοῦ καὶ αὐτὰς πρὸς τὸν ἐπαινούμενον τὴν σπουδὴν ἔχειν· ἕως ἂν πάντων ἓν γενομένων τῶν πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας βλεπόντων σκοπὸν, μηδὲ μιᾶς ἐν μηδενὶ κακίας ὑπολειφθείσης, γένηται ὁ Θεὸς τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς διὰ τῆς ἑνότητος ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ κοινωνίᾳ συγκεκραμένοις. {Νείλου.} Ἑξήκοντα βασίλισσαι, τάχα τοὺς ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ λέγει. Βασίλειον γὰρ ἦσάν ποτε ἱεράτευμα καὶ ἔθνος ἅγιον· ὀγδοήκοντα δὲ παλλακὰς, τὰς διὰ μὲν τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως μυστήριον τῇ ὀγδόῃ δεκάδι ἀριθμουμένας· διὰ δὲ τὸ μὴ γνησίαν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχειν συζυγίαν, τῷ τῶν παλλακίδων ὀνόματι σημαινομένας αἱρέσεις. Νεάνιδας δὲ, ἃς οὔτε ἀριθμοῦ ἠξίωσε, τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἀπηλλοτριωμένα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ξένα τῶν διαθηκῶν τοῦ πατρός· οὐ γὰρ διὰ πλῆθος αὐτὰς ὁ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἄστρων ἀριθμῶν οὐκ ἠρίθμησεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἀνάξιον τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἀξιοῖ ἀριθμεῖν, ὅσα τὴν τάξιν ἐλλόγιμον ἔχει καὶ ἀξιόπιστον·","english":"For in the child, the nature of the one who begot it is entirely observed. This soul the maidens will call blessed; this soul the concubines and queens praise. For the course toward such blessedness is common to all souls in every rank. And it is nature for all to strain their desire toward what is blessed and praiseworthy, so that if the daughters call the dove blessed, they surely desire to become doves themselves; and to be praised by the concubines and queens is a proof that they too have zeal toward the one who is praised, until, when all who look toward the same goal of desire have become one, and not even one trace of evil is left in anyone, God becomes all in all in those who through unity are mingled in the communion of the good. {Of Nilus.} Sixty queens: perhaps he means those in Judaism. For they were once a royal priesthood and a holy nation. And eighty concubines: those numbered by the decade of eight on account of the mystery of the resurrection, but signified by the name of concubines because they do not have a genuine union with him—the heresies. And maidens: those whom he did not deem worthy of number—the nations alienated from God and strangers to the covenants of the father. For he who numbers the multitude of the stars did not fail to number them because of their multitude, but because they were unworthy of number. For he deems worthy of numbering as many as have an order that is reasonable and trustworthy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":161,"ref":"p161","source":"μίαν δὲ περιστερὰν λέγει τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἥ τις διὰ τὸ κεκοιμῆσθαι ἀνὰ μέσων τῶν κλήρων, περιστερὰ γέγονε τελεία, τὰς πτέρυγας ἔχουσα περιηργυρωμένας, καὶ τὰ μετάφρενα ἐν χλωρότητι χρυσίου· διὰ τὸ τέλειον τῆς κατ' ἀρετὴν ἕξεως ὁμοιωθεῖσα τῷ ἐν οὐρανοῖς τελείῳ Πατρὶ, καὶ ἐκλεκτὴν οὖσαν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς, τῇ ἐν τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας δόγμασιν αὐτὴν τεκούσῃ σοφίᾳ ἣν νῦν μὲν εἴδοσαν θυγατέρες βασίλισσαι καὶ παλλακαὶ, οὐκ ἐνόησαν δὲ, οὐδὲ συνῆκαν τὸ περὶ αὐτὴν οἰκονομηθὲν μυστήριον· αἰνέσουσι δὲ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἀνταποδόσεως· ἐξιωμένην τὴν πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν συνάφειαν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ, ἐπὶ τοῦ παρελθόντος· τὸ δὲ μακαριοῦσι καὶ αἰνέσουσι ἐπὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος. {Φίλωνος.} Ἢ ἑξήκοντα βασίλισσαι, τὰς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα φυλῶν ταῖς πέντε καθαρευούσαις αἰσθήσεσι ψυχάς. Περιστερὰ δὲ ἡ ἄκακος Ἐκκλησία Χριστοῦ· τῇ δὲ μητρὶ αὐτῆς ἐστι μία τῇ ἐπ' οὐρανίῳ σοφίᾳ, τῇ σαρκὶ Χριστοῦ ἐκλεκτῇ οὔσῃ, ἐν τῷ ἀναγεννᾶσθαι αὐτήν· ἣν αἱ θυγατέρες μακαριοῦσι· \"Πολλοὶ γὰρ προφῆται καὶ βασιλεῖς ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἃ ἴδετε, καὶ οὐκ εἶδον.\" {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Καὶ ἄλλως· τὸ τελειότατον αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ πρὸς Θεὸν οἰκειώσει δηλοῦται, παραβαλλομένης τῆς τελείας Ἐκκλησίας τοῖς τε ἐκ τῆς προτέρας κλήσεως ἐπιφανεστάτοις, καὶ τοῖς νῦν δευτέροις μετ' αὐτήν. Κοσμικὴ δὲ ἡ τοῦ προτέρου λαοῦ κλῆσις, καὶ τῇ ἑξάδι σύστοιχος τῇ κοσμογόνῳ· ἡγεμονικὴ δὲ αὕτη καὶ ἡ ἐπὶ βασιλείᾳ κειμένη·","english":"He calls the Church one dove, which because it has slept among the lots has become a perfect dove, having its wings silvered over and its back in the greenness of gold; because of the perfection of its disposition in virtue it has been made like the perfect Father in the heavens, and is chosen by its mother, the wisdom that bore it in the doctrines of truth, which now the king's daughters and concubines saw but did not understand, nor comprehend the mystery dispensed concerning it; but they will praise it in the time of recompense, when the union with Christ is attained. For the one belongs to the past; but the other—they will call it blessed and praise it—belongs to the future. {Of Philo.} Or, the sixty queens are the souls from the twelve tribes together with the five pure senses. And the dove is the guileless Church of Christ; and it is one with its mother, the heavenly wisdom, which is chosen in the flesh of Christ, in its being born again; which the daughters will call blessed: \"For many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it.\" {Of Apollinaris.} And otherwise: its most perfect state is made clear in its intimacy with God, when the perfect Church is compared both with the most illustrious of the former calling and with those now second after it. And the calling of the former people is worldly, and paired with the six, the world-begotten number; but this one is governing and set for kingship.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":162,"ref":"p162","source":"τηρεῖται δὲ τῷ γένει τῷ Ἰσραηλιτικῷ τὸ βασιλικὸν ἀξίωμα παρὰ Χριστοῦ κατὰ τὰς προφητείας, τὸν τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἐπαγγελλομένας θρόνον, καὶ τὸν τούτου κατορθωτὴν Χριστὸν, κατὰ τὸ ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις· καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· τὰς δὲ τῆς Νέας Διαθήκης, ὀγδοήκοντα δείκνυσιν ἀριθμός. {Ἰσιδώρου.} Τί ἐστιν, ἑξήκοντά εἰσι βασίλισσαι, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, Ἄκουε· ἐχέτω μὲν ἡ ἀμώμητος καὶ παρθένος Ἐκκλησία, ἡ ὀρθὴν καὶ περὶ τὸν θεῖον πίστιν ἔχουσα τὰ πρωτεῖα, καὶ αὕτη καλείσθω περιστερὰ τελεία, ὅλων τῶν ταγμάτων ὑπερβαίνουσα τὴν ἀξίαν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰς πράξεις αὐτὸ ἐκλαβεῖν χρὴ, λελέχθω καὶ τάδε· ἑξήκοντά εἰσι βασίλισσαι, αἱ τῆς βασιλείας ἕνεκεν εὖ πράττουσαι ψυχαί· καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα παλλακαὶ, αἱ φόβῳ τῆς κολάσεως ἀπεχόμεναι κακοῦ· καὶ νεάνιδες ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμὸς, αἱ διά τινας προφάσεις κοσμικὰς σωφρονοῦσαι, καὶ τὸ δίκαιον διώκουσαι· δι' ὧν οὔτε πόθῳ τῆς βασιλείας, οὔτε φόβῳ τῆς κρίσεως τὸ δέον πράττουσαι, ἀλλ' ἵνα πλούτου ἢ δόξης ἤ τινος μὴ στερηθῶσι. Μία ἐστὶ περιστερὰ τελεία ἡ τὸ καλὸν πράττουσα, τῶν ἄκρων ἁγίων σύνοδος, ἡ οὔτε διὰ μισθὸν, οὔτε διὰ τιμωρίαν, οὔτε διὰ πρόφασίν τινα βιωτικὴν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ τῷ Θεῷ φίλον πράττουσα τὸ δέον. {Ὠριγένους.} Αἱ νεάνιδες ἀριθμὸν οὐκ ἔχουσαι, κ.τ.λ. Αἴτιος οὖν γενοῦ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως· αἴτιος οὖν γενοῦ τοῦ δραμεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ σέ· θέλει γάρ σε","english":"The royal dignity is preserved for the Israelite race by Christ according to the prophecies, which promise the throne of David and Christ as the one who sets it right, according to what is in the Gospels: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And the number eighty shows the things of the New Testament. {Of Isidore.} What is this, \"There are sixty queens,\" and the rest? Hear: let the blameless and virgin Church, which holds the first place in right faith concerning the divine, have this, and let she be called a perfect dove, surpassing the worth of all the orders. But if it must also be understood in relation to actions, let these things too be said: \"There are sixty queens\"—the souls that do well for the sake of the kingdom; and \"eighty concubines\"—those who abstain from evil out of fear of punishment; and \"young women without number\"—those who are temperate for certain worldly reasons and pursue what is just; through whom they do what is due neither out of longing for the kingdom nor out of fear of judgment, but so that they may not be deprived of wealth or glory or something else. One is the perfect dove—the one that does the good, the assembly of the highest saints, the one that does what is due neither for reward, nor for punishment, nor for any worldly reason, but because it is dear to God. {Of Origen.} The young women who have no number, etc. Therefore be the cause of the exultation; therefore be the cause of his running to you; for he wishes you","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":163,"ref":"p163","source":"προασπάσασθαι, θέλει προλαβεῖν. θʹ. Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἐκκύπτουσα ὡσεὶ ὄρθρος, καλὴ ὡς σελήνη, ἐκλεκτὴ ὡς ἥλιος, θάμβος ὡς τεταγμέναι; Νόει τὴν Νύμφην ἀνακεχωρηκέναι τοῦ Νυμφίου, τοὺς πολλοὺς αἰδουμένην ἐπαίνους· παρατιθεὶς δὲ ταύτην τὰς τῶν ἄλλων τῶν προσεληλυθότων ψυχὰς ὁ Νυμφίος, θαυμαζέτω τῆς ἀπούσης τὴν τελειότητα, ἐφ' οἷς αἱ θεωροῦσαι θυγατέρες αὐτῆς τὸ κάλλος, μακαρίζουσιν αὐτήν· καὶ αἱ παλλακαὶ καὶ βασίλισσαι ὡς θυγατέρα αἰνοῦσιν· ἐφ' οἷς ἡ Νύμφη καθάπερ ἐπὶ σκηνῆς λαμπροτάτη γενομένη φαινέσθω· καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις ὁ Νυμφίος, τὰ προκείμενα λεγέτω περὶ αὐτῆς. Ἡ προκύπτουσα γὰρ ἐκ σκότους ψυχὴ, ὄρθρῳ πρῶτον εἰκάζεται, διὰ τὸ ἄρτι ἀρχομένας ἡμέρας καταυγάζεσθαι· ἐκκύψασα δὲ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ, γίνεται ὡς ἐκλεκτὴ σελήνη τουτέστιν ἡ πανσέληνος, μὴ ἔχουσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ μέρος ἀφώτιστον τοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύνης Ἡλίου. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς ἀρχὰς τέτακται τῆς νυκτὸς, οὐχ ἵσταται δὲ τὰ τῆς ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου Ἐκκλησίας, κατὰ τὸ τῆς σελήνης παράδειγμα, διὰ τοῦτο κατὰ τὸ παρ' Ἡσαΐᾳ, ἔσται ἡ σελήνη ὡς ὁ ἥλιος· τὸ δὲ φῶς αὐτῆς οὕτω καταπληκτικὸν, ὡς ἐκθαμβηθῆναι τοὺς ὑποδεεστέρους· ἴσον δύνασθαι τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ θεωρημάτων τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τῶν ἐκ τούτων ἔργων, ὅλῳ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἐν τῷ παντὶ τεταγμένων. Τάχα δὲ ἐκ τοῦ νενοηκέναι τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τάξιν καὶ πάντων ἀνειληφέναι τὸν λόγον, τύποι ἐγγινόμενοι αὐτοὶ τῶν τεταγμένων ποιοῦσιν αὐτὴν εἶναι ὡς τὰς τεταγμένας ἐν τῷ παντὶ δυνάμεις.","english":"to greet beforehand, she wishes to anticipate. 9. Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, choice as the sun, awesome as ordered hosts? Understand that the Bride has withdrawn from the Bridegroom, out of reverence for the many praises; and the Bridegroom, setting her alongside the souls of the others who have come near, marvels at the perfection of her who is absent, in that the daughters who behold her beauty call her blessed; and the concubines and queens praise her as a daughter; and in these things let the Bride appear as though on a stage, most radiant; and to the others let the Bridegroom speak the things set before us concerning her. For the soul that comes forth from darkness is first likened to the dawn, because it is illumined at the very beginning of days; but having looked forth from the world and the things in it, it becomes like the choice moon—that is, the full moon—having in itself no unilluminated part of the Sun of righteousness. But since the moon is appointed for the beginnings of the night, yet the things of the blameless and spotless Church do not stand still, according to the example of the moon; for this reason, according to what is in Isaiah, the moon shall be as the sun; and its light is so astounding that those of lower rank are amazed; the multitude of the contemplations in it and of the works that come from these is able to equal the whole multitude of those ordered in the universe. And perhaps, from having understood the order in the words and having taken up the account of all things, the types that arise in it make it to be like the powers ordered in the universe.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":164,"ref":"p164","source":"{Νείλου.} Τὸ ἐπουράνιον αὐτῆς πολίτευμα καταπλαγέντες οἱ φίλοι τοῦ Νυμφίου ἐθαμβήθησαν, καὶ ὁμολογοῦσι τὴν ἔκπληξιν, τὸ φῶς τῶν πράξεων αὐτῆς βλέποντες λάμπον ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὅπως πάντα εὐσχημόνως καὶ κατὰ τάξιν ποιοῦσα, τεταγμένη ἐστὶ τῇ καταστάσει, οὐδὲν ἔχουσα πλημμελὲς, οὐδὲ συγκεχυμένον. Καλὴ δέ ἐστιν ὡς σελήνη, καὶ ἐκλεκτὴ ὡς ἥλιος· ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὰς ἐν νυκτὶ καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ φωτίζει ἑκάστῃ καταστάσει τῶν ὠφελουμένων προσφόρως ἁρμοζομένη· καὶ ὡς ὄρθρος δὲ ἐκκύπτει τῆς οἰκείας ἕξεως συγκαταβατικῶς· οὐχ ὅλην δὲ αὐτὴν δεικνύουσα τοῖς ὅλην ἰδεῖν οὐ δυναμένοις, ἀλλὰ μερικῶς ἐκκύπτουσα πρὸς τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς τῶν ὁρώντων δυνάμεως· καὶ ἐκκύπτουσα ὡς ὄρθρος, οὐχ ὡς μεσημβρία οὐδὲ ὡς φέγγος ἡμερινόν· διὰ μὲν τὸ ἔτι τυγχάνειν ἀγεύστοις τῆς ἀπολαύσεως, δυναμένους ἡλιακῆς εὐθέως μετέχειν ἀκτῖνος· διὰ δὲ τὸ παρεληλυθέναι τὴν ζοφώδη κατάστασιν, χρῄζοντας ὀρθρινοῦ καὶ προσηνεστέρου φωτός· ὥστε μὴ ἀθρόᾳ ἡλιακῆς ἀκτῖνος αἴγλῃ καταλαμφθέντα ἀδικηθῆναι τὸν ἐν τῷ σκότει ἐνόντα ὀφθαλμόν. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Καὶ κατὰ διαφόρους δὲ δυνάμεις, διαφόροις ἀπεικάζεται πράγμασιν· ἔχει γὰρ τῆς μὲν σελήνης τὸ προσηνὲς, τοῦ δὲ ἡλίου τὸ καθαρόν. {Φίλωνος.} Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὤφθη πρὸς μικρὸν τῷ θανάτῳ ὡς σελήνη, καὶ ἀνανεοῦται τῇ ἀναστάσει ὡς ἥλιος διὰ τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς λαμπρότητα, θάμβους ἐστὶν ἀξία, ὡς ἀγγέλοις γενομένη ὁμοδίαιτος. ιʹ, ιαʹ. Εἰς κῆπον καρύας κατέβην ἰδεῖν ἐν γεννήματι τοῦ χειμάῤῥου· ἰδεῖν εἰ ἤνθησεν ἡ ἄμπελος, εἰ ἤνθησαν αἱ ῥόαι. Ἐκεῖ δώσω τοὺς μαστούς μου σοί· οὐκ ἔγνω ἡ ψυχή μου·","english":"Of Nilus. The friends of the Bridegroom, struck with wonder at her heavenly citizenship, were amazed, and they acknowledge their astonishment, seeing the light of her deeds shining before men; so that doing all things decently and in order, she is ordered in her disposition, having nothing disorderly or confused. And she is fair as the moon, and choice as the sun; since she enlightens both the things of night and of day, adapting herself fittingly to each disposition of those who are benefited; and as the dawn she looks forth from her own state in condescension; not showing her whole self to those unable to see the whole, but looking forth in part according to the proportion of the power of those who see; and looking forth as the dawn, not as midday nor as the light of day; on the one hand because they are still without taste of the enjoyment, though able straightway to partake of the sun's ray; and on the other because the murky state has passed, needing the early and gentler light; so that the eye that is in darkness, being flooded by the sudden splendor of the sun's ray, might not be harmed. Of Apollinarius. And according to different powers, she is likened to different things; for she has the gentleness of the moon, and the purity of the sun. Of Philo. For since she appeared for a little while to death as the moon, and is renewed by the resurrection as the sun through the brightness of virtue, she is worthy of wonder, as having become a companion of angels. 10, 11. I went down into a garden of nuts to see among the offspring of the brook; to see if the vine had blossomed, if the pomegranates had blossomed. There I will give my breasts to you; my soul did not know.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":165,"ref":"p165","source":"ἔθετό με ἅρματα Ἀμιναδάβ. {Ὠριγένους.} Κατά τι παράδειγμα οἱ δίκαιοι, κ. τ.λ. {Νείλου.} Ἡ Νύμφη διηγεῖται ὡς καταβᾶσα εἰς κῆπον καρύας πρὸς τοὺς ἐπ' ἁμαρτήμασι παιδευομένους, οὐ τῇ τυχούσῃ ῥάβδῳ, ἀλλὰ καρυΐνῃ, πολὺ τὸ πικρὸν ἐχούσῃ καὶ ἐπίπονον, ἰδεῖν τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς παιδείας καρπὸν, ἰδεῖν ποῖον γέννημα γεωργοῦσιν. Οἱ ἐν τῷ χειμάῤῥῳ τῶν πειρασμῶν καταλελειμμένοι, εὐχαρίστως φέρουσι τὰ τῆς παιδείας δεινὰ, ἢ δυσανασχετοῦσι καὶ δυσφημίας καρποὺς ἀποδιδόασι τῷ ἰατρικῶς, ἀλλ' οὐ τιμωρητικῶς παιδεύοντι· ἰδεῖν εἰ ἤνθησεν ἡ ἄμπελος, ἢ ῥόα· οἱ ἐκ μεγάλων κατορθωμάτων διὰ ῥᾳθυμίας μικρᾶς, εὐκόλως ἁμαρτίᾳ ἁλόντες· καὶ εἰ ἤνθησαν οὗτοι οἱ παρελθόντες τὸ τοῦ χειμάῤῥου ἀνυπόστατον ὕδωρ, μὴ παρασυρέντες πρὸς βλάσφημον ἔννοιαν· εἶτά φησι, Ἐκεῖ δώσω τοὺς μαστούς μου σοί· τοὺς ἔτι τὸ τῆς νηπιότητος ἔχοντας γάλα· ἵνα βελτιωθῶσιν ἀπὸ οἴνου τῆς σῆς διδασκαλίας. Καὶ ἐπεὶ\n\nἐβελτιώθη ὀξέως, τὸ τάχος θέλουσα δεῖξαι τῆς μεταβολῆς· Οὐκ ἔγνω, φησὶν, ἡ ψυχή μου, πῶς ἐγενόμην ἅρματα Ἀμιναδὰβ, τοῦ ἑρμηνευομένου ἄρχων λαοῦ μου. Λελυθότος γὰρ ἡ μὲν νηπιώδης ὑπέῤῥευσε παρελθοῦσα κατάστασις· ὄχημα δὲ γέγονε τοῦ ἄρχοντος τοῦ λαοῦ μου, ὅς ἐστι Χριστός· ἁμαξήλατον λοιπὸν τρέχουσα καὶ ἱππήλατον τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ὁδόν· ταῖς ἁρματοτροχίαις ἐνσημαινομένη τῆς ἀγαθῆς πολιτείας τὰ σύμβολα, καὶ ἴχνη καταλιμπάνουσα τοῖς ὁδεύουσι τὸν βίον, πρεπούσης θεοσεβεῖν ἐθέλουσα ζωῆς. {Φίλωνος.} Τὴν Συναγωγὴν κῆπον καρύας παρὰ τοῦ Νυμφίου λελέχθαι φησίν· ἔνθα ἡ ῥάβδος Ἀαρὼν ἡ καρυΐνη·","english":"He set me as chariots of Aminadab. {Of Origen.} According to a certain pattern, the righteous, etc. {Of Nilus.} The Bride relates how, having gone down into a garden of nuts to those being disciplined for sins, not with any ordinary rod, but with a nut-bearing one, having much bitterness and toil, she saw the fruit of the discipline, to see what kind of produce they cultivate. Those left in the winter-torrent of temptations either bear the terrors of discipline thankfully, or are impatient and return the fruits of blasphemy to the one who disciplines medicinally and not punitively; to see whether the vine has blossomed, or the pomegranate; those who from great achievements through a little slackness have easily been caught by sin; and whether these have blossomed who have passed by the irresistible water of the torrent, not swept away toward a blasphemous thought. Then she says, There I will give my breasts to you; those who still have the milk of infancy, so that they may be improved by the wine of your teaching. And since\n\nshe was improved swiftly, wishing to show the speed of the change: My soul did not know, she says, how I became chariots of Aminadab, which is interpreted as ruler of my people. For when the childish state had been dissolved and passed away, she became a vehicle of the ruler of my people, who is Christ; running thereafter the wagon-road and horse-road of truth, marked by the chariot-tracks with the symbols of good conduct, and leaving footprints for those who travel through life, desiring a life fit for the worship of God. {Of Philo.} He says that the Synagogue was called a garden of nuts by the Bridegroom; where the nut-bearing rod of Aaron is.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":166,"ref":"p166","source":"καὶ τὸ κατέβην ἐν τὸ καιρῷ τοῦ πάθους, εἰ ἤνθησεν ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, εἰ ἤνθησαν οἱ ῥόαι, αἱ διαφόρως ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐπενεχθεῖσαι παιδεῖαι· διὰ τὴν ἔξωθεν στύψιν, καὶ τὸν ἔνδον εἰρηνικὸν καὶ τεταγμένον καρπόν. {Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.} Εἶτά φησιν ἡ Νύμφη, Ἐκεῖ δώσω τοὺς μαστούς μου σοί· τὰς δύο Διαθήκας τετελεσμένας ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ προσοίσω σοι· Οὐκ ἔγνω ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ, φησὶν, ἤμην τὸ πρότερον, ἕως οὗ ἔθετό με ἅρματα ἡ τοῦ Πατρὸς εὐδοκία. οὕτω γὰρ Ἀμιναδὰβ ἑρμηνεύεται· λέγει γὰρ Ἀββακούμ· \"Ὅτι ἐπιβήσῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους σου· καὶ ἡ ἱππασία σου σωτηρία.\" ιβʹ. Ἐπίστρεφε, ἐπίστρεφε, ἡ Σουλαβίτις· ἐπίστρεφε, ἐπίστρεφε· καὶ ὀψόμεθα ἐν σοί. ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ζʹ. αʹ. Τί ὄψεσθε ἐν τῇ Σουλαβίτιδι; Ἡ ἐρχομένη ὡς χοροὶ τῶν παρεμβολῶν· ἀνέβη γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ λουτροῦ, ὡς τὰ ἀγγελικὰ τάγματα. {Φίλωνος.} Ἑτέρα γραφὴ Ὀδολομίτις ἔχει, τουτέστιν ἡ οὐρανία· καὶ ὀψόμεθα Χριστὸν τὸν λέγοντα, \"Ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω.\" {Ὠριγένους.} Ἀκύλας καὶ ἡ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις, κ.τ.λ. Τί ὡραιώθησαν διαβήματά σου ἐν ὑποδήμασί σου, θύγατερ Ἀμιναδάβ; Τῆς Νύμφης τὰς προκοπὰς ἀποδέχεται, ἅς φησι διαβήματα· ὑποδήμασι δὲ, τοῖς βασιλικοῖς λέγει θεσπίσμασι· καθόδους δὲ ἔφη τὰ διαβήματα, ὡς καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἀντιλήψεις, κυβερνήσεις· συγκατιὼν δὲ τοῖς ὑποδεεστέροις, ὑποδεδέσθαι λέγει τὰ διαβήματα, σωματικώτερον αὐτοῖς φαινόμενος· Ἀμιναδὰβ δὲ ἄρχων, ἤγουν ἡγεμὼν ἢ ἑκουσιαζόμενος ἑρμηνεύεται· οὗ θυγάτηρ ἡ Νύμφη· εἴη δ' ἂν ἄρχων, ὁ λέγων, ἄκουσον, θύγατερ· ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς ἑκουσιαζόμενος· ἑκούσια γὰρ πάντα Θεῷ.","english":"And \"I went down in the time of the passion,\" to see whether the vine of the Jews had blossomed, whether the pomegranates had blossomed—the disciplines brought upon it in various ways, because of the outward astringency and the inward peaceful and ordered fruit. {Of the same.} Then the Bride says, \"There I will give my breasts to you\"—the two Testaments, fulfilled in deed and word, I will bring before you. \"My soul did not know\"—in ignorance, he says, I was formerly, until the good pleasure of the Father set me as chariots. For thus Aminadab is interpreted; for Habakkuk says, \"For you will mount upon your horses, and your horsemanship is salvation.\" 12. \"Return, return, the Shulammite; return, return, and we will look upon you.\" CHAPTER 7. 1. \"What will you look upon in the Shulammite?\" She who comes as companies of camps; for she has come up from the bath, like the angelic orders. {Of Philo.} Another writing has Odolomitis, that is, the heavenly one; and we will look upon Christ who says, \"I will dwell in them, and walk among them.\" {Of Origen.} Aquila and the fifth edition, etc. \"How beautiful are your steps in your sandals, daughter of Aminadab?\" He receives the Bride's advancements, which he calls steps; and by sandals he means the royal decrees; and he called the steps descents, as also the Apostle [says], helps, governings; and condescending to those of lower rank, he says that her steps are shod, appearing to them in a more bodily manner. And Aminadab is interpreted as ruler, that is, leader, or one made willing; whose daughter is the Bride. And the ruler would be he who says, \"Hear, daughter\"; and the same one is made willing; for all things are willing to God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":167,"ref":"p167","source":"{Νείλου.} Ὑπομιμνήσκουσιν αὐτὴν τοῦ κέρδους τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς τοὺς χρῄζοντας αὐτῆς συγκαταβάσεως· ἅμα καὶ τὸν ὄκνον παρεμφαίνοντες ὅτε ἔλεγεν, Ἐνιψάμην τοὺς πόδας μου, πῶς μολύνω αὐτούς; οὐκ ἂν ὡραιώθησαν διαβήματα αὐτῆς ἐν ὑποδήμασιν, εἰ μὴ τὸν ἄκαιρον ἐκεῖνον ὄκνον λύσασα, ὃν ἐπὶ λογισμῷ συμφέροντι, καὶ ἔξω γενομένη τῆς οἰκείας καταστάσεως διὰ τὴν τῶν δεομένων ὠφέλειαν. Τὸ γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὴν λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἐπειδὴ, φησὶν, ἑστῶσα ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, καὶ ὑπολυσαμένη τὸ ὑπόδημα διὰ τὴν τῶν χρῃζόντων σου βοήθειαν, πάλιν ἐφόρεσα τοῦτο, μολῦναι τοὺς καθαροὺς καταδεξαμένη πόδας· ἐπανέρχῃ δὲ νῦν συγκύπτειν δοκοῦσα τοῖς προκόπτουσι· διὰ τοῦτο ὡραιώθη διαβήματά σου· ὡς τοῦ τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων εἰρήνην ἡγουμένου. βεʹ. Ῥυθμοὶ μηρῶν σου ὅμοιοι ὁρμίσκοις, ἔργον χειρῶν τεχνίτου· ὀμφαλός σου, κρατὴρ τορνευτὸς, μὴ ὑστερούμενος κρᾶμα· κοιλία σου, θημωνία σίτου πεφραγμένη ἐν κρίνοις· δύο μαστοί σου, ὡς δίδυμοι δύο νεβροὶ δορκάδος· τράχηλός σου ὡς πύργος ἐλεφάντινος· ὀφθαλμοί σου ὡς λίμναι ἐν Ἰεσεβὼν, ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς πολλῶν· μυκτήρ σου, ὡς πύργος τοῦ Λιβάνου σκοπεύων πρόσωπον Δαμασκοῦ· κεφαλή σου ἐπὶ σὲ ὡς Κάρμηλος καὶ πλόκιον κεφαλῆς σου ὡς πορφύρα βασιλεὺς δεδεμένος ἐν παραδρομαῖσ. {Φίλωνος.} Ῥυθμοὺς μηρῶν λέγει τὴν εὔτακτον μὴν τῶν προκοπτόντων κίνησιν· ὅμοιοι δέ εἰσιν ὁρμίσκοις, ἔργον χειρῶν τεχνίτου· οὐ γὰρ ἐπηρμένην φρονήματι συνῆν τοῖς προκόπτουσιν, ἀλλὰ ταπεινῷ καὶ συγκεκραμμένῳ δίκην ὁρμίσκου· διὰ δὲ τὸ ἐπιστημόνως τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἔργου χειρῶν τεχνίτου εἶναι λέγεται·","english":"Of Nilus. They remind her of the gain that came from her condescension toward those who needed her; at the same time they also hint at the hesitation when she said, \"I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?\" Her steps would not have been made beautiful in sandals, unless she had loosed that untimely hesitation, which she held on the pretext of a useful consideration, and had gone outside her own condition for the benefit of those in need. For what is said to her is as follows: Since, he says, standing in a holy place, and having taken off your sandal for the help of those who need you, you again put it on, consenting to defile your pure feet; and now you return, appearing to stoop down to those who are advancing; for this reason your steps have been made beautiful, as of one who leads those who proclaim peace. 15. The rhythms of your thighs are like pendants, the work of a craftsman's hands; your navel is a turned bowl, not lacking mixed drink; your belly is a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies; your two breasts are like two twin fawns of a gazelle; your neck is like a tower of ivory; your eyes are like pools in Heshbon, at the gates of the daughter of many; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward the face of Damascus; your head upon you is like Carmel, and the braid of your head is like purple, a king bound in the running streams. Of Philo. He calls the rhythms of the thighs the well-ordered movement of those who are advancing; and they are like pendants, the work of a craftsman's hands; for she did not associate with those who were advancing with a mind elated by pride, but with a humble one, and one compounded after the manner of a pendant; and because she did this knowledgeably, it is said to be the work of a craftsman's hands.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":168,"ref":"p168","source":"καὶ τὸ διανοητικὸν δὲ, τὸ πάντοτε πεπληρωμένον νοημάτων τελείων κεκραμμένων, πρὸς τὴν τῶν μανθανόντων ἐπιτηδειότητα· πᾶσαν δὲ τετορευμένην ἔννοιαν αἰσχρὰν, ὀμφαλός\n\nἐστι τορευτὸς, οὐχ ὑστερούμενος κρᾶμα· ἡ δὲ τῶν θείων βρωμάτων δεκτικὴ κοιλία μὲν τοῦ τροφίμου τὸ εὐανθὲς ἔχουσα, θημωνία σίτου πεφραγμένη ἐν κρίνοις λέγεται· τάχα δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀμέριμνος διάνοια, καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν μορφὴν αἰτοῦσα, θημωνία ἐστὶ σίτου πεφραγμένη ἐν κρίνοις· ὁ δὲ τράχηλος, ὅτε μὲν ἐπὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐπῃνεῖτο, ὁρμίσκος ἐλέγετο· ὅτε δὲ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἦν ἀπρόσιτος, πύργος Δαβίδ· νῦν δὲ πύργος ἐλεφάντινος λεῖός τις ὢν, καὶ μηδὲ μίαν ἔχων ἀντιλαβὴν, καὶ πᾶσι πτηνοῖς καὶ ἑρπετοῖς ἀπροσπέλαστος, ἡλίῳ μόνῳ βατός· τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ εὐσεβὲς φρόνημα, οὐ πάθεσι καμπτόμενον, οὐ δόγμασιν εἶκον αἱρετικοῖς, ἀλλὰ μόνῳ Χριστῷ ἀνακείμενον· καὶ τὸ θεωρητικὸν δὲ ἐκ πολλῆς μαθήσεως βελτιωθὲν, λίμναι εὐσεβῶν πλημμυρούσαις τὸ τῶν ἐναρέτων λογισμοὺς ὕδωρ παραβάλλεται. Ἐσσεβὼν γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται λογισμοὶ ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς πολλῶν· ὅσοι γὰρ προφῆται καὶ ἀπόστολοι, τοσούτων θυγάτηρ ἡ Νύμφη· καὶ ὁ μυκτὴρ δ' αὐτοῦ ὡς πύργος τοῦ Λιβάνου σκοπεύων πρόσωπον Δαμασκοῦ, ἥτις ἑρμηνεύεται, αἷμα πίνουσα. Ὁ οὖν καὶ τῇ πολιτείᾳ ὑψηλὸς, καὶ δόγμασιν ἐπιβεβηκὼς διεγηγερμένοις, καὶ προγινώσκων τὰς προβολὰς τῶν παθῶν, καὶ τὰς ἐφόδους τῶν ἐναντίων δυνάμεων, καὶ τὴν δυσωδίαν αὐτῶν εὐκόλως ἀντιλαμβανόμενος, μυκτήρ ἐστι τῆς Νύμφης· αὐτὸς σκοπεύων τὸ πρόσωπον Δαμασκοῦ, καὶ τὴν προσβολὴν ὡς κεφαλὴν τοῦ ὄφεως φυλαττόμενος·","english":"And the rational faculty, always filled with perfect thoughts well-blended, is directed toward the aptitude of those who learn. And every thought that is debased and shameful—the navel is carved, not lacking in blending. And the belly that receives divine foods, possessing the flourishing beauty of nourishment, is called a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies. And perhaps even the untroubled mind, asking for the royal form, is a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies. And the neck, when it was praised for humility, was called a necklace; but when it was inaccessible to enemies, a tower of David; but now it is called a tower of ivory, being smooth and having not even one handhold, and inaccessible to all birds and reptiles, accessible to the sun alone. For such is the pious mind, not bent by passions, not yielding to heretical doctrines, but devoted to Christ alone. And the contemplative faculty, improved by much learning, is compared to the floods of the pious, which pour out the water of virtuous reasonings. For Essebon is interpreted as reasonings in the gates of the daughter of many. For as many prophets and apostles as there are, of so many is the Bride the daughter. And his nose is like the tower of Lebanon, looking toward the face of Damascus, which is interpreted as drinking blood. Therefore the one who is both lofty in conduct and has set foot upon awakened doctrines, and foreknows the assaults of the passions and the attacks of the opposing powers, and easily perceives their foul odor, is the nose of the Bride; he himself looks toward the face of Damascus, and guards against the attack as the head of the serpent.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":169,"ref":"p169","source":"τῷ Καρμήλῳ δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτὸς ὡμοίωσεν, ἐπειδὴ κεφαλή ἐστι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὁ Χριστός. Ὁ δὲ Κάρμηλος τῶν προφητῶν ἦν ἐνδιαίτημα τῶν περὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς μαρτυρούντων, καὶ τῷ πλοκίῳ τῶν λόγων τῶν βασιλικῶν, τὸν παραδραμεῖν ἐπειγόμενον δεσμούντων· ὅταν γάρ τις χλευάζων τὰ πάθη τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρατρέχῃ τὸ δόγμα ὡς μωρὸν καὶ χλεύης ἄξιον· εἶτα ᾧ μὴ πέπονθεν ἕκαστον εὕρῃ μηνύματι προφητικῷ μαρτυρούμενον, ὡς σπαρτίῳ δεσμούμενος, τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ παραμένει οὐκ ἰδιώτου τάξιν ἔχων, ἀλλὰ βασιλέως λαχόντος αἰώνιον βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν καὶ πόλεως ἀπορθήτου τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλήμ· καὶ οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δὲ λόγοι διδάσκοντες τὰ οὐράνια, καθάπερ πλοκῇ τὸν παρατρέχοντα δεσμεύουσιν. {Ὠριγένους.} Πολλαχοῦ τάττει τοὺς μηροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς Γενέσεως ἡ Γραφὴ, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} Τεχνίτην δὲ τὸν Δημιουργὸν ὀνομάζει Χριστός· ὡς γὰρ ὑπήκοος γέγονεν, οὕτως ἡ Ἐκκλησία. {Φίλωνος.} Δηλοῖ δὲ τὸ τεταγμένον καὶ ἡρμοσμένον καὶ ἀδιάλυτον τῆς παρθενίας, ἐν ᾗ ὁ τεχνίτης εἰργάσατο τὸν ναὸν ἑαυτῷ. {Κυρίλλου.} Λέγει δὲ καὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν ὑποταγὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ταύτης ὑποτεταγμένης τῇ πίστει, τοῦ δὲ σώματος τῇ σωφροσύνῃ {Ὠριγένους.} Ἐπὶ τὸν ὀμφαλὸν δὲ τὸν κρατῆρα ἡ σοφία συγκαλεῖ λέγουσα, κ.τ.λ. {Κυρίλλου.} Δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἱερατεῖον αὐτῆς λέγων· Μὴ ὑστερούμενος κράματι, δηλονότι τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αἵματι· τοῦτο γὰρ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἐν χερσίν. {Φίλωνος.} Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ συναγωγὴ τοῦ πλήθους ἡ ἐξ ὁμονοίας, πέφρακται κρίνοις τοῖς εὐωδέσι λογίοις τοῦ Θεοῦ.","english":"He compared the head to Carmel, since Christ is the head of the Church. And Carmel was a dwelling-place of the prophets who bore witness concerning the head, and by the braiding of the royal words binding the one who hastens to run past; for when someone, mocking the sufferings of Christ, runs past the doctrine as foolish and worthy of mockery, then, by whatever prophetic utterance he finds each thing that he has not suffered testified, as if bound with a cord, he abides in the divine word, not having the rank of a private man, but of a king who has obtained an eternal kingdom of the heavens and of the unravaged city, the Jerusalem above. And the words of Christ, teaching heavenly things, bind the one who runs past as if with a braid. {Of Origen.} In many places Scripture places the thighs in Genesis, etc. {Of Cyril.} And Christ names the Creator a craftsman; for as he became obedient, so the Church. {Of Philo.} And it makes clear the ordered and fitted and indissoluble nature of virginity, in which the craftsman wrought the temple for himself. {Of Cyril.} And he speaks also of her chastity and of the submission of the soul, this soul being subjected to faith, and of the body to chastity. {Of Origen.} And to the navel, the mixing-bowl, wisdom summons, saying, etc. {Of Cyril.} And he makes clear also her priesthood, saying: Not lacking in mixture, that is, the blood of Christ; for this is in the hands of the priests. {Of Philo.} But also the gathering of the multitude, which comes from concord, is fenced about with lilies—the fragrant oracles of God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":170,"ref":"p170","source":"{Ὠριγένους.} Κρίνα δ' ἂν εἴη καὶ τὰ ἄνθη τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἃ συνελέξατο ἀπὸ μέσου τοῦ βίου ἀκανθῶν. {Κυρίλλου.} Τράχηλον δὲ αὐτῆς, τοὺς διακόνους τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγει, διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν βαστάζειν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὴν κεφαλήν· 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.\" {Ὠριγένους.} Πύργοι δὲ ἐκλήθησαν, κ.τ.λ. {Φίλωνος.} Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ διανοητικὸν αὐτῆς πεπληρῶσθαι, φησὶν, εὐσεβῶν λογισμῶν· Ἐσσεβὼν γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται λογισμοί. Ἀπεικάζει δὲ λίμνας τοὺς νοεροὺς ὀφθαλμούς· ποταμοὶ γὰρ ἀναβλύζουσιν ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας τῶν δεχομένων τὸν λόγον. {Ὠριγένους.} Ὁ δὲ καθαρὰν ἔχων τὴν διαπνοὴν, κ.τ.λ. ʹ, ζʹ. Τί ὡραιώθης καὶ τί ἡδύνθης, ἀγάπη ἐν τρυφαῖς σου! τοῦτο μέγεθός σου ὡμοιώθης τῇ φοίνικι, καὶ οἱ μασθοί σου τοῖς βότρυσι. {Φίλωνος.} Πλόκιον δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς, πολυάνθιον πλῆθος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας δηλοῖ, τῇ ἀγάπῃ πεπλεγμένον εἰς κόσμον τῆς Νύμφης. Ὡς πορφύρα δὲ τὸ πλόκιον εἴρηται, διὰ τὸ","english":"{Of Origen.} And the lilies would be the flowers of the grace of God, which he gathered from the midst of the life of thorns. {Of Cyril.} And her neck, he says, means the deacons of Christ, who for Christ's sake bear the head of the Church; for they bear his holy body with a pure conscience, confessing his mysteries; therefore he has called it ivory, such as Paul says deacons are: \"Reverent, not given to much wine.\" {Of Origen.} And they were called towers, etc. {Of Philo.} But also that her understanding, he says, has been filled with pious reasonings; for Essebon is interpreted as reasonings. And he likens the spiritual eyes to pools; for rivers gush forth from the belly of those who receive the word. {Of Origen.} And he who has a pure breath, etc. 9, 7. How beautiful you have become and how sweet, love, in your delights! In this your greatness you have been likened to the palm tree, and your breasts to the clusters of grapes. {Of Philo.} And the braiding of the head signifies the many-flowered multitude of the Church, woven by love into the adornment of the Bride. And the braiding is called as it were purple, because of the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":171,"ref":"p171","source":"βεβάφθαι τὸ πλῆθος ἐν αἵματι Χριστοῦ· καὶ τοῦτο καθάπερ ἐσθῆτα περιβεβλῆσθαι βασιλικὴν, ἤγουν ὁ κόσμος τοῦ πλήθους ὁ βαφεὶς τῷ ἁγίῳ αἵματι, ὡς νίκῃ ἐθριάμβευσεν ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχάς. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἢ καὶ ἄλλως, σύνδεσμον τῆς τῶν λαῶν ἀγάπης ἄγεσθαι φησὶν εἰς βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα. {Ὠριγένους.} Ὅτι ταῦτά φησιν ὁ Νυμφίος ἀποθαυμάζων αὐτῆς τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολήν, κ.τ.λ. {Νείλου.} Τάχα μὲν ὄνομα αὐτῷ διατίθεται, τὸ ἀγάπη, ὡραιῶσθαι λέγων αὐτὴν ἐν ταῖς τρυφαῖς. Ἡ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις τρυφὴ, καὶ τὸ κάλλος φαιδρότερον δεικνύει, καὶ τὴν συνουσίαν ἡδίω ἐργάζεται· τάχα δὲ τὸ μακάριον αὐτῆς κάλλος θαυμάζει· ἐν δὲ τὸ μακάριον αὐτῆς κάλλος θαυμάζει· ἐν δὲ ταῖς τρυφαῖς αὐτῆς, αὔξεσθαι τὴν ἀγάπην λέγει. Διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἑξῆς δηλοῖ τὸ ἐπὶ λόγοις σωματικοῖς ταύτῃ ἐρηρεισμένον ὕψος τῶν ἀρετῶν· ἀναγκαίως δὲ καὶ οἱ μασθοὶ αὐτῆς τοῖς βότρυσιν ὁμοιοῦνται, διὰ τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγάπην συνδεδεμένοι· τέως δὲ τοὺς μασθοὺς ἀπογαλακτώδους πιότητος εἰς μελιτώδη μεταβεβληκέναι ἡδονὴν λέγει. Πλεῖον γάρ τι μετ' ὀλίγον αὐτῆς μαρτυρήσει· ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς καταστάσεως ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον προκόψασιν. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἤγουν τὰ νοήματά σου, φησὶν, τρόφιμά τε καὶ πότιμα, καὶ οὐδαμῶς ὀμφακίζοντα. {Φίλωνος.} Ἢ τοῖς τῶν φοινίκων ἀπεικάζονται βότρυσι πρὸς τὸ εὐῶδές τε καὶ πεπληθυσμένον. ηʹ, θʹ. Εἶτα ἀναβήσομαι ἐν τῷ φοίνικι· κρατήσω τῶν ὕψεων αὐτοῦ·","english":"...that the multitude had been dipped in the blood of Christ; and that this, as it were, had been wrapped about as a royal garment—that is, the adornment of the multitude, dyed in the holy blood, so that by victory he triumphed, having stripped off the principalities. {Of Cyril.} Or otherwise, he says that the bond of the love of the peoples is led into a royal priesthood. {Of Origen.} Because the Bridegroom says these things, marveling at her change for the better, etc. {Of Nilus.} Perhaps a name is assigned to him—love—saying that she is made beautiful in her luxuries. For luxury in the divine words both shows the beauty more brightly and makes the fellowship sweeter; and perhaps he marvels at her blessed beauty; and in her luxuries, he says, love is increased. And through what follows he makes clear the height of the virtues established in her by bodily words; and necessarily her breasts also are likened to clusters of grapes, bound together by the love according to God; meanwhile he says that the breasts have changed from milky richness into honeyed pleasure. For a little later he will bear witness to something greater of her—for those who have advanced from this state to the greater. {Of Cyril.} Or also \"in your luxury, in your love,\" because some even of the righteous are so regarded; and the breasts are likened to clusters of grapes—to those who have the spiritual gladness. {Of Origen.} That is, he says, your thoughts are both food and drink, and in no way unripe. {Of Philo.} Or they are likened to the clusters of palms for their fragrance and abundance. 8, 9. Then I will go up in the palm tree; I will take hold of its heights.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":172,"ref":"p172","source":"καὶ ἔσονται δὴ μασθοί σου ὡς βότρυες ἀμπέλου· καὶ ὀσμὴ ῥινός σου ὡς μῆλα· καὶ λάρυγξ ὡς οἶνος ἀγαθὸς, πορευόμενος τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου εἰς εὐθύτητα ἱκανούμενος ἐν χείλεσί μου ὀδοῦσιν. {Φίλωνος.} Ἐκ προσώπου δὲ τοῦ Νυμφίου νοούμενα δηλοῖ· ὡς ἐὰν κρατήσῃ τοὺς δικαίους ὁ Κύριος, ἄπτωτα τούτων μένῃ τὰ ὕψη· καὶ ὡς βότρυες θλιβέντες εὐφροσύνης οἷον προχέουσιν· οὕτως ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι εὐφραίνουσιν οἱ δίκαιοι τὸν Χριστόν· ῥὶς δὲ αὐτῆς ὁ Ἀπόστολος γεγονὼς εὐωδίας ὀσμὴ τῷ Χριστῷ ὡς μῆλον, βρῶσιν παρέχων καὶ πόσιν τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μυστηρίων. {Ὠριγένους.} Ἀπεικασθεῖσα φοίνικι, κ.τ.λ. Ἐπειδὴ ἐπαπορητικῶς ἔλεγεν ὁ Νυμφίος· τί ὡραιώθης καὶ τί ἡδύνθης, καὶ τὸ μέγεθός σου ὡμοιώθη τῷ φοίνικι, τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ πρὸς ὕψος ἐκτετακέναι ἑαυτὴν λέγει· ἐπειδὴ, γάρ φησιν σὺ ὁ Νυμφίος φοίνιξ εἶ, παραπεφύτευμαι δὲ κἀγώ σοι τῷ φοίνικι, τῷ σῷ ὕψει ἀναβαίνουσα, εἰκότως ὑψοῦμαι, ἐγγίσαι τῷ σῷ ὕψει ἐπιθυμοῦσα, ἵνα κρατήσω τοῦ σοῦ ὕψους, καὶ γένωμαι μιμουμένη σε, ὅπερ εἶ σὺ τῇ ἀπραξίᾳ τῆς φύσεως· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ κατέβης ἵνα ἐγὼ ἀνέλθω καὶ ἴδω τοὺς σοὺς μασθοὺς, ὡς βότρυας τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀμπέλου, ποτίζοντας ἐὰν θλασθῶσιν εὐφροσύνην, τοὺς τὰ αἰσθητήρια γεγυμνασμένα ἔχοντας· εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς νηπιότητος ἔφθασαν, κατ' ὀλίγον προκόψαντες, καὶ τῆς ὀσμῆς τῶν ῥινῶν σου ἀντελάβοντο ὡς μήλων, τὴν τῆς θεότητος εὐωδίαν, ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ νοοῦσα· ἣν κεκρυμμένην διὰ τῆς ῥινὸς ἀναπέμπει τὸ ᾆσμα Παλαιᾶς καὶ Νέας Γραφῆς. Καὶ λάρυγξ σου, φησὶν, ὡς οἶνος ἀγαθός· ὁ εὐθύνων πρὸς σὲ τοὺς ἀφεστηκότας σου λόγος·","english":"And your breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of your nose as apples; and your throat as good wine, going to my beloved in uprightness, speaking through my lips, teeth. {Of Philo.} Understood from the person of the Bridegroom, it declares: that if the Lord grasps the righteous, their heights remain unshaken; and as clusters pressed pour out, as it were, gladness, so in afflictions the righteous gladden Christ; and her nose, having become the Apostle, is a sweet-smelling odor to Christ as an apple, providing food and drink of the mysteries of Christ. {Of Origen.} Having been likened to a palm, etc. Since the Bridegroom said questioningly: why have you become beautiful and why have you become sweet, and your stature has been likened to the palm, she states the reason why she has stretched herself out toward the height: since, she says, you the Bridegroom are a palm, and I too have been planted beside you the palm, ascending by your height, I am reasonably exalted, desiring to draw near to your height, that I may grasp your height and become an imitator of you, which you are by the impassibility of your nature; for this reason you descended that I might ascend and see your breasts, as clusters of the true vine, which, if crushed, give drink of gladness to those who have their senses exercised; for they have reached this from infancy, advancing little by little, and have perceived the smell of your nostrils as of apples, understanding the fragrance of the divinity in the man; which the song of the Old and New Scripture sends up, hidden, through the nose. And your throat, he says, as good wine: the word that guides to you those who have revolted from you.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":173,"ref":"p173","source":"ἱκανὸς ἐν χείλεσι καὶ ὀδοῦσιν, οὐκ ἐν τῇ γεύσει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ χρήσει τὴν ἱκανότητα παρέχων· χείλη γὰρ τὴν γεῦσιν, ὀδόντες δὲ τὴν πλουσίαν ἀπόλαυσιν δηλοῦσιν. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Νυμφίος ταῦτα λέγει τῇ Νύμφῃ, τὰ μὲν πλεῖστα εἴρηται ὁμοίως· τὸ δὲ εἶπα ἀναβήσομαι καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, τοιοῦτον· ὡς τοῦ Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ νικῶντος πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην σπουδὴν ταῖς χάρισιν οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῦ κρατῆσαι, ἐπὶ τοῦ ἅψασθαι δὲ ἢ δράξασθαι· ἐπαναβῆναι δὲ καὶ ὑπερκύψαι καὶ πλεονεκτῆσαι τῷ ὕψει νοουμένου. Ὅσον γὰρ ἂν ἐκταθῇ δύναμις ἀνθρωπίνη περισωθῆναι ταῖς ἀμοιβαῖς φιλονεικοῦσα, τῇ μεγαλοδωρεᾷ, καὶ πόνοις κατορθωμένων ἐκτίσαι τὰς προϋπηργμένας χάριτας, ἡττηθήσεται πάντως, ταῖς ὑπερβαλλούσαις νικωμένη τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐεργεσίαις. ιʹ. Ἐγὼ τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου· ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἡ ἐπιστροφὴ αὐτοῦ. {Νείλου.} Ἐκ\n\nτρίτου τοίνυν τὸ αὐτὸ, φησὶν, προσθεῖσα τὸ ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἡ ἐπιστροφὴ αὐτοῦ· ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ἐγὼ ἀνεθέμην αὐτῷ ἐμαυτὴν, πέπεισμαι ὅτι κἂν περισπασθῇ μικρὸν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραὴλ, ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἐπιστρέψει. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Φίλωνος.} Ἢ καὶ ἀγρὸν τὸν κόσμον καλεῖ, κώμας δὲ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας, ἀμπελῶνας δὲ τὰς εὐκάρπους ψυχὰς, τὸ δὲ, ὀρθρίσωμεν, τὴν ἄγνοιαν ἀπελάσωμεν· ἀνθῆσαι δὲ ἄμπελον τὸ κήρυγμα, τὸν κυπρισμὸν δὲ τοὺς λευκαυθέντας ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι· πρὸς δὲ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας ἢ τῶν πιστῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, εἰ καὶ φαίνεται ἐπὶ καρποφορίαν θαῤῥοῦσα, ἀλλὰ τὸ κρίνειν οὐκ ἀποδίδωσιν ἑαυτῇ.","english":"Sufficient in lips and teeth, providing sufficiency not only in taste but also in use; for the lips signify taste, and the teeth the abundant enjoyment. But if the Bridegroom says these things to the Bride, most of them have been spoken similarly; but the phrase \"I said, I will go up,\" and what follows, is of this sort: as the Lord Christ conquering all human zeal by his graces—not for the sake of conquering, but for the sake of touching or grasping; and to go up again and look over and surpass is understood in terms of height. For however far human power may be stretched, striving to be saved by requitals, by the great gift, and by labors to repay with things accomplished the graces previously bestowed, it will be utterly defeated, conquered by the surpassing benefactions of God. 10. I am my beloved's; his turning is toward me. {Of Nilus.} In the third place, then, she says the same thing, adding \"his turning is toward me\"; instead of: since I have dedicated myself to him, I am persuaded that even if he is drawn aside a little to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he will turn back to me. {Of Cyril.} Or: since I bring the confession, \"his turning is toward me\"—either at the second coming, or also from the people of the Jews. {Of Philo.} Or he calls the world a field, and the Churches villages, and the fruitful souls vineyards; and \"let us rise early\" means let us drive away ignorance; and that the vine blossoms means the preaching, and the \"cyprus\" means those made white in baptism; and toward the Churches or the souls of the faithful—even if she appears confident for fruit-bearing, she does not grant herself the right to judge.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":174,"ref":"p174","source":"{Ὠριγένους.} Τελειωθείσης ὁ λόγος, ὅτι μηδαμοῦ παντοδαπῆ ἀνάπαυσιν εὑρήσει, ὅπου ἑαυτὸν ἐπιστρέψει ὡς παρ' ἐμοί. ιαʹ, ιβʹ. Ἐλθὲ, ἀδελφιδέ μου· ἐξέλθωμεν εἰς ἀγρόν· αὐλισθῶμεν ἐν κώμαις· ὀρθρίσωμεν εἰς ἀμπελῶνας· ἴδωμεν εἰ ἤνθησεν ἡ ἄμπελος, ἤνθησεν ὁ κυπρισμὸς, ἤνθησαν αἱ ῥόαι. {Ὠριγένους.} Περὶ τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων ἡ Νύμφη παρακαλεῖ, κ.τ.λ. {Νείλου.} Ἀπὸ τὴς σωματικῆς ὥρας διαγράφει τὴν πνευματικήν· ἀγρὸν καὶ κώμας καὶ ὀρθρινὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας ἔξοδον, τῷ Νυμφίῳ ὑποθεμένη· ἀγρὸν τοίνυν φησὶ τὸν κόσμον, κῶμαι δὲ δύνανται λέγεσθαι αἱ Ἐκκλησίαι καὶ αἱ χωρητικαὶ τοῦ λόγου ψυχαί· αὗται γὰρ ἄμπελοι λέγονται, καὶ ῥόαι ἀνθοῦσαι διάφοροι ταύτης αἱ ἀρεταὶ, αἳ διὰ μὲν τῶν θλίψεων, οἶνος γενόμεναι ἀμπέλου· αἱ δὲ τὴν ἐλπίδα δι' ὑπομονῆς ἀσφαλίζουσαι ῥόαι. Ἐκεῖ δὲ πάλιν ἐπαγγέλλεται δώσειν τοὺς μασθοὺς, ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα μεταβληθησομένους, καὶ ἐπὶ οἰνότητα ἀπὸ γαλακτότητος· λέγει δὲ καὶ τοὺς μανδραγόρας δεδωκέναι ὀσμήν· τάχα τοὺς ἀπὸ μιμήσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ εὐῶδες τῶν καλῶν ἔργων πνέοντας· καὶ γὰρ ὁ μανδραγόρας μιμεῖται τὸ τοῦ μήλου σχῆμα καὶ τὴν εὐωδίαν· τοιοῦτος ἦν Παῦλος, ὡς μανδραγόρας κατ' ἀμφότερα τὸ μῆλον Χριστὸν μιμούμενος. Εἴποις δ' ἂν καὶ τοὺς συναναστάντας Χριστῷ εἶναι μανδραγόρας, ἐκ τοῦ τὴν ῥίζαν εἶναι ἀνδροείκελον, δι' ἧς σημαίνεται ἡ νεκρότης· καὶ ἐπὶ θύραις δὲ ὅντα τὰ ἀκρόδρυα, εἰκότως καὶ ἀκολούθως εὐαγγελίζεται νέα πρὸς παλαιοῖς τετηρηκέναι λέγουσα· ἐπὶ θύραις γὰρ ὄντως καὶ πλησίον ἐν χερσὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῶν τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας καρπῶν·","english":"{Origen.} The word has been fulfilled, that nowhere will he find rest of every kind, wherever he turns himself, as with me. 11, 12. Come, my brother, let us go out into the field; let us lodge in the villages; let us rise early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has blossomed, if the blossom has appeared, if the pomegranates have blossomed. {Origen.} The Bride entreats concerning the lesser things, etc. {Nilus.} From the bodily hour he depicts the spiritual: the field and the villages and the early-morning going out to the vineyards, which she proposes to the Bridegroom. The field, then, he calls the world; villages, however, can be said to be the Churches and the souls capable of receiving the word; for these are called vines, and the pomegranates blossoming are the various virtues of this soul, which through afflictions become the wine of the vine; and those which secure hope through endurance are pomegranates. There again he promises to give the breasts, which will be changed to perfection, and from milkiness to wine-richness; he says also that the mandrakes have given forth their fragrance; perhaps those who from imitation of Christ breathe the sweet savor of good works; for the mandrake imitates the shape and the fragrance of the apple. Such was Paul, as a mandrake, in both respects imitating Christ the apple. You might say also that those who have risen with Christ are mandrakes, from the root being manlike, through which is signified the state of death; and the fruits being at the doors, reasonably and consequently she proclaims the good news, saying that she has kept new things alongside old; for truly at the doors and near at hand are the good things of the fruits of the gospel way of life.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":175,"ref":"p175","source":"φησὶν οὖν, Πρὸς τῇ φυλακῇ μὲν τῶν νέων παραγγελμάτων, καὶ τὰς παλαιὰς ἐντολὰς τετήρηκα. Ἐκεῖ δώσω τοὺς μασθούς μου σοί. Τοῖς γὰρ πιστοῖς τὰ βάθη τῶν δύο Διαθηκῶν ἀποκαλύπτεται· ἐπαγγέλλεται τοίνυν τὰ ἐν ταύταις νοήματα τῷ Νυμφίῳ ἀνατιθέναι. ιγʹ. Οἱ μανδραγόραι ἔδωκαν ὀσμήν. Οἱ μανδραγόραι ὑπὸ γῆν οὐρανομόρφους ἔχουσι ῥίζας. Οἱ νεκρώσαντες οὖν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ Χριστὸν, ἔδωκαν εὐωδίαν ἔργων ἀγαθῶν· ἢ οἱ νεκροὶ τῆς Χριστοῦ παρουσίας αἰσθανόμενοι, τῆς ἀναστάσεως δέδωκαν τὴν ὀσμήν. Καὶ ἐπὶ θύραις ἡμῶν πάντα τὰ ἀκρόδρυα· νέα πρὸς παλαιὰ, ἀδελφιδέ μου, ἐτήρησά σοι. Τὰ ἤδη καρποφοροῦντα πρὸς ταῖς θύραις φησίν· δηλοῖ δὲ τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Παλαιὰν καὶ Νέαν ἀνθοῦντας. {Φίλωνος.} Ἤγουν κεῖσθαί φησιν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητηρίοις ἡμῶν τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ κακίας· καὶ ὅτι τὴν Παλαιὰν ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη ἐπισφραγίζει. ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ηʹ. αʹ. Τίς δώσει, ἀδελφιδέ μου, θηλάζοντα μασθοὺς μητρός μου; Τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ, φησὶν, ἧς σύμβολον ἡ ἐπὶ γῆς κειμένη, ῥεούσης γάλα καὶ μέλι, ἐν ᾗ βούλεται τῷ Νυμφίῳ συνεστιᾶσθαι· γάλα δὲ νῦν, ἡ ἄδολος καὶ τρυφητικὴ τροφή. {Κυρίλλου.} 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. {Φίλωνος.} Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἀρτιγεννήτοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος μορφούμενος ὁ Χριστὸς, θηλάζει τὴν σοφίαν δι' αὐτῶν. {Νείλου.} Τὴν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν ἐπιθυμεῖν ἡ Νύμφη ἔοικεν·","english":"She says therefore, \"In addition to the guard of the new commandments, I have also kept the old commandments. There I will give my breasts to you.\" For to the faithful the depths of the two Testaments are revealed; she promises therefore to dedicate the meanings in them to the Bridegroom. 13. The mandrakes gave a fragrance. The mandrakes beneath the earth have roots shaped like heaven. Those therefore who have put themselves to death for Christ gave the sweet fragrance of good works; or those dead who perceive the presence of Christ have given the fragrance of the resurrection. And at our doors are all the choice fruits; new beside old, my brother, I have kept for you. She speaks of those already bearing fruit at the doors; and she indicates those flourishing under the Old and the New. {Philo.} That is, he says, the virtues and vices lie in our senses; and that the New Testament seals the Old. CHAPTER 8. 1. Who will give you, my brother, as one nursing at my mother's breasts? Of the Jerusalem above, she says, of which the one lying on earth is a symbol, flowing with milk and honey, in which she wishes to feast with the Bridegroom; and milk now means the guileless and delicate food. {Cyril.} The food of the Bride is therefore sanctified, when Christ feasts with her; that is, the Church prays that the visit of the Savior to Judea may come to pass, by the providence of him who gives him to men, so that she may nurse the God-bearer. {Philo.} For Christ, being formed in those newly born by the Spirit, nurses wisdom through them. {Nil.} The Bride seems to desire his coming in the flesh.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":176,"ref":"p176","source":"ἐν ᾗ συγκαταβαίνων διὰ τὸ ἀνθρωποπαθὲς, εὔληπτος αὐτῆς ἔσται, καὶ τῆς οἰκείας καταστάσεως ἔξω εὑρεθεὶς, μένων ὃ ἦν, μετὰ παῤῥησίας αὐτὴν κατασκευάσει,\n\nγνησίων καὶ ἡδονὴν ἔνθεον κινούντων ἀπολαῦσαι λόγων. Ἐπὶ τούτοις γὰρ τοῖς φιλήμασιν οὐκ ἐξουδενοῦται, ἔπαινον ἔχουσιν, οὐ κατάγνωσιν· παραλήψεται δὲ αὐτὸν αὐτὴ, ἐπειδὴ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον· εἰσάξει δὲ καὶ εἰς οἶκον μητρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ εἰς ταμιεῖον τῆς συλλαβούσης αὐτὴν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας· ἔδει γὰρ αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον, πάντων αὐτῇ κοινωνῆσαι, καὶ ἀντιδοῦναι τὰ τῆς χάριτος, καὶ λαβεῖν τὰ τῆς φύσεως. Τὸ γὰρ εἰς οἶκον εἰσελθεῖν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς, τὴν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων παθῶν χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας ἀνάληψιν δηλοῖ· τὸ δὲ παραλήψομαι σημαίνει τὸ πρόθυμον τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τὸ διορατικὸν τῆς κατὰ τὸ μυστήριον ἀκραιφνοῦς θεωρίας. Οἷον δὲ μυρεψικὸν καὶ νάμα ῥοῶν, τοὺς φυσικοὺς καὶ ἠθικοὺς τῶν ἔξω λέγει λόγους, οὐκ ἐκ φύσεως ἔχοντας τὸ εὐῶδες, ἀλλὰ τεχνικῇ σκευασίᾳ παρηρτυμένα· ἀφ' οὗ ποτίσειν αὐτὸν ἐπαγγέλλεται μυρεψικῶς τὸ ἡδὺ προσλαβόντος ἐπινοίαις ἀνθρωπίναις. Ὁ γὰρ τοῦ Νυμφίου οἶνος, φυσικῇ χρήσει τὴν εὐφροσύνην ἔχει καὶ οὐκ ἐπείσακτον. βʹ. Εὑροῦσα ἔξω φιλήσω σε· καί γε οὐκ ἐξουδενώσουσί με· παραλήψομαί σε· εἰσάξω σε εἰς οἶκον μητρός μου· καὶ εἰς ταμιεῖον τῆς συλλαβούσης με· ποτιῶ σε ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ μυρεψικοῦ, ἀπὸ νάματος ῥοῶν μου. {Ὠριγένους.} Εὑρίσκουσα γὰρ αὐτὸν τῆς ἄνω περιωπῆς ἐκβάντα περιεπτύξατο αὐτόν. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἤγουν ἔξω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὅπου ἐσταυρώθη.","english":"In which, condescending because of his human affection, he will be easy for her to grasp, and having been found outside his own proper state, while remaining what he was, he will establish her with boldness, to enjoy genuine words that stir a divine pleasure. For in these kisses he is not despised; they have praise, not condemnation. But she will receive him, since his own people did not receive him; and she will bring him into the house of her mother and into the inner chamber of her who conceived her—that is, of human wisdom. For it was necessary that he, having become man, share all things with her, and give back the things of grace, and receive the things of nature. For entering into the house of her mother signifies the assumption of human passions without sin; and \"I will receive\" signifies the eagerness of faith and the clear-sightedness of the pure contemplation of the mystery. And as it were perfumed oil and the juice of pomegranates, he calls the natural and ethical words of those outside, which do not have their fragrance from nature, but are prepared by artificial compounding; from which he promises to give her drink in the manner of perfumers, the sweetness having been taken on by human inventions. For the wine of the Bridegroom has its gladness by natural use and not brought in from outside. 2. Having found him outside, I will kiss you; and indeed they will not despise me; I will receive you; I will bring you into the house of my mother, and into the inner chamber of her who conceived me; I will give you drink from the perfumed wine, from the juice of my pomegranates. {Of Origen.} For finding him having gone out from the height above, she embraced him. {Of Cyril.} That is, outside Jerusalem, where he was crucified.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":177,"ref":"p177","source":"{Φίλωνος.} Τὸ δὲ, Οὐκ ἐξουδενώσουσί με, οἱ τὸ τῆς πνευματικῆς φιλίας ἀκατάγνωστον εἰδότες· ἢ ὅτι οὐκ ἔσομαι ἔτι ὡς τὸ πρὶν εὐάλωτος τοῖς ἐχθροῖς· εἰσάξω δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον μητρός μου, τῆς γῆς καὶ τῆς ἐκ ταύτης σαρκός· ταμιεῖον δὲ αὐτῆς ὁ ᾅδης, ἔνθα ἦσαν αἱ ψυχαὶ ἀποτιθέμεναι τῶν ἁγίων. Οἶνος δὲ μυρεψικὸς τὸ ποτήριον τὸ κεκραμένον πνεύματι, ὃ πίνει διὰ τῶν πιστευόντων. γʹ. Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν κεφαλήν μου, καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ περιλήψεταί με. {Κυρίλλου.} Ἢ τὸν ἐνταφιασμὸν λέγει, ὃν ἤνεγκεν Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Νικόδημος· ῥοῶν δὲ λέγει τῶν ἁγίων. Ἢ οἶνος μυρεψικὸς, λόγος εὐφροσύνης πνευματικῆς, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς παντοδαπῶν νοημάτων ἠρτυμένος· ἀπὸ δὲ ναμάτων ῥοῶν τῶν τεταγμένων, καὶ ἐν οἰκείῳ καιρῷ τελουμένων πράξεων. Ὁ μὲν νόμος ὑποστηρίζει τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν, τὸ δὲ Εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ παντός ἐστι περιληπτικόν· ἢ εὐώνυμος ἡ πρώτη ἐπιδημία, δεξιὰ δὲ ἡ δευτέρα· ἢ εὐώνυμος ὁ παρὼν αἰὼν, τῷ μέλλοντι παραλαβὼν, εἰσάγει εἰς τὰς ἄνω μονάς. δʹ. Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ, τί ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην ἕως ἂν θελήσῃ; {Ὠριγένους.} Ἤδη δεύτερον ὥρκισεν, κ.τ. λ. Ὁρκίζει τὰς τῶν ἁγίων ψυχὰς, πρεσβεύειν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, ἕως ἂν παραλάβῃ ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός. εʹ. Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα λελευκανθισμένη, ἐπιστηριζομένη ἐπὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτῆσ; Οἱ ἅγιοι τοῦτό φασι θαυμάζοντες τὴν κάθαρσιν τῆς Νύμφης.","english":"Of Philo. But the phrase, They shall not despise me, refers to those who know the blamelessness of spiritual friendship; or that I shall no longer be, as before, easily captured by enemies. But I shall bring him into the house of my mother, that is, the earth and the flesh that comes from it; and her storehouse is Hades, where the souls of the saints were laid away. And the spiced wine is the cup mixed with the Spirit, which he drinks through those who believe. 3. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me. Of Cyril. Or he speaks of the burial which Joseph and Nicodemus brought about; and he calls the saints pomegranates. Or the spiced wine is a word of spiritual gladness, seasoned from all kinds of thoughts in the divine Scriptures; and from the streams of pomegranates, of deeds that are ordered and fulfilled in their proper time. The law supports the ruling faculty, but the Gospel is comprehensive of the whole; or the left hand is the first coming, and the right hand the second; or the left hand is the present age, which, taking us up for the age to come, leads us into the dwellings above. 4. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field, why would you stir up and awaken love until it wishes? Of Origen. Now for the second time he has adjured, and so on. He adjures the souls of the saints to intercede on behalf of sinners, until God takes us up. 5. Who is this who comes up, made white, leaning upon her brother? The saints say this, marveling at the purification of the Bride.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":178,"ref":"p178","source":"{Νείλου.} Οἱ τῆς συναγωγῆς ἐκπλήσσονται, ἀπὸ τοῦ γαμικοῦ λουτροῦ ἀναβαίνουσαν αὐτὴν ὁρῶντες, αὐτὴν συγκρίνοντες τὴν νῦν αὐτῆς λευκότητα τῇ προτέρᾳ μελανίᾳ· μειζόνως δὲ θαυμάζουσι τὸ, ἐπιστηριζομένην αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀδελφιδὸν, ἀναβαίνειν. Ἄπταιστος γὰρ ὄντως γίνεται πορεία, καὶ προκοπὴ ψυχῆς λόγῳ χειραγωγεῖ κεχρημένης. Προφητεύεται τῆς Νύμφης ἡ ἄνοδος τὰς μακαρίας μονὰς, παντελῶς ἀποθεμένης τοῦ σκότους τῆς κακίας, καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀναλαβούσης λαμπρότητα, ἑπομένης τῷ λόγῳ· ὅθεν αἱ ἄνω δυνάμεις θαυμάζουσι τὴν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον τῶν ἀνθρώπων μεταβολήν. Ὑπὸ μῆλον ἐξήγειρά σε. Τοῦτο τὸ φυτὸν, ὀσμῇ καὶ θέᾳ καὶ βρώσει καὶ ἁφῇ λεῖον ὑπάρχον ἐστὶ καλόν· ὁ οὖν διὰ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων εὖ τραφεὶς, λέγοιτο μῆλον· παρὰ ταύτῃ τῇ μηλέᾳ ὠδίνει ἡ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ τίκτει τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐλευθερίας· διό φησιν ὁ Ἰωήλ· \"Ῥόα καὶ φοῖνιξ καὶ μῆλον καὶ πάντα τὰ ξύλα τοῦ δρυμοῦ, δώσει τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῶν.\" {Φίλωνος.} Τὸ μῆλον ὑπὸ τὴν μυστικὴν τράπεζαν ἐγείρας τέθεικά σε· τροφὴ γὰρ καὶ ποτὸν ἐργάζεται. Μῆλον τὴν οἰκονομίαν ἐλέγομεν, ὡς ἐμπεριεχομένης τῆς θεότητος τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι· ὑφ' ὃ ἐξήγειρε τὴν Νύμφην, ἢ καθεύδουσαν ἢ καθεζομένην, ἀπὸ τῶν","english":"Of Nileus. Those of the synagogue are struck with amazement, seeing her ascending from the bridal bath, comparing her present whiteness with her former blackness; but they marvel all the more that she ascends while being firmly supported upon her beloved. For truly her course becomes without stumbling, and the progress of a soul that uses reason as its guide is led by the hand. The ascent of the Bride is foretold to the blessed mansions, since she has wholly put off the darkness of wickedness and taken up the brightness of virtue, following the Word; whence the powers above marvel at so great a transformation of human beings. Under the apple tree I awakened you. This plant, being smooth and pleasant in smell and sight and food and touch, is beautiful; so then, one well nourished through the senses might be called an apple; beside this apple tree the Jerusalem above travails and brings forth the children of freedom; therefore Joel says: \"The pomegranate and the palm and the apple and all the trees of the wood shall give their fruit.\" Of Philo. The apple, having awakened you under the mystical table, I have placed you; for it produces food and drink. We called the apple the economy, since the divinity is encompassed by the humanity; under which he awakened the Bride, either sleeping or sitting, from the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":179,"ref":"p179","source":"χοϊκῶν ἐπὶ τὰ οὐράνια αὐτῆς διεγείρας τὸ φρόνημα. Ἐκεῖ δὲ ὠδινᾶσθαι καὶ τετέχθαι ὑπὸ τῆς μητρός φησιν, ὑπὸ τὸ μῆλον, δηλονότι, τὴν διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἀναγέννησιν δηλῶν· μητέρα δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα λέγει, τὸ γεννῶν τοὺς βαπτιζομένους. Τὸ δὲ δὶς αὐτὴν ὠδινᾶσθαι, οἶμαι μίαν μὲν ὠδῖνα λέγεσθαι, καθ' ἣν ἐντυποῦται τῷ λόγῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα τῇ γεννωμένῃ τοιαύτην γέννησιν ψυχῇ· ἑτέραν δὲ καθ' ἣν διὰ τῆς ἀγαθῆς πολιτείας ἐν ταύτῃ μορφοῦται τὸ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν· μήτηρ γὰρ τὴν σχέσιν, τεκοῦσα δὲ δηλοῖ τὴν τῆς σχέσεως ἐνέργειαν. Ἐκεῖ ὠδίνησέ σε ἡ μήτηρ σου· ἐκεῖ ὠδίνησε σε ἡ τεκοῦσά σε. Ἡ σὰρξ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν ταῖς ὠδῖσι τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐγέννησε τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, τῷ ῥεύσαντι ἐξ αὐτῆς αἵματι καὶ ὕδατι. ʹ. Θές με ὡς σφραγῖδα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν σου, ὡς σφραγῖδα ἐπὶ τὸν βραχίονά σου· ὅτι κραταιὰ ὡς θάνατος ἡ ἀγάπη, σκληρὸς ὡς ᾅδης ζῆλοσ. {Ὠριγένους.} Προτρέπεται αὐτὴν ὁ Νυμφίος, κ. τ.λ. {Νείλου.} Τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἀγαπηθεῖσαν ψυχὴν, θέλει καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐνθυμίοις, καὶ ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐνσφραγίσαι ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ μόνην ἔχειν τὴν τούτου μνήμην, ἑτέρου δὲ μηδενὸς, τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ διηγούμενος ἔνθερμον, καὶ τοῦ ζήλου τὸ σκληρὸν καὶ διάπυρον· Ὅτι, φησὶν, ἀγαπῶ σφοδρῶς ἀγαπώμενος, καὶ ζητῶ [Ξ. Β. ζήλῳ] σφοδρότερον ζητούμενος· ὁ γὰρ ἐμὸς ζῆλος, πυρός ἐστι θερμότερος καὶ ᾅδου σκληρότερος· καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θανάτου κραταιοτέρα, πυρὸς φλόγας ἔχουσα τὰς ὁρμάς. ζʹ. Περίπτερα αὐτῆς, περίπτερα πυρός· ἄνθρακες πυρὸς, φλόγες αὐτῆς· ὕδωρ πολὺ οὐ δυνήσεται σβέσαι τὴν ἀγάπην·","english":"having roused her mind from earthly things to heavenly ones. And there, he says, she was in travail and was born of her mother, under the apple tree, clearly indicating the regeneration through baptism; and he calls the Spirit the mother, who gives birth to those who are baptized. But as for her being in travail twice, I think one travail is said to be that by which the image is impressed upon the soul born to such a birth through the word of teaching; and the other is that by which, through good conduct, the likeness is formed in her. For \"mother\" indicates the relation, and \"she who gave birth\" makes clear the activity of the relation. There your mother was in travail with you; there she who bore you was in travail with you. The flesh of Christ, in the pangs of the cross, gave birth to the Church, by the blood and water that flowed from it. 5. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy hard as Hades. {Of Origen.} The Bridegroom exhorts her, etc. {Of Nileus.} The soul beloved from baptism, Christ wishes to seal as his own both in her thoughts and in her deeds, and to have her keep the memory of him alone and of nothing else, declaring the fervor of his love and the hardness and burning heat of his jealousy. For, he says, I love intensely while being intensely loved, and I am jealous more intensely while being more intensely sought; for my jealousy is hotter than fire and harder than Hades; and love is stronger than death, having the flames of fire for its impulses. 7. Its flashes are flashes of fire; coals of fire, its flames; many waters will not be able to quench love.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":180,"ref":"p180","source":"καὶ ποταμοὶ οὐ συγκλύσουσιν αὐτήν. Τὰ οἰκοδομήματα αὐτῆς, τὸ πάντων ἐστὶ λεπτομερέστερον στοιχεῖον καὶ καθαρώτερον· ἵν' ὡς Θεὸς ποιῇ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα, τοιαύτην, ὁποῖος ἦν καὶ ὁ τῷ Μωσεῖ ἐκ τῆς βάτου ἐν πυρὸς φλογὶ φανεὶς, οὕτως ἀγαπῶν ποιήσει φλόγα πυρὸς, παραπλησίως τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ λειτουργοῖς· καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους αὐτοῦ μεθέξοντας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ θεότητος, καθὸ πῦρ ἐστι καταναλίσκον· οὕτω γὰρ πᾶν ἑαυτοῖς ἀναλωθήσεται. Ἢ καὶ περίπτερα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, Καινὴ καὶ Παλαιά· καὶ ὧδε μὲν πύριναι γλῶσσαι, ἐκεῖ δὲ πυρὸς βάτος. {Κυρίλλου.} Τὰ τείχη, φησὶν, τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πῦρ ἐστι. Καὶ ἄλλως· Κατὰ τὸ, \"Ἔσομαι αὐτῇ τεῖχος πυρὸς κύκλωθεν, λέγει Κύριος·\" τὰς οὖν φλόγας τῆς ἀγάπης πειρασμοὶ οὐ συγκλύσουσι· τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ, \"Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ;\" {Νείλου.} Ἣν ἔχει ὁ Κύριος πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀγάπην, οὐδὲν αὐτὴν σβέσαι δύναται, οὐδὲ ὕδωρ πολὺ τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως, οὐδὲ ποταμοὶ πειρασμῶν φλεγμαίνοντι ῥείθρῳ φερόμενοι. Διὸ κἂν δῷ τις πάντα τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἐξουδενωθήσεται, οὐδὲν τῆς τοῦ Δεσπότου ἀγάπης ἄξιον ἐπιδείξασθαι δυναμένους. Πάλιν, ἐπείπερ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν πῦρ καταναλίσκον, ἔστι δὲ καὶ κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγάπη, πῦρ καταναλίσκον ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη· ἧς καὶ τὰς ὁρμὰς ἔχει πυρὸς φλόγας· οὗ τῆς δυνάμεως αἰσθάνονται οἱ τῷ πνεύματι ζέοντες. Ὕδωρ δὲ νῦν αἱ ἀντικείμεναι τοῖς αὐτὴν ἀνειληφόσιν ἐνέργειαι· πάντα γὰρ ὑπομένει, καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐκπίπτει. Περὶ δὲ τῶν μὴ συγκλυζόντων αὐτὴν εἴρηται ποταμῶν, \"Πέπεισμαι γὰρ ὅτι οὔτε θάνατος,\" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.","english":"And rivers shall not overwhelm her. Her buildings are of the most subtle and purest of all elements, so that just as God makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire—such as he who appeared to Moses from the bush in a flame of fire—so in his love he will make a flame of fire, in likeness to his own ministers; and his saints will partake of his own divinity, inasmuch as he is a consuming fire; for thus all things will be consumed for them. Or also the winged creatures of the Church, the New and the Old; and here tongues of fire, there a bush of fire. {Of Cyril.} The walls, he says, of the Church are fire. And otherwise: according to the saying, \"I will be to her a wall of fire round about, says the Lord\"; therefore temptations shall not overwhelm the flames of love. Such also is the saying, \"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?\" {Of Nilus.} The love which the Lord has toward us, nothing is able to quench it, neither much water of the opposing power, nor rivers of temptations borne along with a seething stream. Therefore even if one gives his whole life in love, he will be counted as nothing, since they are unable to show anything worthy of the Master's love. Again, since our God is a consuming fire, and love is also according to God, love is a consuming fire; whose impulses are also flames of fire; the power of which those who are boiling in spirit perceive. And water now means the energies opposed to those who have received it; for it endures all things, and never fails. And concerning the rivers that do not overwhelm it, it is said, \"For I am persuaded that neither death,\" and the rest.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":181,"ref":"p181","source":"Ἐὰν δῷ ἀνὴρ πάντα τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἐξουδενώσει ἐξουδενώσουσιν αὐτήν. Τίνες ἄλλοι, ἢ οἱ τῆς ἀγάπης ἀλλότριοι; ὁ γοῦν ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδοὺς τῇ ἀγάπῃ Παῦλος φησίν· \"Λοιδορούμενοι εὐλογοῦμεν, βλασφημούμενοι παρακαλοῦμεν,\" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Πᾶς δὲ βίος, ἁπλούστερον μὲν, ὅταν τις καταλέλοιπεν, ἵνα Χριστὸν κερδήσῃ καὶ τελείως ἀκολουθήσειεν· ἤγουν ἅτινα παρέχει πτωχοῖς· βαθύτερον δὲ ἡ λογικὴ πᾶσα ζωή· ἣν ὁ καταργήσας τὰ τοῦ νηπίου, πάντα πράττων ἐν ἀγάπῃ, τὸν βίον ἀνατίθησιν αὐτήν· ἡ ὡς ἐπεὶ μηδὲν ἐν ἀνθρώποις τῆς ἀγάπης ἄξιον πράττεται· κἂν πάντα τις ἐν ἀγάπῃ διατελέσας τὸν βίον, ὡς μηδὲν ἄξιον δράσας ἐξουδενωθήσεται. ηʹ. Ἀδελφὴ ἡμῶν μικρὰ, καὶ μασθοὺς οὐκ ἔχει. Τὸ μὲν πρόθυμον τὸ περὶ τὴν νύμφην καὶ τὸ ἐνδιάθετον ἐπιδεικνύμεναι αἱ νεάνιδες, αὔξουσι τῷ λόγῳ τὸ φιλότιμον· ἀγνοοῦσαι δὲ τὴν κατάστασιν αὐτῆς, καὶ\n\nμηδέπω τῆς πρὸς ἄνδρα συζυγίας ὥραν ἔχειν νομίζουσαι, ἀποροῦσι πρὸς τὸ πρακτέον· καὶ τοῦ μνηστῆρος τὴν σπουδὴν ἐπὶ τὸν γάμον ἐπείγοντος, ὁρῶσι καὶ τὴν τῆς Νύμφης ὡς ἐνόμιζον νηπιότητα· καὶ τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλας λέγουσιν· Οὐδὲν ὧν λείπει τῇ Νύμφῃ, τῆς ἡμετέρας ἤρτηται σπουδῆς καὶ συνεργείας, προσθεῖναι δὲ αὐτὴν προκοπὴν ἡλικίας, τῶν οὐκ ἐφ' ἡμῖν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν τεῖχος ἐπάλξεσι λειπόμενον, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυε τὸ χρειῶδες ὑπερβῆναι τῇ φιλοτιμίᾳ, καὶ ἀργυρᾶς ἐπάλξεις ἀντὶ λιθίνων ἐπιστῆσαι τῷ τείχει· ἡ γὰρ πολυτέλεια τῆς προθυμίας ἔλεγχος ἐγίνετο· καὶ ἡ κηδεμονία, τεκμήριον ἀναμφίλεκτον διὰ τῆς διαθέσεως·","english":"If a man should give all his life in love, they will utterly despise it. Who else are these but those who are strangers to love? At any rate, Paul, who gave himself over to love, says: \"Being reviled, we bless; being slandered, we entreat,\" and what follows. And every life—more simply, when someone has forsaken it in order to gain Christ and follow him perfectly; that is, the things he provides to the poor; but more deeply, the whole rational life—which the one who has put away the things of a child, doing all things in love, dedicates as his life; or, since nothing among men is done that is worthy of love, even if someone should spend his whole life in love, he will be despised as having done nothing worthy. 8. Our sister is little, and she has no breasts. The maidens, displaying the bride's eagerness and her inner disposition, magnify her zeal in word; but not knowing her condition, and thinking that she does not yet have the hour for union with a man, they are at a loss as to what should be done; and while the bridegroom presses his haste for the marriage, they see also what they supposed to be the bride's infancy; and they say such things to one another: None of the things the bride lacks depends on our zeal and cooperation, but to add to her an advance of stature is not in our power. For if she were a wall lacking battlements, nothing would prevent us from surpassing what is needed by our zeal, and setting silver battlements on the wall instead of stone; for the lavishness of our eagerness would become a proof, and our care a testimony beyond dispute through our disposition.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":182,"ref":"p182","source":"τελειότητα δὲ προσθεῖναι νηπιότητι, καὶ μασθοὺς διεγεῖραι πρὸς ὄγκον, οὓς ἡ φύσις οὐδέπω πρὸς τοῦτο ἐκίνησεν, μεῖζον ἀνθρωπίνης ἐστὶ δυνάμεως. Οὐ γὰρ ᾔδεισαν αὐτῆς τὴν ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τελειότητα, νεάνιδες οὖσαι καὶ φύσεως ἀκολουθίᾳ προσέχουσαι. Λανθάνει γὰρ πάντα ἀνθρώπινον ὀφθαλμὸν κατάστασις ψυχῆς, μάλιστα τοῖς κρύπτειν ἐπισταμένοις τὰ κατορθώματα. {Φίλωνος.} Τοῦτο πρὸς τοὺς πίστιν μὲν ἔχοντας, οὔπω δὲ γνῶσιν τῶν δύο διαθηκῶν· διὰ τὸ νεοπαγεῖς εἶναι, καὶ μὴ δύνασθαι καὶ ἑτέρους τρέφειν. {Ὠριγένους.} Ὅτι μικρὰ ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴ, κ.τ.λ. θʹ. Τί ποιήσωμεν τῇ ἀδελφῇ ἡμῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ἂν λαληθῇ ἐν αὐτῇ; εἰ τεῖχός ἐστιν, οἰκοδομήσωμεν ἐπ' αὐτὴν ἐπάλξεις ἀργυρᾶς· καὶ εἰ θύρα ἐστὶ, διαγράψωμεν ἐπ' αὐτὴν σανίδα κεδρίνην. Ὅταν κυρωθῶσι τῆς μνηστείας οἱ λόγοι, βούλονται ποιῆσαι τῇ ἀδελφῇ τὰ λείποντα ταύτῃ πρὸς τελειότητα. Εἰ γὰρ τεῖχος, φασὶν, ἐστὶν ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ὤσπερ στύλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ἐπαναπληρώσωμεν αὐτῇ τὰς λογικὰς τελειότητας· ἃς καὶ ἐπάλξεις εἰρήκασι· θύρα δὲ βεβαιότητος διαγραφομένη, οὐ μέλανι, ἀλλὰ πνεύματι Θεοῦ ζῶντος· ὡς ἐπὶ θύρας δὲ καὶ σανίδα φασὶν, ἐσχηματισμένη πρὸς θύρας τελείωσιν· ἡ δὲ κεδρίνη τὴν ἄφθαρτον δηλοῖ τοῦ πνεύματος περιβολήν· αὕτη γὰρ σφίγγει τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν. Ἐρωτῶσι τοίνυν οἱ ἅγιοι περὶ τῶν νεοφωτίστων, καὶ δέχονται ἀπόκρισιν. Εἰ στερεὰ πέτρα ἐγένετο καὶ πίστει ἑδραία, προθῶμεν τὰ θεῖα λόγια·","english":"To add perfection to infancy, and to arouse to full size breasts that nature has not yet moved to this, is beyond human power. For they did not know its hidden perfection, being young women and attending to the sequence of nature. For the condition of a soul escapes every human eye, especially in those who know how to conceal their good deeds. {Of Philo.} This is directed at those who have faith but not yet knowledge of the two covenants, because they are newly formed and cannot yet feed others. {Of Origen.} That the soul of man is small, etc. 9. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build upon her battlements of silver; and if she is a door, we will adorn her with a plank of cedar. When the words of the betrothal are ratified, they wish to supply to the sister what is lacking in her for perfection. For if, they say, the Church is a wall, as a pillar and ground of the truth, let us fill up in her the rational perfections—which they have also called battlements; and a door of firmness, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; and as on a door, they say, also a plank, shaped for the perfection of doors; and the cedar plank signifies the incorruptible covering of the Spirit, for this binds together human weakness. The saints, then, ask concerning the newly illumined, and they receive an answer. If she has become a solid rock and firm in faith, let us set before her the divine oracles.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":183,"ref":"p183","source":"εἰ δὲ θύρα ἐστὶν εὔστροφος, καὶ ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς ἐπίστευσεν, ὑπογράψωμεν αὐτῇ τὴν ἄσηπτον τῶν πατριαρχῶν πολιτείαν, καὶ περισφίγξωμεν αὐτὴν ἐπάλξεις πύργων. ιʹ. Ἐγὼ τεῖχος· καὶ μασθοί μου ὡς πύργοι· ἐγὼ ἤμην ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτῶν ὡς εὑρίσκουσα εἰρήνην. Ὑμεῖς μὲν νομίζετε μή με μασθοὺς ἔχειν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ἐγὼ δὲ τῆς πολλῆς εἰς ἐμὲ χάριτος τοῦ Νυμφίου, καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς μνηστείας αἰσθανομένη πρὸς μέγεθος ἐδέησα περιποιουμένη καὶ ἄλλοις εἰς ἀσφάλειαν καὶ εἰς πλῆθος θεωρημάτων, ὡς διττοῖς ἀπεικάζεσθαι πύργοις· δηλούντων τὸν περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν λόγον, καὶ τὴν περὶ τῶν νοητῶν ἐπιστήμην. Καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐζήτησα τὴν εἰρημένην καὶ ἐδίωξα αὐτὴν, τοιαύτη τις ἤμην ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ Νυμφίου· μαθοῦσα καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὅτι οἱ ὀρθῶς ζητήσαντες αὐτὸν, εὗρον εἰρήνην, ἥτις ἐστὶ Χριστός. Λύει τὴν ἀμφιβολίαν τοῦτο, οὐκ ἀνεχομένη νομισθῆναι ὡς ὑποπίπτουσαν λανθάνει, φησὶν, ὑμᾶς εἰκότως τὰ κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν πλεονεκτήματα· ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ Νυμφίου τετελείωμαι· εἰ γάρ εἰμι ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ εὑρίσκουσα εἰρήνην, οἱ δὲ ὀρθῶς ζητοῦντες αὐτὸν, εὑρίσκουσιν εἰρήνην. Τεῖχός εἰμι δυσκαταμάχητον, δι' ἣν εἰρήνην οὐ δέδοικα πολέμου ἔφοδον· τεῖχος δὲ καὶ θύρα ἀκούσασα, τὸ μὲν κατεδέξατο· πρὸς δὲ τὸ κληθῆναι θύρα διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς ἀνένευσε· τὴν τοιαύτην προσηγορίαν τῷ Νυμφίῳ τηρήσασα· μόνος γὰρ οὗτος τῆς πατρικῆς γνώσεως εἴσοδος. ιαʹ. Ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη τῷ Σαλομὼν ἐν Βεελαμών· ἔδωκε τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ τοῖς τηροῦσιν· ἀνὴρ οἴσει ἐν τῷ καρπῷ αὐτοῦ χιλίους ἀργυρίουσ.","english":"But if she is a door easily turned, and she has believed from the synagogue, let us sketch for her the incorruptible way of life of the patriarchs, and let us enclose her with the battlements of towers. 10. I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; I was in their eyes as one finding peace. You think that I have no breasts, and so on; but I, perceiving the great grace of the Bridegroom toward me and my betrothal, came to need greatness, procuring it also for others for safety and for abundance of contemplations, so as to be likened to twin towers—these indicating the account concerning sensible things and the knowledge concerning intelligible things. And since I sought the one spoken of and pursued her, such was I in the eyes of the Bridegroom; having learned this also from the Spirit, that those who rightly sought him found peace, which is Christ. This resolves the doubt, not enduring to be thought to fall short unawares. He says, you reasonably overlook the advantages pertaining to the soul; but I have been perfected in the eyes of the Bridegroom; for if I am in his eyes finding peace, and those who rightly seek him find peace. I am a wall hard to overcome, for the sake of which peace I do not fear an assault of war; and having heard myself called both a wall and a door, I accepted the one; but at being called a door I declined through silence, reserving such an appellation for the Bridegroom; for he alone is the entrance of the Father's knowledge. 11. Solomon had a vineyard in Baalamon; he gave his vineyard to those who keep it; a man shall bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":184,"ref":"p184","source":"{Νείλου.} Ὁ ἀμπελὼν, καὶ ἐν κέρατι ἐγενήθη τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ, ὅ ἐστι Χριστός. Ἐν Βεελαμὼν δέ ἐστιν, ἐν πλήθεσιν, ἀμπελὼν δὲ ἐν πλήθεσιν ἡ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πάμφορος ὁμήγυρις. Ἔδωκεν οὖν τὸν ἀμπελῶνα τοῦτον τοῖς τηροῦσι, τοῖς ἡγουμένοις τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, οὓς καὶ γεωργοὺς καὶ πανδοχέας ἐκάλεσεν. Ὃς ἂν οὖν ἀνὴρ ἐν τούτοις εὑρεθῇ, οἴσει καρπὸν αὐτῷ χιλίους ἀργυρίους,\n\nτὴν τελείαν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων προκοπὴν τῆς ἐν τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ καρποφορίας. {Κυρίλλου.} Τῷ πνευματικῷ Σαλομὼν ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη· λέγει δὲ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν· τὸ δὲ ἐν Βεελαμὼν, ἐν τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν ἑρμηνεύεται. Τίνες δὲ πεπιστεύκασιν, ἢ οἱ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ δεξάμενοι; Χριστὸς ὁ εἰρημένος Σαλομὼν ὁ τὸ μεσότειχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ ποιῶν εἰρήνην. Μηδεὶς οὖν ζητείτω ἔξω τοῦ Βεελαμὼν, τουτέστι τοῦ ἔχοντος πλῆθος ἀθροίσματος, ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ συναγομένου τὸν καρποφόρον ἀμπελῶνα τοῦ Λόγου καὶ Χριστοῦ· ὃν καὶ παρέδωκε φυλάξειν, ἵνα μὴ λυμήνηται αὐτὸν ὗς ἐκ δρυμοῦ, καὶ μονιὸς ἄγριος κατανεμήσεται αὐτὸν, μηδὲ τρυγήσωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδόν· καὶ τοιοῦτος ὁ ἀμπελὼν, ὡς τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ φέρεσθαι, ὑπὸ κατηργηκότος ἀνδρὸς τὰ τοῦ νηπίου· καὶ εἶναι ἄξιον ἀργυρίου χιλίων. Λόγου γὰρ τιμίου καὶ πολλοῦ ἀξίου καὶ θαυμασίου, ὃς ἀργύριον εἴρηται, τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἄξιος καρπός· ὁ δὲ τῶν χιλίων ἀριθμὸς, ἔχει πρὸς τὴν μονάδα συγγένειαν, διὸ καὶ παρείληπται. Φύλακες δὲ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος οἱ ἄγγελοι. ιβʹ. Ὁ ἀμπελών μου ἐμὸς, ἐνώπιόν μου· οἱ χίλιοι Σαλομὼν καὶ οἱ διακόσιοι τοῖς τηροῦσι τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ.","english":"Of Nilus. The vineyard also became a horn for the beloved, that is, Christ. And it is in Beelamon, that is, in multitudes, and the vineyard in multitudes is the all-fruitful assembly of the Church. He therefore gave this vineyard to those who keep it, to the leaders of the Church, whom he also called farmers and innkeepers. Whoever then is found among these as a man will bear fruit for him a thousand pieces of silver, the perfect progress of those subject to him in the fruit-bearing of godliness. Of Cyril. To the spiritual Solomon a vineyard became; and he means the Church; and “in Beelamon” is interpreted as “among those who have believed.” And who have believed, if not those who received his commandments? Christ is the one called Solomon, who dissolved the middle wall of the partition, making peace in his flesh, putting an end to enmity. Let no one therefore seek outside Beelamon, that is, outside the one having a multitude of gathering, the fruit-bearing vineyard of the Word and Christ, gathered in the name of Jesus Christ; which he also handed over to be guarded, so that the boar from the thicket might not harm it, nor the wild solitary beast devour it, nor those who pass along the road strip it; and such is the vineyard, so as to bear its fruit, by a man who has brought to naught the things of the infant; and to be worthy of a thousand pieces of silver. For of a precious and greatly worthy and wondrous word, which is called silver, the vineyard is a worthy fruit; and the number of a thousand has a kinship to the unit, for which reason it has also been taken up. And the guardians of the vineyard are the angels. 12. My vineyard is mine, before me; the thousand belong to Solomon, and the two hundred to those who keep its fruit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":185,"ref":"p185","source":"Ταῦτα, εἴτε τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, εἴτε τῆς Νύμφης τοῦ λόγου ψυχῆς, ἐφ' ἑκατέρας ἀμπελὼν καρποφόρος νοεῖται· καὶ οἶνος εὐφραίνων καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου· ἤδη δὲ καὶ Σωτῆρος τοῦ ἀληθῶς εἰρηνικοῦ. Λέγει οὖν ἐν τοῖς Κριταῖς πρὸς τὰ ξύλα ἡ ἄμπελος· Ἀφεῖσα τὸν οἶνόν μου τὴν εὐφροσύνην Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, πορευθήσομαι ἄρχειν τῶν ξύλων; οὐκοῦν ἀκόλουθον καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀπὸ καρποῦ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀμπέλου λαμβάνειν, δηλοῖ τὸ Οἱ χίλιοι τοῦ Σαλομών. Εἰκὸς δὲ καὶ τοὺς φύλακας ἀγγέλους μεταλαμβάνειν τοῦ τῆς Νύμφης ἀμπελῶνος, ὅταν παρίσταται, διὰ τοῦ καὶ, Οἱ διακόσιοι τοῖς τηροῦσι τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ· οὐ γὰρ μόνον τίς φυτεύει, ἀλλὰ τίς καὶ τηρεῖ ἀμπελῶνα, καὶ οὐ φάγεται τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ; Τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ δόγματα τοίνυν, οἱ χίλιοί εἰσι συγγενῶς ἔχοντες τῇ μονάδι, τῷ Σαλομὼν ἀνακείμενοι· τὰ δὲ περὶ τὴν ὕλην καὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ, τοῖς διακονουμένοις ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ διακοσίοις, πρὸς τὴν δυάδα συγγένειαν ἔχουσι· περὶ ὧν τὸ, Τῇ γὰρ ματαιότητι ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη οὐχ ἑκοῦσα, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ὑποτάξαντα· ματαιότης γὰρ ἡ ὕλη καὶ τὰ σωματικά· οἱ δὲ καρποὶ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, ἀφ' ὧν οἱ χίλιοι καὶ οἱ διακόσιοι δίδονται, οἱ ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν εἰσι ψαλμοὶ, ἡνίκα οἱ καρποὶ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἐκπιεζόμενοι, τὸν εὐφραίνοντα Θεὸν καὶ ἀνθρώπους, καὶ τοὺς τηροῦντας οἶνον ποιήσουσιν. {Ἀπολιναρίου.} Ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν οὖν ἔλεγον· Αἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν κυπρίζουσιν· ἐν δὲ τῷ τέλει τοῦ βιβλίου τέλειον εἰσήγαγε τὸν καρπόν· καὶ τῷ γῆς βασιλεῖ πολλὴν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τιμὴν καὶ τοῖς φύλαξιν· ὅτε δοξάζεται μὲν ἐπιδημῶν ὁ Δεσπότης, Παύλου λέγοντος·","english":"These things, whether they belong to the Church or to the soul of the bride of the Word, are understood in either case as a fruitful vineyard; and wine that gladdens the heart of man; and indeed also of the Savior, who is truly peaceable. So then in Judges the vine says to the trees: Having left my wine, the gladness of God and of men, shall I go to rule over the trees? It follows, then, that Christ also receives from the fruit of such a vineyard—this is made clear by the words, The thousand of Solomon. It is likely also that the guardian angels partake of the vineyard of the bride, whenever she is present, through the words, And the two hundred to those who keep its fruit; for is it not only one who plants, but also one who keeps a vineyard, and will not eat its fruit? The doctrines concerning God, then, are the thousand, which are akin to the monad, dedicated to Solomon; while those concerning matter and things perceptible to the senses belong to the two hundred who minister in matter, which have an affinity to the dyad; concerning which is the saying, For the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it; for vanity is matter and bodily things. And the fruits of the vineyard, from which the thousand and the two hundred are given, are the psalms for the winepresses, when the fruits of the vineyard, being pressed out, shall make the God who gladdens both God and men, and those who keep the wine. Of Apollinaris. In the beginning, then, they said: Our vineyards are in bloom; but at the end of the book he brought in the perfect fruit; and to the king of the earth great honor from the wine, and to the keepers; when the Master is glorified at his coming, as Paul says:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":186,"ref":"p186","source":"\"Ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐνδοξασθῆναι ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ·\" καὶ φύλαξ, τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος αὖθίς φησι· \"Καύχημά ἐσμεν εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ.\" Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ Χριστοῦ χάριτι κατορθοῦται τὸ πᾶν, αὐτῷ πλέον ἀνήκει τέλειον· πολὺ δὲ καὶ τὸ τῶν ὑπηρετῶν, καθὸ διὰ παραβολῶν ἔφη περί τε τοῦ διπλασιάσαντος τὴν μνᾶν, καὶ τοῦ πενταπλασιάσαντος· πόλεσιν ἐπιστησαμένων εἰσαριθμῶν τῷ πολυπλασιασμῷ. Καθόλου δέ φησι Ματθαῖος Ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν αὐτῷ, καταστήσει τὸν ἀγαθὸν οἰκέτην καὶ πιστὸν οἰκονόμον· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἔστιν ἀμφοτέρων διαφορὰ, τῶν χιλίων εἰς τοὺς ὑπηρέτας διανέμησις γίνεται· ὅτι τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου λαμβάνουσιν ἀνὰ διακοσίους πενταχῆ διαιρούμενα· ὅτι καὶ πέντε παρθένους ὁ Κύριος ἀπεικάζει τοῖς ἀπαντησομένοις τῶν ἁγίων. Ἐμὸς οὖν ὁ ἀφιερωμένος ἀμπελὼν, καὶ ἡ τούτου καρποφορία μεριζομένη τοῖς τελείοις ἐξ ἴσου, κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν μετουσίαν, εἰς τάγματα πέντε, ἀποστόλους, προφήτας, διδασκάλους, διδασκομένους, μάρτυρας, εἰ καὶ κλήματα [ξ. β. κλίμακα] οἱ αὐτοὶ καὶ γεωργοὶ καὶ ἐπιστάται· πολυτρόπως γὰρ οἱ αὐτοὶ δηλοῦνται. Τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Σολομῶντός ἐστιν ἡ φωνὴ τὸ ὅλον τῆς φυλακῆς τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἑαυτῷ μαρτυροῦντος. Εἰδὼς γὰρ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων περὶ αὐτὸν ἀσφαλίζεται τὸ πρὸς τὴν οἴησιν ὀλισθηρόν· μάλιστα","english":"When he comes to be glorified in his saints\"; and again the keeper says of the vineyard: \"We are a boast unto the day of Christ.\" But since the whole is accomplished by the grace of Christ, the perfection belongs more to him; yet much also belongs to the servants, inasmuch as he spoke in parables concerning the one who doubled the mina and the one who multiplied it fivefold—those who, having been set over cities, are counted in by their manifold increase. And in general Matthew says: \"Over all that he has, he will appoint the good and faithful servant as steward\"; but if there is no difference between the two, the thousand is distributed among the servants, because they receive the Lord's things at two hundred each, divided five ways; because the Lord also likens the five virgins to those of the saints who will go out to meet him. Mine, then, is the consecrated vineyard, and its fruitfulness is shared equally among the perfect, according to my participation, into five ranks: apostles, prophets, teachers, those being taught, martyrs—even if the same are both branches and vinedressers and overseers; for the same are indicated in many ways. The voice of the true Solomon is the whole matter of the guarding of the vineyard, testifying to himself. For knowing the things of men concerning him, he secures what is slippery with respect to conceit; especially","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","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":187,"ref":"p187","source":"ἡγουμένων εὐχερῶς, ἐπὶ τῷ ἀξιώματι τῆς ἀρχῆς φυσωμένων· ὥστε μὴ σφετερίζεσθαι τύφῳ καὶ ἀπονοίᾳ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πλεονεκτήματα, τὴν φυλακὴν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τῇ ἑαυτῶν σπουδῇ ἐπιγράφοντας. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐνώπιόν μού ἐστιν ὁ ἀμπελὼν, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου διὰ παντὸς ἐπιβλέπουσιν ἐπ' αὐτὸν, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ σπουδὴ τῶν τηρούντων ἰσχύει· καὶ οἱ ἐπίβουλοι φεύγουσι τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα ἀτενῶς τῇ ἀμπέλῳ προσέχον φρίττοντες· διὰ δὲ τοῦ, διακόσιοι τοῖς τηροῦσι, τὸν ἀμπελῶνα οὐ συμμερίζεσθαί φησιν, ἀλλὰ μείζονας ὧν προσήνεγκαν τὰς ἀμοιβὰς δεχόμενοι. ιγʹ, ιδʹ. Ὁ καθήμενος ἐν κήποις, ἑταῖροι προσέχοντες τῆς φωνῆς σου· ἀκούτισόν με· φύγε, ἀδελφιδέ μου, καὶ ὁμοιώθητι τῇ δορκάδι, ἢ τῷ νεβρῷ τῶν ἐλάφων ἐπὶ ὄρη ἀρωμάτων Καλοῦντός ἐστι φωνὴ, τὸ, Ὁ καθήμενος ἐν κήποις· καὶ σημαίνοντος τὴν ἀργίαν τῷ καθημένῳ. Τὸ γὰρ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Οὐχ ὁ καθήμενος ἐν κήποις, φησὶν, καὶ ἀσθενῶν, τροφῇ, λαχάνοις παραμένων, φυλάσσει τὸν ἀμπελῶνα· ἑταῖροι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ προσέχοντες τούτῳ, οἳ καὶ αὐτοὶ διὰ παντὸς ἑστῶτες συντόνῳ σπουδῇ, καὶ οὐ κήπους ἢ λάχανα, ἀλλὰ καρπὸν τέλειον ἀμπέλου φυλάττοντες. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ καθῆσθαι, τὴν τοῦ φυλάσσοντος ἀμέλειαν δηλοῖ· ὁ δὲ κῆπος σημαίνει τὴν τῶν φυλασσομένων ἀσθένειαν. Τάχα καὶ διὰ τὸ καθῆσθαι τὸν φύλακα, κῆπος οἱ φυλασσόμενοι γεγόνασι· τὸ δὲ, Τὴν φωνήν σου ἀκούτισόν με, παρὰ τοῦ Νυμφίου πρὸς τὴν Νύμφην λέγεται, βουλομένου ἐκ τῆς φωνῆς γνῶναι τὸ φρόνημα τῆς ψυχῆς, εἰ δύναται καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀναλήψεως εἰδέναι μυστήρια, προμαθοῦσα Γραφικαῖς προφητείαις αὐτά·","english":"of those who lead, easily puffed up by the dignity of their office, so as not to arrogate to themselves, through vanity and folly, the excellences that belong to God, inscribing the guarding of the vineyard to their own zeal. For since, he says, my vineyard is before me, and my eyes continually look upon it, for this reason the zeal of those who keep it is also strong; and the plotters flee my name, shuddering as they fix their gaze intently on the vineyard. And by the phrase \"two hundred to those who keep,\" he says that they do not share the vineyard, but receive greater recompense than what they brought. 13, 14. \"O you who sit in the gardens, companions attend to your voice; let me hear it; flee, my beloved, and be like the gazelle, or the fawn of the deer upon the mountains of spices.\" It is the voice of one calling, the phrase \"O you who sit in the gardens,\" and signifying the idleness of the one who sits. For what is said is of this sort: The one who sits in gardens, he says, and is weak, lingering over food, over vegetables, does not guard the vineyard; for companions are those who attend to this one, who themselves also stand at all times with intense zeal, and guard not gardens or vegetables, but the perfect fruit of the vineyard. For sitting indicates the negligence of the guard; and the garden signifies the weakness of those who are guarded. Perhaps also because the guard sits, those who are guarded have become a garden. And the phrase \"Let me hear your voice\" is spoken by the Bridegroom to the Bride, wishing to know from her voice the disposition of the soul, whether it can also know the mysteries of the ascension, having learned them beforehand through Scriptural prophecies.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":188,"ref":"p188","source":"διόπερ ἑτοίμως ἀποκρίνεται λέγουσα· Φύγε, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ὡμοιώθης μὲν γὰρ πρῶτον τοῖς ζώοις τούτοις ἐπὶ ὄρη Βαιθὴλ, ἐνανθρωπήσας· πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ Θεοῦ. Δεύτερον ὡμοιώθης αὐταῖς ταῖς ἐν ᾅδου ψυχαῖς, κατιὼν κηρύξαι τὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἐλευθερίαν· ἐπὶ ὄρη κοιλωμάτων νῦν, ἐπειδὴ καιρὸς ἐπαρθῆναι τὴν μεγαλοπρέπειάν σου ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ καθίσαι ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς. Φύγε καὶ ὁμοιώθητι αὐτοῖς πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τῶν ἀρωμάτων· ὄρη τῶν ἀρωμάτων, τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὄντας ἁγίους λέγει· τοὺς βεβαίαν διὰ τὸ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ εἶναι ἔχοντας τὴν τῶν κατορθωμάτων εὐωδίαν, ἣν ἐκτήσαντο ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ τοῖς πάθεσι μαχόμενοι, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως ἀγωνιζόμενοι. Ἐν τρισὶ δὲ χωρίοις γενόμενος, τῷ περιγείῳ, τῷ καταχθονίῳ, τῷ ἐπουρανίῳ, δορκάδι δὲ καὶ νεβρῷ ὁμοιοῦται, ὄρεσιν ἐπιδιατρίβων τοῖς καθ' ἕκαστον χωρίον ἁγίοις, ἵνα πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ αὐτῷ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων. {Φίλωνος.} Ἐπικάθηται γὰρ ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις ἐφορῶν ταῦτα ὁ Κύριος· οἱ δὲ ὑποτεταγμένοι τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ λειτουργοὶ, προσέχουσι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν παιδεύοντες· εἶτά φησιν ὁ Κύριος καὶ ἡ Ἐκκλησία πρὸς πάντα πιστόν· Φύγε, ἀδελφιδέ μου· ὁ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν ἄνθρωπος, ὀξέως τε ὁρᾷ καὶ φεύγει τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· ὄρη δὲ ἀρωμάτων, ὁ ὑψωθεὶς τυχὸν Ἰωσὴφ ἐν σωφροσύνῃ, καὶ Δαβὶδ, πρὸς οὓς ἔστι φευκτέον. Φύγε οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν γηΐνων καὶ κοσμικῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἐναρέτους ἄνδρας· ὑπὸ τούτων ὁδηγούμενος, μέτοχος γενήσῃ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν.","english":"Therefore she answers readily, saying: \"Flee, and what follows.\" For first you were made like these living creatures upon the mountains of Bethel, having become man, leaping upon the mountains of the house of God. Second, you were made like the very souls in Hades, descending to proclaim the freedom that comes from there; now upon the mountains of the valleys, since it is time for your magnificence to be raised above the heavens, and to sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Flee and be made like them again upon the mountains of spices; the mountains of spices, he means the saints who are in the Jerusalem above, who possess through their being in safety a steadfast fragrance of their good deeds, which they acquired in this life by fighting against the passions and striving for the calling above. And having been in three regions—the earthly, the subterranean, the heavenly—he is likened to a gazelle and a young deer, dwelling upon the mountains, among the saints in each region, so that every knee should bow to him, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth. {Of Philo.} For the Lord sits upon the Churches, overseeing these things; and the ministers subject to the high priest attend to the Church, teaching it; then the Lord and the Church say to every believer: \"Flee, my brother's child\"; for the man according to God sees keenly and flees from sin; and the mountains of spices are, perhaps, Joseph exalted in chastity, and David, to whom one must flee. Flee, then, from earthly and worldly things to virtuous men; guided by these, you will become a partaker of the kingdom of heaven.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":189,"ref":"p189","source":"{Κυρίλλου.} Ὁ μὲν καθήμενος ἐν κήποις τὰς Ἐκκλησίας ἐπισκοπεῖ, οἱ ἑταῖροι δὲ προσέχουσιν οὐδὲ κρίνουσιν, 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. {Ὠριγένους.} Εἶδεν ἡ Νύμφη τὸν Νυμφίον, κ. τ.λ. Τῇ φωνῇ καὶ αὐτὸν αὐτῇ παρορμῶντα παρασκευάσαι τὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς ἄξια τῆς αὐτοῦ, τὰ δὲ τελευταῖα παρὰ τῆς Νύμφης, τὸ Φύγε, ὡς ἂν ἕπεσθαι, καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ διὰ τὸ τέλειον δυναμένῃ. Τὸ δὲ, φύγε, τὴν αἰφνίδιον ἔδειξεν ἄνοδον, καὶ τὴν εἰς ἀπέραντον ἀναχώρησιν ὄρη λέγουσα· εἰς ἅπερ ἂν φεύγουσιν ἔλαφοι καὶ δορκάδες, ταῖς τῶν διωκόντων ὄψεσιν ἄληπτοι γίνονται, τῶν ἀρωμάτων δηλούντων τὸ εὐῶδες τῶν οὐρανίων καὶ καθαρόν.","english":"Of Cyril. He who sits in the gardens oversees the Churches, but the companions attend and do not judge, for the Son does all judgment. And the Bride desires to hear, \"Enter into the joy of your Lord\"; and she asks him also to cast out the wicked, saying, \"Flee,\" and to come upon the saints. Of Origen. The Bride saw the Bridegroom, etc. By her voice she urges him to prepare what is worthy of his hearing, and the last things from the Bride, namely \"Flee,\" so as to follow, and she who is able for the same because of perfection. And \"Flee\" indicated the sudden ascent, and the withdrawal into the boundless, calling them mountains; to which hinds and gazelles flee and become uncatchable by the eyes of the pursuers, the spices revealing the fragrant and pure nature of heavenly things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]}]}