Enarratio in prophetam Isaiam

What is more pitiable than such a life—to suspect everything, to be hindered by everything, when one ought from every direction to lead one's soul back to God? When you see birds flying through the air, do not busy yourself with the shapes of their flights—whether they trace circles over our heads, or are borne facing us, or fly at us from behind, or move off to the sides. Leaving these things behind, marvel at the Creator's wisdom and ordering in them: how such a weight is carried through the air; how the soft nature of the air becomes a vehicle for the wing; how by the stretching out of their wings they swim upon the air, and with the tail as a kind of rudder they direct their flight; how those unfit for walking fulfill the need of feet by means of the wing. All that swim, all that seize prey, have the construction of their body suited to their life. For some have claws as instruments for seizing, while others have the membranes of their feet as a kind of oars, so that by the breadth of their base they push the water more easily in accordance with their motion. All things are full of the wisdom of God. For he made all things in wisdom. But the small-souled man, who thinks lowly things, attempting to fit the movements of irrational creatures to his own purpose, has abandoned God and given himself over as a captive to plotting demons, who, by their power over the air, devise ways to turn the birds this way and that, and thus keep the incurable deception of the foolish. These things, even if they have been said somewhat digressively, yet the discourse has not used the occasion afforded by the passage unprofitably for the healing of the foolish.

One must note that the Scripture delivers divination as a practice peculiar to the Philistines, that is, the Palestinians; for it is customary for it to call these alone "foreigners." For just as the Chaldeans claimed astrology as their own, and the Egyptians sorceries and incantations, and the Cretans augury, so too the foreigners made divination their own. Therefore the land returned to its own evils, becoming as it was from the beginning. And many foreign children were born in it. Whenever a city, having received wicked customs, chooses to live according to them, the sin of the fathers becomes, as it were, a law for those born afterward, and immediately from birth the children are foreigners, alienated from the people of God by their evil upbringing. And since the fruits of the soul are often called children, one might say that the person who gathers from outside the worship of God words that are not sound, contrary to the will of the divine Scripture, and receives them, makes for himself foreign children. For their land was filled with silver and gold, and there was no number of their treasures. How great a sin is the love of wealth, since it has been placed in the list of such great sins. For along with divinations and foreign children—those born from the multiplying of fornication, perhaps in Israel—there is also counted the filling of the land with silver and gold. For to a soul that worships God, wealth becomes an occasion for doing good, through generous sharing; but to one that loves pleasure and loves the body, it becomes a provision for luxury and debauchery. For poverty is a guide to piety, but wealth is an occasion for insolence.

But if an entire nation is accused of an abundance of wealth, let those who are rich consider how they will give an account for their own possessions. And if anyone thinks that, on the basis of some plausible pretext, he is considered rich and does not sin, let him remember the gospel's command, which clearly forbids storing up treasures for oneself on the earth. And the land was filled with horses, and there was no number of their chariots. Everywhere we have observed that the saints, having renounced the use of horses, did so both in military formations and in the other needs of life. Therefore here too, along with the other charges, the matter of horses is also counted among them. For since God wishes them to depend on help from him, and not to place their hopes in their own preparations in wars, and for this reason forbade: "you shall not multiply horses for yourself," those who are accused at that time had surrounded themselves with so great a multitude of horses that they even exceeded number. But let us understand this either hyperbolically, or suppose it was said because base and otherwise dishonored things are not counted in Scripture—that there was no number of their chariots. For observe that in Numbers a woman is not counted, as weak; nor a child, as easily despised, except the firstborn and the Levites; nor a slave, because of dishonor; nor the mixed multitude, because it is foreign. So then we reckon that the chariots wickedly acquired are also outside the number. And the land was filled with abominations, the works of their hands. The Gentile practices, having taken their beginning from divinations, and having advanced through love of money and horse-madness, drifted into idolatry.

For because they had revolted from the counsel of God and paid heed to rumors, because they had not trusted in God but in the uncertainty of wealth, because they had relied on false horses for salvation and not on the one who is mighty to crush wars, as a consequence they proceeded to fill their land with abominations. Every action, then, that is performed contrary to right reason is an abomination to God. Just as those with stomach ailments and a tendency to nausea turn away from loathsome sights, such as discharges of excrement and foul-smelling sores and the like, so too the works of uncleanness are an abomination to the Holy One. Since Scripture is accustomed to call idols "abominations" in the strict sense, all wicked imaginings, stamped upon the soul as by a painting, are abominations that fill the land—that is, the whole spacious realm of the soul's rational faculty. And they worshiped what their fingers made. O what excess of madness, to think that a thing made by him is God, and not to perceive the absurdity of what is made. For if you marvel at the material, why on earth do you not also worship the unshaped bronze or stone? But if it is because of the craftsmanship, worship your own hands, which applied the form to it, or the tools with which you finished it. And how great is the folly of not taking thought about the thing being made, during all that length of time in which the image was being carved or cast? For this is what the words "And they worshiped what their fingers made" indicate. Then, indeed, he will be compelled to choose one of two things: either to have no God before he fashioned one for himself, or to make the pre-existent one grow old, because of the

to need another. But cursed is every man who makes a carved or molten image, the work of a craftsman's hands. And man bowed down and man was brought low. I consider these things to have been said with indignation, as he does not endure the fall of men from their worth. Man (he says) bowed down to the idol for worship—the most honored of the living creatures on earth, the one ranked among rational beings after the angels, the one honored with the image of God, the one who by the power of reason discovered crafts. Having come to know the things in the earth, the powers of plants and roots and fruits, having dared the sea, the nature of air, the generation of winds, the position of stars, their motions, distances, and conjunctions; the ordering of things on earth, cities, laws, generalships, the arts both those necessary for living and those for adornment and display—this man fell down before an idol, as though needing salvation from it, the living before the lifeless, the rational before the senseless. He who took beasts under his hand, to whom all irrational creatures are subjected for servitude (because of God who subjected them to us, who in this gave us the according to the image, in ruling over both the water-dwellers and the land-dwellers)—this man does not dare to stand as an equal beside even one of the irrational creatures that excel in strength, but before the imitation of one animal among the irrational, or perhaps even of some shapeless woman or the most shameful man, he stands fearing and bowed down to the earth, worthy not even to look up toward heaven... because of his sin against the heavenly. And man bowed down and man was brought low.

The evil is intensified: the man who is more ruling, more perfect in understanding, more powerful in deeds—this man, forgetting his own dignity, was brought low under the idol. He who is the image and glory of God, who has Christ as his head, was brought low under the idol—and this, a man. This is the most grievous part of the calamity. For if it had been a child, if it had been a woman, there would be some pardon, for the one from age, for the other from natural weakness. But now a man was brought low, which surpasses every excess of shame. And I will not by any means let them go. O what threats! Is it for eternal punishment that these things are said: I will not by any means let them go? For as long as they were practicing divination, as long as they multiplied strange children among themselves, as long as they were frantic after silver, as long as they were equipping cavalry, there was hope and expectation of relief; but since they have fallen into idolatry, the last of evils, and not perceiving their own dignity, render to the idol honors equal to those of God—I will not let them go. And this the Good One works for beneficence. For since ease is a starting point for licentiousness, I will not let them go, so that affliction at least may provide them the necessity of remembering God. So that not to be let go is not a harmful threat but a saving discipline. For I will not by any means let you go, he says, nor will I ever forsake you. And now enter into the rocks and hide yourselves in the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he arises to shatter the earth. This is another exhortation to the house of Jacob, exhorting to what is advantageous.

For just as "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord," and "Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord," so too now "Enter into the rocks and hide yourselves in the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord." Is there any such slanderer of the Scripture as to suppose that it advises certain people to flee from the face of the fear of the Lord, hiding themselves in the hollows of the rocks? But "Where shall I go," it says, "from your Spirit, and from your face where shall I flee? If I ascend to heaven, you are there." And again the Lord: "If they hide themselves in Carmel, from there I will take them; if they flee to the sea, there I will command the dragon, and it shall bite them." How then did it advise them to put forward the rock as a shelter from the face of the fear of the Lord? But perhaps it calls one release from the evils which it enumerated in what follows—namely, entering into the shelter of the rock, that is, into the firm foundation of faith in Christ. Where Moses also was placed, when he was about to see God. There, it says, "Enter, and hide yourselves in the earth," that is, bury yourselves. For what purpose? That, buried together with Him through baptism and having died together with Him, you may walk in newness of life, having died to sin. And gather together the passages concerning the rock in the Scripture, so that the place may be made clear to you. "In a rock you exalted me." And the people drank from a rock, but indeed they also had honey from a rock. And the Psalmist says: "A rock is a refuge for the hares." The pure rock supplied abundance for satisfaction; and the oil with which they were anointed the solid rock provided, according to the song of Moses.

If, then, you enter into the rock, you will be able to turn aside from the fear of the Lord, when he rises to shatter the earth, when he is about to make the earthly things vanish, and to make the man of dust vanish, so as to grant the spiritual man an unhindered life. It is necessary, then, to anticipate his resurrection with glory and power, having taken care of ourselves in this manner. For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low. Lest you think he is counseling some bodily withdrawal from God, he added, The eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low. Nothing of the things below escapes the one who looks down from on high, since all things are under his view and nothing darkens his eyes. And a lowly man is either the one who, in comparison with the magnificence of God, reckons himself as nothing, or the one who through moderation has laid aside his boastful mindset, or the one who through sin has cast himself down from his former height. And the height of men shall be brought low. In what follows, the height was being brought low and man was worthy of accusation; for Man was bowed down and a man was brought low. But here the humbling is beneficial. For the laying aside of the vain mindset and the return from the exalted and boastful height and empty conceit to one's own proper worth is praiseworthy humbling. For when those who have fled to the rock and made their body in the earth in hope of the resurrection with Christ, the heights that come from irrationality fall, and their vain estimate of themselves; but the true testimony of height is sent up by them to God alone. And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

The word sends us up to a day that is recognized and acknowledged by all. On that day, the last of all days, which neither night interrupts nor time bounds, to which bodily light gives neither beginning nor end, but it is one, like itself, unmoved, without evening, admitting no succession. On that day, then, the Lord alone will be exalted, when every thought of the proud shall fall, and all the splendor of the blessed powers is made to vanish by the excess of the flashes of that glory. Whether he be a Prophet, whether an Apostle, whether they be holy Powers and supramundane—when the true Height appears, all things will be reckoned lowly. Understand for me what is said from one of the examples in life. Let there be a city of craftsmen, who by their daily labor barely provide the necessities for life; and let there be some here more well-off than those who are exceedingly poor, for a time counted blessed by the beggars and looked up to. Then let a king visit the city, richest of all kings, having much gold, much silver, and many precious stones, some laid up in the royal treasury, others brought out for display. Let there be a beauty and untold abundance of clothing, a multitude of servants and bodyguards surpassing number, unutterable expense, an untold mass of camels and mules carrying the wealth in equipment, horses adorned with gold and purple-dyed carpets, some serving, others going before in procession.

What would that poor people suffer at the sight of him—the people who until then marveled at small things, at those who surpassed them? Would they not be ashamed at their own judgment? And would they not come to despise all things by comparison with what surpasses them? And would they not ascribe glory and wealth to the one who is truly rich alone? In this way, then, to the extent that the height and greatness of the wisdom and power of God is hidden, lofty and great things will seem to be many among those who are established in the utmost poverty; but when what is truly wise and truly powerful is revealed, no one will be reckoned either wise or powerful. Thus once Moses too confessed himself slow of speech and slow of tongue, because he heard God speaking to him. And Abraham, when he saw God, confessed himself to be earth and ashes. No one, then, who is deemed worthy to gaze upon the goodness and wisdom of God will be able to testify wisdom or power either to himself or to another. For all the saints are like a lamp's light at steadfast noon, outshone by the sun. Therefore the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord is against every insolent and proud man. Perhaps the first sin is insolence and pride; since indeed the devil, having become insolent through the vaunting of the good things around him, departed from God and drew away with him the opposing powers, saying: I will set my throne above the stars; and I will sit on a high mountain, on the high mountains toward the north. I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Therefore from this point vengeance also begins.

And if anyone, blinded by pride, has fallen into the judgment of the devil, he will be condemned together with the leader and, so to speak, the craftsman of arrogance; for the Lord opposes the proud. It seems that insolence is in some way the beginning of arrogance. For the one who spurns others and regards them as nothing—considering some poor, some low-born, some ignorant—is carried by this insolence to the point of thinking that he alone is wise, prudent, well-born, rich, and powerful, taking contempt as the starting point for his arrogance. For this is what it means to be arrogant: to attempt to appear above the many. And in doing this, he makes his neighbor of no account while exalting himself. Insolence is the beginning of arrogance, and arrogance is the evil offspring of insolence. Therefore vengeance comes upon every insolent and arrogant person; for kindred sins are punished in like manner. So the renowned day of the Lord will bring vengeance upon every insolent and arrogant person. But we, wretched as we are, turning every day amid these evils, do not even understand what evils we commit when we sin. Revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God. And we revile, not understanding even in the very act of reviling, that these words which I now let fall will stand against me in the day of the Lord and will cut off my path and will become like a wall that cannot be crossed over. Who among us does not exalt himself? Who does not spurn his neighbor? But insolence is more than reviling; for the latter is only a dishonoring of the tongue.

But arrogance also involves the contrivance, through deeds, of bringing shame upon those who are treated arrogantly. Yet it is possible today for one who wishes, being lofty, to descend into the lowliness of the humble; and for one who is now humble there is a danger of shifting over to the height of the proud. For the very supposition about oneself that one has come to the utmost point of humility is a starting point for exaltation, and to look down upon one who seems to be exceedingly in sins is a dreadful arrogance, which the Pharisee suffered against the tax collector. And upon every high and lofty thing. The high and the lofty man belongs to the same vice, differing from the insolent and arrogant man only in disposition. For the one employs insolence and arrogance against others; the other, even being alone, exalts himself and lifts himself up by the vanity of his mind, and raises himself on high. And so that you may understand the man who is precisely lofty, remind yourself in the vanity of your youth, if ever, being by yourself, you took thought of life and of pursuits—how easily, by the imagination of your mind, you ran through principalities upon principalities, dominions from

of dominions. You wrapped yourself in wealth, you built houses, you laid up gold and silver; you gathered possessions, with estates bringing in so many talents year by year; you had countless servants, crafts of every kind, and the revenues from them; herds of horses, flocks and cattle, and the money from these; a wife and children and their offspring; you benefited friends, you defended yourself against enemies; you ruled cities, then nations, and finally you even reigned as king. Do you see how, from levity, such a mind is lofty and lifted up? It is fixed nowhere, but is carried beyond what is impossible, beyond nature. Therefore the terrors of the day are threatened even to those who are lifted up. For arrogance is sin, he says. Hear the Lord saying: And do not be lifted up. And blessed David counts it among his successes not to have been lifted up nor exalted; for, he says, Lord, my heart was not exalted, nor were my eyes lifted up. Yet there is also a praiseworthy exaltation, when you are not petty nor anxious about lowly things, but are roused in mind and adorned by greatness of soul and greatness of thought with the stature of virtue. Such height of mind is acceptable—the un-humbled in afflictions, the one who looks down on things on earth. Such is the one whose citizenship is in heaven, whose heart is set eagerly on the treasures there. And this height of thought seems to have the same difference from the swelling that comes from conceit as true good health has from the swelling of the flesh that comes from dropsy; for the body is swollen, but it is festering and diseased.

And upon every cedar of Lebanon, of the high and lofty ones. What wickedness, he says, is there in the cedar, that even its height, which belongs to it by nature, is brought under examination? And why at all does the word threaten the day against the cedars in Lebanon? That the word concerns living beings who are puffed up and possess their exaltation with insensibility, no one will deny. But why cedars? And why of Lebanon? Cedars are a plant, bearing useless fruits, growing to the greatest height and always increasing with the addition of time, neither easily growing old nor easily rotting away. And Lebanon was a mountain of idolatry in ancient times. In order, then, to show us the destructive powers that lurk there, he called the heights of wickedness cedars of Lebanon, those things that are raised up against the knowledge of God, concerning which the psalm also says, that the Lord will crush the cedars of Lebanon. And the arrogant dispositions among men, raised up to presumption without any consequent cause, can be hinted at through the cedars. For there is also in presumption either some plausible cause producing the exaltation, or one altogether irrational. For example, someone thinks highly of himself because of self-control, thinks highly because of chastity, thinks highly because of perseverance in prayers. He does badly in thinking beyond what he ought, yet nevertheless the height has a reason. Such a one is a tall plant, but a fruitful one. But he who is lifted up without any good work, either because of wealth, or because of noble birth, or because of bodily strength, is a cedar, exulting in a fruitless and useless life. And why also of Lebanon?

For just as the plants that grow fixed upon the mountains avail themselves of a height not their own, so those who lay claim to wealth, or power, or the glory of ancestors, make use of things that in no way belong to them as a starting point for their own exaltation. There are, however, also cedars that are praised: The trees of the Lord shall be filled, the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted. And for the giving of glory there are taken up fruitful trees and all cedars, so that it may be shown that nothing is evil by nature, nor alien to God, but that each thing, by its own cause, either departs from God or draws near to him. For this reason also the cedars that contributed to the construction of the temple had been brought down from Lebanon, the history showing that it is possible to pass from idolatry to sanctification. For this reason a cedar is at one time crushed, when it is inseparable from Lebanon; and at another time, when it has left behind its former state, it becomes worthy of being sanctified. In general, however, both the habits of animals and the kinds of plants are taken up to represent the varied character of human choice. And upon every tree of the acorn of Bashan. The mention of another plant, to indicate a human life that is threatened to fall under judgment. For hardened and stubborn characters, disposed in a contrary and resistant way toward everything, and common custom, he likens to an oak. And the tree bears fruit, but food for swine. For this reason he called it a tree of shame; for they interpret Bashan as shame. Of those, therefore, whose glory of fruit-bearing is shame, even upon these shall be the day of the Lord.

And indeed we have found idolatry called "shame," as in the third book of Kingdoms Elijah says to Ahab: "And now send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the prophets of shame and the prophets of the groves, four hundred men, who eat at Jezebel's table." Since, then, "every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire," the day of the Lord is proclaimed as fearful even to the trees of shame. For this reason also the king of Bashan is called Og. And Og is interpreted as "a blocking off," since the works of shame block for us the way of salvation. For fornicators and adulterers and the soft and those who lie with males, and all the workers of shame, are under the rule of Og, who brings about the separation from God; whom the Lord crushes for the freedom of those held captive. For "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good," to him "who struck great kings and killed mighty kings, Sihon and Og." "And upon every mountain and upon every hill and upon every high tower." Just as mountains differ from hills in size, but in other respects are the same as one another, so also the opposing powers resemble one another in their choice, but differ in the magnitude of their injustices. Rightly, then, the day of the Lord Sabaoth will be set against these as well. But what does "and upon every tower" mean? A tower is a high watchtower, suited for the guarding of a city and the knowledge of hostile incursions. Such a thing has also been given to us—the mind—guarding the good things, foreseeing those who plot against us.

It is not necessary for this one to pursue the ascent to heaven in himself or through earthly things; for the Lord comes down to him when he has fallen low because of his proud mind, and for his benefit and salvation he breaks apart his agreement with evil. Concerning this one's building, the Lord commands us to sit down and count whether we have what is needed for completion, as the very context of the Gospel makes clear. The word therefore wishes us to fear the day of the Lord—that lofty and overweening mind that despises all others and calls itself blessed. And upon every high wall. Again, a wall is a stronghold made for the guarding of cities and for repelling the assaults of enemies. So too there are certain arguments—some furnished to us from the truth itself, preserving the indestructibility of the saving doctrines; others contrived from external cleverness for the fortification of falsehood and the guarding of vanity. For the power of dialectic is a wall for doctrines, not allowing them to be easily plundered and easily captured by those who wish to do so. For this reason the walls of Jerusalem are inscribed on the hands of the Lord, while those of Jericho are destroyed by Joshua, dissolved by a voice alone. Above, then, only the lofty things are condemned; but here also those that have some strength along with height—the persuasiveness in demonstrative methods, greatly strengthened and exalted—which the Prophet figuratively calls a high wall, and he affirms that it will be destroyed in the day of the Lord. And upon every ship of the sea.

These things are riddles put forward for the exercise of our mind; let us not hear the Scripture idly, lest we cast our mind down to the ground. Having spoken about the mind—the one that thinks lofty things and is not led along with lowly things—he next, in the same manner of concealment, also speaks about bodies. For the day of the Lord is not fearful to soulless ships, but to those who, through bodies, are tossed about in the briny surge of this life. For just as ships, weighed down with cargo, are hard to steer and easily brought to shipwreck, so too bodies, as many as have been loaded down into gross fleshiness by great and abundant luxury, floating through love of pleasure into the abyss of destruction, are called ships of the sea. There are, however, also ships that are praised—those that serve those who go down to the sea to do work in many waters, and concerning which it has been said in the psalm of glorification, "There ships pass through." For ships that cross the sea, but do not remain in it nor are sunk by the waves, are praised; and those who live in the flesh but do not wage war according to the flesh, trampling the surge of life and being higher than it, do work in many waters—as many as condescend to life in order to gain some of those who have sunk. For this reason they have seen the works of the Lord, receiving as the wage of their labor the understanding of the works of the Lord and of the wonders in the deep. And upon every sight of the beauty of ships. Let those who are concerned with the adornment of the body hear, and those who have busied themselves inquisitively with the sight of these things.

For the sight of ships is not harmful, but the contemplation of the body toward desire is. Therefore the day of the Lord shall be upon every sight of the beauty of ships, because he who looks upon a woman to desire her has already committed adultery in his heart; and the woman who adorns herself to stir up the desires of the licentious toward herself has already committed adultery in her heart. And every man shall be brought low. From these things the word has shown that all the preceding things were spoken in a riddle and veiled concerning men. For after the insolent and proud man, and after the lofty and exalted one, after every cedar of Lebanon, after every oak of Bashan, after every high tower, after every high wall, after every sight of the beauty of ships, then it says: Every man shall be brought low, that is, every form of evils among men shall fall down. And we men have been brought in, as it were, into a common school, this world, and we have been commanded, having received a mind and having eyes for contemplation, to read God, as it were, from certain letters in the ordering and administration of the whole, so that those who wish to occupy themselves with the search for truth, having been sufficiently prepared from the starting points they have received, may be deemed worthy of the face-to-face vision of the things rightly sought, or, having been carried far away from the truth, may be put to shame on account of the lie at the very truth itself; because, having known God, they did not glorify him as God, or give thanks. For the mind of the saints does not only see, but also hears creation recounting the things concerning the glory of God; for the heavens, it says, declare the glory of God.

But those who understand nothing more than the things that appear were made vain, and they revered and served the creature rather than the Creator. And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. When light has appeared, darkness is done away; and when health is present, the troubles of disease have ceased; and when truth has been demonstrated, the nature of falsehood is exposed. And when the truly exalted one has been made known—how far he is above every mind, exalted and lofty—and when all true contemplation has been grasped, the things formerly exalted and lofty will seem worthy of contempt. Therefore the truly exalted and great will be attested to God alone by every rational nature, when those who had until then been deceived set aside their false opinions concerning each particular thing. And they will hide all things made by hands, carrying them into the caves and into the clefts of the rocks and into the caverns of the earth, from before the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he arises to shatter the earth. Since Scripture often speaks alike concerning the coming of Christ in the flesh and concerning that in judgment, and sometimes reports the two comings in an interwoven manner, we consider that these present words are spoken concerning the incarnation, even if the meaning is not out of harmony with the things to come and expected. For after the coming of Christ, zeal for things made by hands has been cast aside; no longer are image-makers held in esteem, nor do the things that were worshipped from of old obtain the same zeal, but they have been cast away in caves and holes and the most obscure places.

For when the light shone forth, those things that had until then lain hidden in the darkness of ignorance were seen, the wood as wood, and the stone as stone—no longer deceived by the outward form impressed upon them, but recognizing them from their actual nature. For the saving visitation of Christ to the whole world is a fearful thing to demons; and now they have abandoned their far-famed places, the workshops of deceit. No longer is there Delphi, no longer oracles; and the prophetess is silent; and Castalia is drunk, and those who drink are sober-minded; Amphiaraus is in flight; Amphilochus is nowhere, and the consecrated images have vanished; and the invisible powers have withdrawn from before the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his might. From the time the cross is named, the idols have been put to flight. Idols, however, are also the phantasies imprinted in each soul by those who suppose false things, whether about God or about any of the matters under inquiry. And as long as the working and the manifestation of the truth are not perceived, each person busies himself with his own imaginings; but when the height and the preeminence of the truly existing and true one is made manifest, then each person, having condemned his own opinions, since his soul was imagining them falsely, hastens to make the thoughts of falsehood disappear, having hidden them as it were in caves and holes, seeing thereafter from the working itself the fearful things of God, and that it is for the making disappear of all material things, and as it were the shattering of earthly things, so that the spiritual things may be revealed. And the image of the earthly must disappear, so that the image of the heavenly may appear.

So that even those who hold false opinions about God, fashioning for themselves a certain intelligible idolatry, possess things that are not as though they were, and these too become liable to the curse that says: Cursed is every man who makes a carved and molten image (an abomination to the Lord, the work of a craftsman's hands) and sets it in a secret place. For on that day a man shall cast out his abominations of silver and gold, which they made to worship vain things and bats, to enter into the caves of the solid rock and into the clefts of the rocks, from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he arises to shatter the earth. In the words that follow, the idols were said to be hidden, but now they are cast out; because one must first be ashamed of the lie, and then cast it out of the heart. He therefore casts out the silver idols—the one who banishes from his secret places the words that craft the lie with all persuasiveness; and the gold ones—the one who makes to vanish the impressions of the lie that arise in the mind. And he worships bats who deifies the power of the demons, which is akin to darkness. For the bat is an animal dear to night and dwelling in darkness, not bearing the light of the sun, fond of haunting desolate places. But what of the demons? Are they not such? Makers of desolation, fleeing the true light, the light of the whole world? The bat is also a bird and yet is not feathered, but flies through the air on a membrane of flesh. Such are the demons too.

They are incorporeal, but they do not fly with divine longing; rather, they have, as it were, been stripped of flesh, clinging to the desires of material things. The bat is both a bird and a four-footed creature, but it neither stands securely on its feet nor has a reliable flight. Such also are the demons: they are neither angels nor humans—having lost the dignity of the one and not possessing the nature of the other. And they have teeth, which birds do not have; and demons too are defensive, which angels do not do. But they also do not lay eggs, as birds do, but bring forth living creatures directly. Such also are the demons: accomplishing wickedness directly and with great speed. So those who worship demons are figuratively said to worship bats. But when someone sets aside the vanity of idols and ceases to worship bats, then he will seek to enter into the holes of the solid rock and into the clefts of the rocks. I think that the many holes are the many mansions, which are divided to each one in proportion to his faith in Christ; and the clefts of the rocks are the passion of his body, to which those who are being saved pray to flee and to be hidden in its shelter. Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for in what is he accounted? In the copies of the common edition, this is not found, but being placed in the Hebrew text, it has been transferred from the rest. The meaning is this: Spare the man, do not wrestle against him or wage war against him.

whose constitution is so weak that it has its vital breath in its nostril, and when this is checked but a little, it no longer exists. He seems, then, to be commanding these powers, which he has figuratively called bats, to refrain henceforth from plotting against men—powers that are weak in the flesh, yet are reckoned among the honored by God, and nothing concerning them is unexamined. 3. CHAPTER 3. Behold now the Master, the Lord of Hosts, will take away from Judea and from Jerusalem the strong man and the strong woman. After the Jewish people had devised an evil counsel against the Lord, he who was crucified by them from the weakness of the flesh, but lived by the power of God the Father, has left that weakness upon them. For you shall die (he says) in your sins; but to us he has granted the power of the resurrection: For he who believes in me, even if he dies, shall live. For the unbelievers grow weak through their unbelief because of the cross; but the righteous say with confidence: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. He, then, who does not have Christ, the power of God, does not have strength. Therefore the Lord will take away from Jerusalem and from Judea the strong man and the strong woman—such as Sarah was, strong and ruling over so great a man as Abraham, according to the command of the Lord who said: Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her. Such as Rebecca, drawing water through hospitality and growing strong through virtue; Deborah commanding as general; Jael excelling in valor; Anna being heard; and Elizabeth prophesying. No longer strong men, nor strong women. And the cause of the weakness has been added:

because there is no strength of bread and strength of water among them. For just as our bodies are strengthened by suitable foods, so there is also something that nourishes the soul and provides it with vigor for noble things. What, then, is this? What the Lord said: that my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. But for those who do not have these, there is no strength of bread and strength of water. And where the foods are weak, there the nourished must necessarily be such as well. But may the Church never suffer the sins of Jerusalem, so as to be deprived of one who is strong in every good work and word, in the cause of truth; strong in fastings, strong in prayers; strong in temptations, strong in endurance, in humility; in the chief of the commandments, love. Likewise also strong in incorruption, in dignity, in almsgiving, in persistence in supplications, in the labors of vigil. Nor let the strength of bread and water, the source of the most nourishing power of the word, be taken away; as the strength of the prophetic spirit failed the Jews, and they find themselves thirsting for the word, desiring the word of God and not having it. For the Lord has taken away the strength of bread and the strength of water. There is, then, also a food among us that does not impart strength but does not permit death, such as Paul prepares for the Corinthians still infants in Christ. There are also vegetables, the food of the weak; and there is solid food suited to the perfect, who through habit have their senses trained for the discernment of good and evil.

And if ever the Church lacks those who hand down solid and vigorous doctrines, filled with divine understanding, it is a sign that the strength of its bread is being taken away. There is also strength and weakness in water, in accordance with what the Lord says: Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst forever. And just as we take solid food in the primary sense, but liquid food so that it may become a vehicle for the dry food and lead it by the hand toward assimilation, so it would be also in the food of the soul: the mind is the first and most proper food of the soul; and the word, making a way for the doctrines through its own activity, brings about their reception. But we must open our eyes, so that we may be filled with this bread and water. For open (he says) your eyes and be filled with bread. And in Genesis: the eyes of Hagar were opened and she saw the water. A giant, and one who is strong, and a man of war, and a judge. Here we find the name of "giant" applied to something good, and if anywhere else, only rarely. As in: He will exult like a giant to run his course. He removes therefore the giant. Those who have certain advantages by nature and who surpass many in comparison of the flesh, for the reception of knowledge or for the practice of virtue—these we consider to be called giants; and "strong," those who have perfected the good that comes from nature by their own care and study. No longer among the Jews are there warriors, for they are not counted in the military registers; nor indeed a judge.

For they were handed over to judges who took them captive, because a ruler had failed from Judah. Yet each of the things threatened against them because of their unbelief toward the Lord can also happen among us, if we are disobedient. For warriors also fail us—those who take up the whole armor of the Lord and stand nobly against the schemes of the devil—whenever unbelief prevails over us and we are handed over to our adversaries. But let us beseech the Lord that a warrior not be taken from us, a man fortified with the breastplate of faith and wearing the helmet of salvation covering his vital parts, and with his feet secured in the preparation of the Gospel, and having drawn the sword and holding it ready to avenge every disobedience; and, in short, as a good soldier of Christ suffering hardship together with the Gospel, not entangled in the affairs of life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. The Church also has judges—those able to reconcile a brother with a brother, by whom even the world is judged, and who will also judge angels. If, then, at any time vain talkers and deceivers multiply, teaching what they ought not, subverting whole households for the sake of shameful gain, and there is no one in the Church to stop the mouths of such people, nor to tear down their lofty pretensions raised against the knowledge of God, one must know that because her disobedience has multiplied, she has been abandoned. And if there is no one wise, able to judge between his brother, but the matters go before unbelievers—

they are judged through lack of holy men, and this too is a sign of abandonment; for the Lord has taken away both judge and prophet and diviner. All prophecy was among the Jews until John; but from that time it has ceased among them. Nor is there among them anyone who spiritually divines the will of the law, because of the hardening that came upon Israel. But in the Church too there is a prophetic gift, because of him who set in the Church first apostles, second prophets. If, then, unbelievers or uninitiated persons ever enter in and are not convicted nor examined, this too is a mark of abandonment. For if, he says, you all prophesy, and some unbeliever or uninitiated person enters, he is convicted by all, he is examined by all, the secrets of his heart become manifest. Therefore a prophet is one who, by revelation of the Spirit, foretells the future; and a diviner is one who, through understanding, from the comparison of like things, and through the experience of what has gone before, infers the future by conjecture—the one who says, "If we do the things of Sodom, we shall suffer the same as they," or that "If we repent as the Ninevites did, we shall be shown mercy in like manner as they." And an elder. Among the things threatened is also the removal of the elder, since no small benefit comes from the presence of one who provides it. Is it, then, the man who has been deemed worthy of precedence in any way at all and enrolled in the presbyterate—is this man an elder? Or is it the one who bears the character of the elder blamelessly, and above all, having no experience of a woman? But if so, according to the law of the Lord, the husband of one woman, having faithful children, not accused of profligacy or insubordinate.

not self-willed, not irascible, not given to wine, not greedy of base gain; but hospitable, a lover of good, sober-minded; holy, just, temperate; holding fast the faithful word which is according to the teaching, so as to be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict—this is a presbyter whom the Lord takes away from a sinning people. As a strong man and a strong woman, as the strength of bread and the strength of water, as a warrior, as a judge, so also a presbyter. When, then, you see that some are indeed worthy to be ranked among the presbyters, but are overlooked or neglected, and that the unworthy have been put forward in their place, know that from such a people the Lord has taken away the presbyter. And how great is the need of a discerner, so that the one who is approved in these matters should not go unnoticed, God showed to his great servant Moses, entrusting to him the choosing of such men; for he says: Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you yourself know to be elders of the people; and you shall gather them to the tabernacle of witness, and they shall stand there with you. And I will take away from the spirit that is upon you, and I will put it upon them, and they shall help you bear the impulse of this people, and you shall not bear them alone. But these men ought to be suitable in age, having had much experience through time, and displaying the steadiness of their character from the gray hair that blooms upon them. For the glory of elders is gray hair. But if somewhere even in a young age a presbyteral mind should be found, the gift is not to be despised, but credit must be given to him who says:

Gray hair is understanding among men. For in truth, the presbyteral quality in understanding contributes more to the standing of an elder than whiteness in the hairs. Perhaps this is also what the word means: You shall rise up before the gray head, and you shall honor the face of an elder. For if someone is, according to the wise Daniel, young in body but gray in understanding, he is more justly to be preferred than those who display bodily gray hairs with an intemperate disposition, like the elders in Babylon, who were worn out with evil days. Therefore also in the case of Daniel, who was a child and younger in perceptible age but had the intelligible gray hair of understanding, the gift of the presbyterate came upon him. For they were not lying when they said: Come and sit in our midst, because God has given you the presbyterate. Thus it can sometimes happen that, when elders live carelessly and negligently, young men are found more worthy of preference. Therefore the elders among the Jews are falsely named; for God has removed, as a warrior and a prophet, so also an elder, from their people. But let the Church pray that an elder worthy of this title not be removed from her. How great a thing this is, we have learned from Abraham: that many longer-lived than he are counted in the generations above; for Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years, and Methuselah lived nine hundred and seventy years, and he died; and Noah lived nine hundred years; and none of those was an elder. But Abraham was an elder according to the testimony of Sarah, who said:

Until now, it has not happened to me; but my lord is an elder. And he was an elder because of the virtue that had made his soul gray. And a captain of fifty. The Lord Sabaoth threatens to take away, along with the rest, also the captain of fifty of the Jews. What is he saying by this? That he abandons to confusion all the well-ordered economy and administration among them, saying the whole from the part. For since commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and commanders of fifties and commanders of tens had been appointed by Moses according to the counsel of Jethro (so that they might bear the burden of the people and take upon themselves the lesser judgments of those needing judgment), the threat is against them, that this ordering will be taken away. Therefore he threatens that there will be taken away from them also a captain of fifty, a warrior and a judge and a marksman and a prophet and an elder. And a wonderful counselor. Great is the necessity and usefulness of counsel for the life of men, because no one is sufficient for himself for all things, but he needs partners more in the choice of what is advantageous than in bodily activities. So that a man without counsel is a ship without a pilot, exposed as it happens to the gusts of the winds. If, then, in deliberations about ordinary matters we take counselors, when we deliberate about the soul and the things that pertain to it, how should we not seek out the wonderful counselors? The Jews, therefore, from the time they made the evil counsel—how they would hand over the Lord—the Lord took away from them the wonderful Counselor, whose counsels they used to marvel at; for they were astonished at his teaching.

But they paid no attention to his counsels. And how is he not a wonderful Counselor, who, instead of "an eye for an eye," counsels the one who strikes the right cheek to turn to him the other also? Not to be angry, not to go to law, not to desire shameful things; not to consider anyone an enemy, but to love those who hate; not to be anxious about corruptible things, not to lift up the mind in lofty thoughts; not to seek small things from God, to have the heart in heaven, transferring one's treasures there; to be with God, to be a lover of one's brethren; compassionate, sharing what one has; not to place impurity in foods, but in the heart and the will. This one who counsels such things, so divine and wonderful, because he was not received by them, the Lord took away. No longer, then, is he a wonderful Counselor among them. But let us pray that this Church not be deprived of the wonderful Counselor, so that, whenever a time of counsel concerning necessary matters comes upon someone, having come into this house (the common council-chamber of souls), he may find a word of consolation, producing in souls something like a light for the discovery of what is necessary. But he who, when good counsel is present, walks by the will of his own heart in vain things, is like Rehoboam, who, dishonoring the saving opinion of the elders, followed the younger men, those brought up with him, on account of whom he also fell from the kingdom of the ten tribes. And a wise master builder. After the benefit of the wonderful Counselor was taken away from the Jews (who was shown to be the Lord

our Jesus Christ) was taken from them, and the wise master builder, and he became an apostle of the Gentiles—the Hebrew of Hebrews, the Pharisee according to the law, Paul, who became a servant of Jesus Christ, whom he had persecuted. What is the proof of his architectural skill? For he himself says: "As a wise master builder I have laid a foundation." And I think that the Holy Spirit also builds the Church of God as master builder, according to Paul himself, who says: "You are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit," and that through the provision of the Spirit you are built together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. Those, therefore, who reject the wonderful Counselor, the Word of God, he has left desolate of the wise Master Builder, the Holy Spirit. For this reason, not having the one who joins them together and fits them together, they are dissolved and split apart from one another, unable to become a temple of God through spiritual building. But let us pray that the Church may have the provision of the Spirit, so that spiritual master builders may be shown forth among us, such as Bezalel was, whom God filled with a divine Spirit, a Spirit of understanding and knowledge, to build as master builder according to all the works of architecture. And it also takes a discerning hearer. If, according to Solomon, "a costly word is for a hearing ear," where there is no word, there is no need of hearing either. Since, then, the wonderful Counselor has been taken away, the discerning hearer has consequently been taken away with him. For where there is no silver, the money-changer is idle.

It is painful also when a word is full of meanings and is borne along according to the realities, but the one who perceives them intelligently is not present, because he does not have the ears of the soul which the Lord seeks for the hearing of his own words, saying: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And I will set young men as their rulers, and mockers shall lord it over them. A double punishment: both to be deprived of good things and to be handed over to worse men. For after the Master and Lord removed from Judea and from Jerusalem the strength of bread and the strength of water, the giant and the strong man, and the man of war and the judge, and the archer and the centurion, and the wonderful Counselor, and the wise Master Builder and the intelligent hearer, then the word threatened that young men rulers would be sent upon them. Thus it knows the most grievous punishment: to be ruled and governed by young men—a city. For youth is light and easily moved toward base things; desires hard to restrain, beast-like angers, rashness, insolence, arrogance and puffing up—passions bred along with youth; envies toward what is superior, suspicions toward what is one's own. A swarm of countless evils is yoked together with youth; all of which those who are ruled must necessarily experience, because the evils of rulers become calamities for the ruled. I will set young men as their rulers. The good things were announced in the singular (the strong man and the strong woman, the warrior, the judge, the prophet, the archer, the centurion, the wonderful Counselor, the wise Master Builder, the intelligent hearer), but the threat of the evils he increased to a multitude: young men as rulers, and mockers shall lord it over you.

It is not the one who is young in age who is accused, but the one who is youthful in character; for the one who is lacking in time is not altogether blameworthy, but the one who lives according to passion. Such a one was Rehoboam, about whom it is written, "And Rehoboam was younger and cowardly in heart." For this reason also Ecclesiastes says, "Woe to you, city, whose king is younger and whose rulers eat in the morning." For it is not the one who is young in age, but the one who is imperfect in soul, who is here called younger. Since youthfulness is not an obstacle to the one who wishes to live according to virtue, the Lord showed this in his words to Jeremiah, saying, "Do not say, 'I am too young.'" For he did not deny that he was young; but he said that youth was not an obstacle to him because of the perfection of his soul: "For to all to whom I send you, you shall go." For the one who sees the dignity of the gray hair in secret has seen him to be elderly in mind. And mockers shall rule over those who have made themselves slaves to sin. For if the common enemy becomes their lord, he does not use them as his own, but abuses them as belonging to another. For our common enemy makes a public show of the one ensnared by sin, trampling upon us and exalting himself over us—and not over us only, but also over our Lord, from whom he has made us revolt—and making a public display of our shame, he does not cease triumphing over the captives and mocking those under his hand. For since he himself was made to be mocked (for this is, it says, the beginning of the Lord's handiwork, made to be mocked by his angels; and the psalm—

This dragon, which you formed, to mock him—having turned back upon us the very things he ought himself to suffer, he rules over us through his mockeries. Hence the one who perceives the sin wrought in him by the devil says, "For my reins are filled with mockings." And almost like Samson, who through fornication became a spoil to the foreigners and was blinded by them, was led out to be mocked, so also everyone whom sin has blinded is mocked by strangers. But the Lord does not threaten that he himself will set these mockers over them, as he did the young princes, but he said that they will rule of themselves, from whatever each one draws upon himself through his works to be ruled by them. Perhaps, then, because those who were about to crucify mocked the Lord before the crucifixion, they were handed over to a younger rule, that of the Romans; and mockers took dominion over them, those who do not have the truth in themselves. And if you see the Church led by those who enslave the word in cunning, and by false speakers in hypocrisy, know that mockers rule over it, those who through fair speech and persuasive argument deceive the more guileless. And the people shall fall, man against man, and man against his neighbor. The Prophet plainly recounts the events before the capture of Jerusalem—this final one, after which they were handed over to the dispersion—no longer bringing his word forward through prophetic riddles, but narrating the very events nakedly and openly.

when, falling upon one another, they filled the city with faction and murder, not even driven to the necessary concord by the enemies encircling them, but, anxious about the last things, when the city was already being taken, the walls being thrown down, the enemies pouring in, they went at one another out of love of rule and love of primacy. And these things they suffered because a prophet and an observer and an elder and a wondrous counselor had been taken away from them, and young rulers had been set over them and mockers had gained mastery over them. And the child will strike against the elder, the dishonored against the honored. He goes through the marks of confusion. For it is characteristic of faction to distinguish nothing, but even for the child to be displeased with the elder and to strike against his teachings; and the dishonored, because he has been insulted in the passion of dishonor, will wish to be considered more august than the honored. But I fear lest these things reach even us, and these prophecies be for the present time: when young children in age, younger in character, strike against the elders of the Church, neither accepting their sacred ministrations nor keeping the fitting good order of the Church. And whenever those who have lived wickedly make war against those who have conducted themselves well, the dishonored strike against the honored. Or do we not see men every day rising from drunkenness and gluttony, from the brothels, and discoursing about God and judging the honored of the people? Because a man will lay hold of his brother and his neighbor, the son of his father, saying:

You have a garment; become our leader, and let my food be under you. These words too clearly refer to the time of the Jewish capture, when, having wasted away with famine, so that they even fell into devouring one another, they went over to those who seemed to be well off, calling upon them for protection: You have a garment; become our leader. The true ruler is not recognized by outward symbols, such as purple, a fine cloak, and a diadem, but by possessing the virtue proper to a ruler. For he who is ruled by pleasures and led by various desires, being a slave of sin, is unfit to rule. Here, however, the testimony of being able to rule comes not from the soul's being adorned, but from the wrapping of garments. But let us pray that the rulers of the Churches and the leaders of the people may have their testimony not from outward attire and the bearing imposed upon them, but from the truth itself, so that we may say: not because your outward appearance is adorned and the mold of piety has been sufficiently perfected in you, but because God has clothed your soul with the garment of salvation and the robe of gladness and has made you great with every wealth, become our leader, so that from your abundance in word and wisdom and good works we may find prosperity and enjoy spiritual delights through your ministry. And let my food be under you, that is, let the measured portion of grain be under you. And answering in that day he will say: I will not be your leader; for there is not in my house bread, nor a garment.

The passage still hints at the circumstances of the sedition, in relation to the historical account, narrating the people's fall to the very last degree, such that they did not have resources even to the extent of a single garment, while those drawn by them to leadership—he shows the factious character of the sedition in affairs, that not from agreement nor from concord do all rush to the choice of the one able to rule them, but each takes hold of whoever happens to be at hand and does not choose the worthy man but the one related to himself, nor the one able to save but the one connected to him by family. For, he says, a man shall take hold of his brother and of his father's kinsman. May this be far from happening in the leaderships of the Churches, so that just anyone takes hold of just anyone, and the one destitute of wedding garments and stripped of fitting adornment, poor in spiritual foods, and not having in his house—that is, in the secret of his heart—the true and living bread able to strengthen a man's heart. But now I fear that in the Jewish sedition there were some who considered themselves unworthy to rule others because of the consciousness of the poverty existing in them; but in the present circumstances, even if there are some not clothed in Christ nor with bowels of compassion, according to the Apostle, even if someone takes hold of them, they do not object, and even if no one takes hold, many push themselves in, and many are self-appointed office-seekers, pursuing the present splendor but not foreseeing the coming judgment. But Moses was not such a man; rather, he was obedient and attentive in all things when he was sent to the people.

I beseech you, Lord (he says), appoint another whom you will send. For this reason he also brought God, so to speak, to cling to him more contentiously, showing by the very refusal and the confession of weakness that he was worthy to preside. Therefore the precept is well said: Do not seek to become a judge, lest you be unable to remove iniquity. Yet the prophetic word says that the refusal of those who were being dragged along to rule over the seditious did not come about altogether; for he did not say simply, I will not be a leader, but with the addition, I will not be a leader of this people, and he added the reason: Because Jerusalem is loosened and Judea has fallen, and their tongues with iniquity disobey the things pertaining to the Lord. For Jerusalem, which until then was held by the hand of the Lord in the bond of union, is now loosened and cast out. And Judea has fallen, its supports having been taken away. And are the sufferings only such as these? Is there any care for pleasing God and zeal for repentance, so that from this there might be hope that the evils will cease? But their tongues disobey the things pertaining to the Lord, and not merely disobey, but with iniquity. So that, because the heart has been estranged from God and is unsubmissive to the divine law, their tongue—which ought to meditate on the law of the Lord night and day—speaks against and disobeys. Whom, then, shall I rule? (he says). Jerusalem? But she has been cast out and loosened. Judea? But she no longer stands upright; for she has fallen. Those who repent? But they disobey with their tongues. Perhaps, then, on account of the glory that previously existed, ruling over such people is a solemn thing.

But their glory has been brought low (he says), and the shame of their face has stood against them. That is, they do not even have the boldness to look up to God, because their sin is not an ordinary one, but is worthy to be compared to the sin of the Sodomites, which they did not commit in secret, nor while feeling ashamed, but as it were exulting in the practice of wickedness, they proclaimed it to all and made it known, just like those men who rushed headlong into unlawful pleasures and did not cover their licentiousness with decent words. For where (he says) are the men who came in to you? Bring them out to us, so that we may have relations with them. They imitated that sin. For they proclaimed and made known their sin, as of Sodom. Whoever encounters the history that recounts the sufferings that came before the destruction of Jerusalem will be struck by the vividness of the prophecy. There are, then, two reasons for a reasonable refusal on the part of those drawn to the leadership of the people: their own weakness, and the difficulty of the situation, since the peoples are hard to correct because of the great outpouring of sin. The present passage contains both of these: concerning his own weakness, in the words of the one who at first refuses, saying, There is no bread in my house, nor a garment. And the incurability of the people, from the saying, I will not be ruler of this people, because Jerusalem is undone and Judea has fallen. And their tongues, with lawlessness, disobey the things that pertain to the Lord. For they proclaimed and made known their lawlessness as of Sodom.

For not even one man was able to save the Sodomites, but they needed at least ten righteous men to plead for them. Woe to their soul, because they have devised an evil plan against themselves, saying: Let us bind the righteous man, because he is troublesome to us. Therefore they shall eat the fruits of their works. The Prophet, then, after seeing the people grown shameless in sinning in a manner like Sodom, so as not even to stumble with a covering and concealment, but to be boldly impudent and to pride themselves on their shameful deeds, lamenting them, says: Woe to their soul, because they have devised an evil plan against themselves, saying: Let us bind the Righteous One, because he is troublesome to us. The plans made against the righteous return upon the heads of those who devise them, just as arrows that strike solid and resistant bodies rebound upon those who shoot them. Therefore he says: They have devised a plan against themselves, saying: Let us bind the Righteous One, because he is troublesome to us. And the Jews did these things at the coming of the Lord; for having bound him, they led him to Caiaphas. They bound the hands that did good, not enduring the coming of righteousness, because it was destructive of wickedness. For righteousness is troublesome to those who do injustice, as the sun is to those with diseased eyes. Therefore he says: They shall eat the fruits of their works. And these are the fruits of those works: the captivity, the dispersion, the destruction of the temple, the fall from glory, the shame of their face, not allowing them to look up to God, because of their sin against the Only-Begotten.

They have therefore lost their former boldness, having neither prophets nor worship; and having bound the Word, having bound the truth, having bound the light, having bound righteousness, having bound the Savior, having bound the physician, having bound the liberator (all of which, according to the varied conception concerning him, is Christ), they are deprived of light, deprived of the Word, deprived of truth; they live together with unrighteousness, they are incurably sick. These are the offspring of the works which they eat. Woe to the lawless man. Evil things shall befall him according to the works of his hands. We say that these things were spoken concerning the divine judgment, which repays each one according to his worth. But if on this account—Woe to the lawless man, because evil things shall befall him according to his works—shall punishment not be brought upon the one in whom unrighteousness did not advance to deed, but was accomplished in the hidden recess of the heart, so as to apply the Woe also to him? Or, having stated the perfect in wickedness, he left the remainder for you to understand by analogy. For perfect wickedness is to sin both in intention and in deeds; but half of the evil is for the sin to be stopped at the impulse according to the mind. Therefore the one who sins according to the mind is not entirely unpunished, but to the extent that he falls short of the evil, to that extent his labors will be subtracted. Woe, then, to the lawless man, because evil things shall befall him according to his lawless deeds and according to the works of his hands, since the hands are instruments of the thought. For as the ruling principle moves, so the instrument is moved. My people, your exactors strip you bare, and those who demand payment rule over you.

The voice of one calling the people back and grieving with those who are afflicted: My people. Before you bound the Righteous One, before you rejected the use of him, what have you suffered? Now you have become debtors of many debts. For this reason you have been handed over to those who exact the debt from you, who, since they find no sheaves in you, nor abundance of fruits, gather you up, small and worthless, picking out the broken fruits of your souls. And such are we, repenting in a petty and worthless and fruitless way. For what a man sows, that he will also reap. Therefore the one who sows richly into the Spirit with a repentance worthy of account—almsgiving, compassion, supplication, righteousness, unceasing tears—this one, sowing in tears, will reap in gladness, carrying the sheaves of repentance, so as to pay the whole debt to the exactor. But the one who, with repentance for former sins, sows little in almsgiving, in prayer, nurturing a stalk empty of fruit, will not even be permitted by the exactor to keep this. And who this exactor is, let us be taught from the counsel in the Gospel, where the Lord says: For as you go with your adversary to the ruler, on the way make an effort to be released from him, lest he drag you to the Judge, and the Judge hand you over to the exactor, and the exactor throw you into prison. For understand there the adversary and the way; then the ruler who presides over our adversary. For the way is our life; and the adversary is the power that wrestles against us and attends our life, scheming with every method to turn us aside from the road that leads to God.

But the ruler (the ruler of this world) about whom the Lord said: Now the ruler of this world comes, and in me he will find nothing. But in the Lord he found nothing, because he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who was tempted in all things in likeness, apart from sin. When, then, he finds many things in us, dragging us along by the many cords with which we bound ourselves—the cords of our own sins—he will hand us over to the Judge. And the Judge, to whom the Father has given all judgment, having received from the enemy and avenger those convicted on many charges, will hand them over to the officer, the one appointed over punishments; who will cast them into prison, that is, into the place of punishment, exacting and collecting payment through painful scourges even for the smallest sins committed by us with contempt. Therefore the Lord counsels, while we are on the way with the adversary, to make it our business to be rid of him, that is, to do the works that lead to release from the enemy, and not to wait until we are ever led away, when the final hour comes; in which the ruler will stand over us and search us out; who, if he finds many of his own things in our life, will hand us over to the Judge, convicting us and not permitting the denial, reminding us of the place in which we committed the sin, as one who was present with us and cooperated with us in the evil, of the manner we pursued, of the disposition with which we sinned. While, then, we are masters of the doing, let us make it our business to be rid of the adversary. And those who exact payment lord it over you.

Those who demand payment from the poor who are subject to many debts drag them into slavery. It is good, then, not to incur debt; but the second best is not to be at a loss for the settling of the debt. Otherwise, there is every necessity that he be a slave to the exactions brought upon him. This is because of the words: Your exactors plunder you, and those who demand of you lord it over you. My people, those who call you blessed deceive you and disturb the path of your feet. Those who are ruled by young men and lorded over by mockers, who are plundered by exactors and, because they are at a loss for the settling, are led into slavery and have lost their freedom through excessive poverty—these are worthy of being pitied rather than of being called blessed. Therefore the one who calls such people blessed, doing the work of a flatterer and gratifying them beyond what is fitting, deceives them, doing no small harm by taking away the perception of their sins; and for those who are deceived by the blessing that is contrary to their worth, the path of their feet is also thrown into confusion. For afflictions are meant to lead to humility, but the blessing produces self-inflation. And he spoke generally, "people," indicating that not only this one, being in a lowly condition, as in the sufferings that have been enumerated, but rather every people in general, because it is a gathering of human beings collected from various pursuits and ages and ways of life, cannot equally fall under one blessing. For different calamities afflict each person in different ways: one man the toils of old age, another the evils of slavery; another poverty, others the loss of relatives; others diseases.

How, then, is the blessing that is pronounced upon all the people not deceptive? The Lord, however, even if he shows a multitude through the blessing (Blessed are the poor in spirit, and Blessed are those who hunger, and Blessed are those who weep), nevertheless by addressing those present he shows the small number of those being blessed. For it is clear that he was speaking about the disciples, who had been taught the praiseworthy humility, and, in accordance with their likeness to him who became poor for our sake, had taken up poverty in their mindset. For this reason he says, Yours is the kingdom of heaven; and, Blessed are those who hunger now, for they shall be filled. But if the way is narrow and few are those who find it, how can those being blessed be many? So that anyone who blesses the whole people altogether deceives and confuses them, not allowing them to walk peacefully. And it is easy for those who do not pay attention to be caught by the passion for praises, since each person, through self-love, is easily led astray by the deceits that come from flatteries. But it is the mark of a man who has been benefited neither to be humbled by falling under anyone's slanders, nor for that reason to cringe, nor by praises, through ignorance of his own condition, to be easily puffed up and inflated. Since, then, the path is the road worn beforehand and trodden by those who came before, he who does not allow those who fall short of the zeal of those who lead the way to come to a painful perception, but blesses sinners as though they were succeeding, throws their feet's path into confusion. But now the Lord will be established for judgment, and he will set his people for judgment.

All things are apportioned to each one by divine judgment and understanding, according to the wisdom that is hard to describe, in proportion to worth—both the things now brought upon them and the things in the age to come. Since, then, these things (he says) the people acted lawlessly, and the Lord brought such things upon them. So that it might be shown, as it were, that the things concerning the righteousness of God are owed—that he did not exceed the measure of their injustices in the multitude of their punishment—the words were spoken: But now the Lord will be established for judgment, so that this Now might be set in contrast with the age to come. Or perhaps the Now signifies, in our case, the indivisible and instantaneous point of time; but in the case of God, all things lie present according to the perception of the Now. For nothing has passed away for him, nor is anything about to be, but all things are present; and the things expected by us from afar are beheld by the divine eye as already present, so that in the case of God the Now also includes the age to come. Since, then, the appointed time of judgment is not far off as regards God, we have understood the Now as referring to the universal judgment. And he will be established for judgment, unfolding the principles of his righteousness, according to which, for the same works, he makes the just requital of such punishments, so that even those who are condemned agree that the judgment pronounced against them is most just. And he will set the people of Israel for judgment. For as many as sinned under the law will be judged through the law, but the rest of the peoples no longer; because As many as sinned without the law will also perish without the law; and The ungodly will not rise in judgment, but in condemnation.

For every lawgiver, judgment for those judged according to the law written by him consists in the comparison of both the deed and the will of the lawgiver. Therefore also the Lord says: The word which I have spoken, it will judge you, because reasonings are set over against one another—both the one suggested by the Lord and the one that summons to sin. For according to Hosea, his own devices will encircle each one. For we shall see all things at once, as it were standing before us through memory, and appearing face to face to our mind with their own impressions, as each thing was done or as it was spoken. For when the Lord has shown that he has done all things pertaining to himself without fail in his care for the nations which he has received, he is said to conquer in being judged against us. Yet it is not fitting to think that times will be consumed for each one to see himself with his own deed, and the judge and the things that follow the divine tribunal, the mind forming images by ineffable power in a moment of time and painting all things for itself, and as it were in a mirror looking upon the impressions of things done in the governing faculty. The Lord himself will come for judgment with the elders of the people and with his rulers. How the word indicates an even more vehement stirring in the phrase The Lord himself will come for judgment; for concerning the people it was said, The Lord will stand for judgment and will set his people for judgment; but concerning the elders and the rulers, The Lord himself will come for judgment. First, that we may be taught that each of us will be judged in his own rank—the people, the elders, the rulers.

For the least is forgiven with mercy, but the mighty will be examined mightily. And it is clear that when he comes to judgment, he will come not to condemn but to distinguish. For it is not for the judge to come to the judgment with those being judged, but for those being judged to meet the judge together with one another. And when he comes to judgment with them, he will immediately also accuse them in a convicting manner, saying: But why did you set my vineyard on fire, and the plunder of the poor is in your houses? Why do you wrong my people? Let us take counsel, you elders and rulers of the people, what we should answer to the one who accuses us—or rather, let us pray that such things as deserve accusation not be found in us. For it is clear that the word is directed at us, some of us in the presbyterate, others presiding over the people in greater honor. I entrusted to you a flourishing vineyard, wholly true, that you might make it bear the fruits it ought through your care; but you not only cleared it of weeds, you also set it on fire. And this

It happens when, in addition to not teaching what is required, we also welcome into the vineyard the conflagration that comes from impiety, like a flame creeping everywhere and always seizing what is next to it. Those who show the branches that were previously flourishing and thriving to be dry, unseemly, and fruitless, and those who do not quench the passions that arise from the fiery darts of the devil, but by the slackness of their own life allow them to multiply, set the vineyard on fire. But also the one who, through pleasant greed, provokes many to the desire of what belongs to others, sets the vineyard on fire. At any rate, he adds: And the plunder of the poor is in your houses. So that even those who gather unjust possession from plunder and violence provide the cause of the burning to the vineyard, from the evil example of the rulers and of all the people being trained in greed against one another. Therefore we elders and rulers, who do not cultivate the vineyard through sound teaching and the good examples of our own life, will be charged with these things. And with good reason we shall also hear: And the plunder of the poor is in your houses—if we keep in our houses what is given for the relief of the poor, depriving the needy. Why do you wrong my people and shame the face of the poor? It is the custom of those who do wrong and defraud, when they are accused by those they have wronged, to shame them with insults and abuse, belittling them and threatening blows and slandering them as busybodies.

So then, he says, you not only wrong the poor man—who is easy to plunder and easy to plot against because of his destitution—but you also put the faces of the poor to shame. The shame that properly belongs to you from your injustice, this you turn back upon the poor by your tyranny, persuading witnesses, hiring advocates, suborning judges, until, in addition to the rest of your injustice, you bring upon the poor the shame that comes from false accusation. And in another way too the charge becomes ours, when, in the case of similar offenses, we fall fiercely upon the poor, publicizing their offenses and sparing no reproach, displaying our zeal for God toward the poor and by this putting their faces to shame. But since there are certain poor who are called blessed—those who for the sake of piety have despised all things and, in hope of the wealth that is according to God, have looked down on worldly possessions—those who preside badly over the people, instead of calling such poor men blessed, slander and despise them and make light of their praiseworthy humility, are rightly accused, especially if they are presbyters or rulers, as putting to shame the faces of the holy poor. Such a poor man was John, having no house, no servant, no plowing ox, no little field, no bed, no table, no bread. Such was Elijah. Such was each of the saints, who went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated. Thus says the Lord:

Because the daughters of Zion were lifted up and walked with a high neck and with beckonings of the eyes and with the gait of their feet, dragging their tunics along and at the same time playing with their feet, therefore God will humble the ruling daughters of Zion. Even if the passage primarily indicates something greater, nevertheless what is said also has something useful and corrective for the multitudes right from the text itself. For it restrains the life of unchaste women, who display their readiness for fornication by their bearing, their glance, their walk, and their dress. For when, priding themselves on the beauty of the body, they exalt themselves above the rest, indulging in empty swagger and being lifted up over a thing that quickly fades and flows away, then they carry the neck high, so that their faces may be visible to all. For the modest and orderly woman, bowing down to the earth from shame, has her face drawn downward; but she who chooses to catch many in the snare of her beauty walks with a high neck. And with beckonings of the eyes. The accusation of a woman breathing fornication is to look curiously with the eye, to betray the licentiousness of the soul by the glance, to smile, to provoke wantonly with the eyes, to send forth from the eyes a certain corrupting poison—such as the account concerning the basilisk also holds, which they say destroys those who have looked upon it by its mere sight. Justly, then, the word is indignant against those who walk with a high neck, that is, with an unblushing face, and with beckonings of the eyes. But the height of the neck is a proof that she is not even subject to the yoke of chastity.

But when she is pampered and wanton, dragging her tunic as she walks and making her gait not according to nature, but relaxed in a tuneless rhythm and deliberately practiced. Therefore, in return for these things, God will humble the ruling daughters of Zion. Since they did not willingly choose humility, but walked with a high neck, he will humble (he says) their leaders, the daughters of Zion. Even now it is possible to see in many places Jewish women playing with each person's feet and not being ashamed of the Prophet's voice. Would that the daughters of the Church were not accused of the same things. For many, insofar as is possible in a multitude among those who approach the divine word, in the days of the festivals, not knowing spiritual gladness, giving themselves over to indecent amusements, wallow in revelries and drunkenness, and not keeping the commandment that says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead," but slanting the eye and turning it aside, they display evidence of a wicked purpose. And in many places the beckonings of the eyes have been condemned, as in Proverbs it is noted concerning the wicked man, that "He beckons with his eye, and signals with his foot." And again: "He who beckons with his eye with deceit gathers sorrows for men." And the saying, "Those who hate me without cause and beckon with their eyes.

Such accusations sometimes reach even men—those who look down on their inferiors with a boastful spirit, who lean back in their posture, and who display their boastfulness by the lifting of their eyebrows, walking with a stately and elevated gait in measured rhythm, letting their cloak hang down to their ankles, displaying arrogance, and giving themselves over to immoderate amusements. Upon them awaits the threatened fall that comes through being brought low from their height. And the Lord will uncover their appearance. This proud and affected appearance, fashioned for wantonness and every licentious thought, working in the hearts of the careless—the Lord will uncover it, when in the revelation of hidden things the veils of the flesh are removed, and the soul is exposed bare and by itself, together with the works of its shamefulness. And sometimes here too the uncovering of the appearance is brought about for the good of those in whom it operates, so that, when they are laid bare, the things that previously escaped many and the shamefulness of their sins has come to the knowledge of many, those who previously persisted in evil because it went unnoticed may turn back, put to shame. It is the Lord's work, then, to uncover the appearance that is counterfeit and artificially contrived. So that even if some of us who are held in honor hide an unseemly life under a pretense, let them fear the one who is going to uncover our appearance and make manifest the counsels of our hearts, so that the thoughts that arise in each person, the worse ones, may lie exposed in the sight of all.

For his own designs will encircle each one of us, and our deeds will stand around us with their own distinguishing marks, bringing upon us shame and everlasting reproach, when they are exposed as being contrary to the word—so that the one who proclaims "Do not steal" is found to be a thief; the one who says "Do not commit adultery" is caught having his portion among the adulterers; the one who abhors idols does not keep himself from sacrilege. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor covered that will not be uncovered. In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their clothing and their adornment. Since they used improperly what was given for use, the Lord will take away the glory of their clothing, which they put on to their own harm and to the harm of those who encountered them. So every woman who has used the covering of her garment badly is threatened with its removal. Since, he says, they also walked along dragging their tunics, as though not using their clothing but misusing it, they were commanded to be stripped of the glory of their clothing. Yet he also takes away from us the glory of our clothing, if we are found to have used it unworthily, trampling it underfoot and drawing it into the defilements of the flesh. And what is this clothing, or the garment of the saints, but our Lord Jesus Christ? For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, whom the Lord takes away from those who by sinning trample the body underfoot and regard the blood of the covenant as common.

The symbols of this garment were the garments of Israel, which did not wear out, as it is written in Deuteronomy: Your garments did not wear out, and your sandals on your feet did not grow old. For the sandals also were symbols of the preparation of the Gospel of peace. For the new covenant which Christ Jesus gave remains new, never growing old. For to the extent that we use this and the sandals, to that extent they become newer, as the preparation of the Gospel, ever fresh and new, comes upon us in the progress of faith in Christ. And the tassels. Through the Prophet the Lord threatens to take away the tassels also from the women who adorn themselves. Now the word "tassel" is not at all used in Greek custom, and hence its meaning is not evident. However, we, in the construction of the high-priestly garment, having found a tasseled tunic, having pomegranates and bells, understood the tassels to be certain fastenings of the fringes, hanging together with the golden bells and the pomegranates from the extremities, which the daughters of Zion also imitated in the wearing of their own clothing, in excess of luxury; through which they insulted the priestly peculiarities, wearing hyacinthine and scarlet fringes attached to the hem. And the crescents and the necklace and the ornament of their face. He goes through the women's ornament in detail, ridiculing the excess of adornment. For the Lord will take away both the crescents and the necklace.

Another writer rendered the crescents more clearly, saying "and the maniakas," and instead of "the necklace" saying "chalasta." A crescent, then, is a golden ornament for the neck, fashioned in a circular shape, which women put on and then make a point of displaying the bare neck, and shamelessly expose what it would be more modest to cover. And the necklace is also a kind of ornament, let down and descending upon the breast, hung with certain loose chains, so that in order for it to be visible, it is altogether necessary that even the parts around the breast not be modestly covered. And the ornament of their face. There are also certain colors cultivated by women for the adornment of the face: white, red, and another, black. The white falsely claims whiteness of body, the red blooms on the cheeks, and the black outlines the eyebrows crescent-wise around the eyes. The Lord threatens that he will take away this too, so that (he says) the chastity of husbands not be stolen, nor the eyes of the young be pitifully caught up by these paintings. Or these things will be taken away then, when all things stand bare before the Judge, when the eyebrow has fallen, the cheek is downcast, the color livid from fear. The Lord therefore also takes away the ornament. And the

the composition of the ornament of glory, as it were both the material that adorns and the very conception that comes from art. And since it is not possible to be elated by one thing so much, nor to be puffed up over it, but when all are combined together the boastful mind arises, the Lord threatens that he will remove the composition of the ornament. Of what sort the ornament is, such evidently is the glory that rests on it; the ornament is bodily and vain; therefore the glory that rests on it is corruptible and without substance. And the crescents and the bracelets and the braided ornaments. The whole ornament that has been enumerated is the pursuit of a wanton woman, that is, of one who lives in luxury and is dissolute. But especially the crescents (being named from luxury) are perhaps worn around the arms. Bracelets are those displayed openly on the extremities of the hands. But bracelets have sometimes been taken in a good sense, as when the elder of the household adorned holy Rebekah. For it was necessary that she who was about to be joined to the patriarch should be pre-instructed by her suitor in the practical aspect of the soul. For this reason he adorned her hands with golden bracelets, that is, with honorable actions. And their weight was ten gold pieces; because in ten headings the whole observance of the law is summed up. And earrings, each having the weight of a drachma, because obedience ought to be adorned by faith in one God. Here, however, the bracelets are removed, because of those who are elated by the ornament of bracelets, the word indicating to us generally that he who has been lifted up in pride over having been able to do the better things is abandoned by the oversight that holds him together.

The braid seems to be something interwoven with the hair, to arouse the color of the hair by its own good color. And let no one consider these things petty. For we are not more reverent than the Spirit, so as to disdain to investigate the words in the Scripture. For we have learned in the Song of Songs that the braid of the praised bride is also honored: For your head (it says) is like Carmel, and the braid of your head is like purple. And the earrings, and the rings. We have been taught that the use of earrings is praiseworthy in the betrothal of Rebecca, a symbol that good teachings concerning the truth in things intelligible were about to be delivered to her, who had come to be in the house of Abraham. But we have understood that they are accused in many places. First, from the fact that, when they were about to go up to Bethel, the women were commanded by Jacob to remove them along with the foreign gods, since the use of earrings, along with idolatry, was an obstacle to going up to the house of the Lord. For Bethel is interpreted as the house of God. Then in Exodus, Aaron, having been stirred to faction by the people to make an idol, chose the earrings as suitable material for the construction of the forbidden things. For all the people (it says) removed the golden earrings that were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron, and he molded them into a molten calf. But also Gideon, taking the earrings from the people out of the Ishmaelite spoils, made them into an ephod, and set it up in the city.

And all Israel played the harlot after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house. And these earrings are now condemned because they lift up the mind of the daughters of Zion. And the garments with purple borders and those with purple in the middle. He condemns the adornment in the clothing of women who beautify themselves as meddlesome, weaving purple sometimes at the edges, sometimes inserting it in the middle. And purple is a symbol of deceit, covering the natural color and bringing out its own bloom, like those who are bright in appearance but shadow evil in the depth. And whether it occupies the edges of life or the middle, it is to be avoided. Therefore the word rejects even the purple-bordered garments. And the coverings, both those in the house and the transparent Laconian fabrics. The word exposes an excess of prodigality and unsparing luxury, saying that the coverings in the house are transparent through the excess of their fineness. For that which is spent for display has as its aim the pleasing of men; but for one to be by himself in the house, with no one looking, and to wrap himself in transparent garments, displays every excess in the misuse of things permitted us for use, so as to imitate the coverings of the Laconian women, who, declining to be openly naked in the dance as indecent, put on linen clothing of surpassing fineness, and through it reveal what should hide the eyes of men. And the fine linen and the hyacinth-colored garments and the fine linen woven together with gold and hyacinth.

But now the daughters of Zion also carry about imitations of the priestly garment, in their shameless life, reveling beyond measure in luxury like the holy things—fine linen and hyacinth, such as those men wore as symbols of the elements from which all things consist, when they entered the holy place by themselves, propitiating God on behalf of the world. For the fine linen stands for the earth, the hyacinth for the air, the purple for the water, and the scarlet for the fire. But they, not content with the adornment that comes from these, wove gold in with them as well, for greater variety and extravagance. And summer wraps spread upon couches. The summer wrap seems to be a summer covering, such as to appear to cover without being heavy in the heat; as we have learned in Genesis that Rebekah was wearing the summer wrap when she met Isaac. But what the word now censures are called summer wraps—those spread over the couches in reclining, out of excess of luxury. And yet the others have not even rendered the word "spread upon couches"; therefore it has been marked as spurious, as conveying no sense. And there shall be instead of a sweet smell, dust; and instead of a belt, you shall be girded with a rope; and instead of the gold ornament of the head, you shall have baldness because of your works. Part of luxury is also the sweetness in smells, when they drug the air with certain perfumes burned as incense and contrive a pleasant breath for themselves. To those, then, who are dissolved by pleasure and contrive a sweet smell for their nostrils, dust shall be given in return by him who threatens.

The dust is fine earth, dispersed into the air, producing a certain difficulty in breathing and great unpleasantness through the obstruction. For the soul is delighted by perfumes and incenses—but by spiritual perfumes, such as he had who said: We are the fragrance of Christ; and Thanks be to God, who makes manifest the odor of his knowledge in every place. Of such a fragrance breathed forth by Jacob did the father Isaac partake: Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord has blessed. And the maidens in the Song also, perceiving the heavenly fragrance of the Word, said: We will run after the smell of your perfumes. And the high-priestly anointing was a good and pleasant perfume, worthy to be compared to the union of brothers. Such a perfume needs a craftsman, one who has received from God the perfumer's art, to make the holy anointing, which shall not come upon human flesh. Whenever, however, the sweetness of the fragrance is pursued for licentiousness, the passage of the sense is obstructed by the dust, the Lord who orders these things for them doing them a benefit. And perhaps, since the sweet spices of fragrance were in the temple—both the perfume of anointing and the incense of composition (but the temple has been cast down and is now in dust, overturned and lying low)—instead of the once pleasant fragrance (according to the legal worship), there is now dust, because of the souls that walked with a lofty and insubordinate neck, to whom it was also said: Behold, your house is left to you desolate. It is possible, however, for them (if they wish, having shaken off the dust) to be filled with the fragrance of Christ, according to the exhortation of him who says:

Shake off your dust and arise, Jerusalem, and put on the glory of your arm. And instead of a belt, you shall be girded with a rope. He who is girded according to God is girded about the loins in truth. Such was Peter, stretching out his hands and being girded for the war on behalf of Christ by those who summoned him to martyrdom for the truth unto death. The saint, then, is girded with power—for God, it says, is the one who girds me with power—but the one who has lost this belt is girded with the bond of his own sins, because each person is bound fast by the cords of his own sins. Of these, the scourge made of ropes was a symbol, driving out of the temple those who profaned the holy things, the Lord showing that for each person the own braidings of their sins become whips, and one is scourged by the ropes of sins that entwine him. And instead of the ornament of the head, of gold, you shall have baldness because of your works. Just as those who, in their excessive curiosity about things perceived by smell, sought what is contrary to nature, also fell away from what is according to nature (for not enduring to breathe plain air, but dyeing it with perfumes and incenses, they later breathed not even clean air, but air mixed with dust), so too, since they did not abide by the natural ornament of hair (which is given to women instead of a covering), but, weaving their hair together with certain braidings, adorned themselves burdensomely, they were deprived of the ornament according to nature, and became a most unseasonable sight in the loss of their hair—that ornament which is proper and akin, bestowed by nature itself upon women.

For if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, how much more shameful is it to have baldness? (he brings disfigurement upon them for their benefit, upon those who have arranged their beauty badly). And instead of the purple-bordered tunic, you shall be girded with sackcloth. The Lord also, ordering this change to take place for the benefit of those who adorn themselves, commands it. For purple is a source of luxury and arrogance, while sackcloth is a provision for contrition and humility. And he who is clothed in the sea-purple robe is reluctant to fall to the ground and worship God, out of concern for his adornment, lest the flower of his garment be ruined; but he who is clothed in sackcloth makes every place suitable for himself for worship. And your most beautiful son, whom you loved, shall fall by the sword. For those who are about to be brought up in depraved habits, it is far more advantageous to depart beforehand at the prime of life than to be infected further by the evil conduct of their parents. You had a son, then, either most beautiful in body, or appearing such to a mother's eyes. This one shall die in the very prime and flower of his age. And the intensification of the evil is that it is not a spontaneous death, nor one from nature, but violently from an enemy's hand, wounded by the sword. And those among you who are strong shall fall by the sword. And having suffered these things, she will not even have the power to defend herself; for it is a consolation in evils to come to the aid of those who have been slain and to visit those who have caused grief with equal measure. But not even this will be yours.

For all those in the prime of life will die in war, so that the useless age is left behind, which, because it is helpless, is ready to suffer whatever the enemies may decide. And your treasuries of the world will be brought low and will mourn. Treasuries of gold and silver and costly clothing and precious stones, as long as they contain the treasures, are thought worthy of much zeal and care, stored in strong houses, on high places, with bolts and keys and seals and guards and everything devised for safety and protection; but when they are shown to be empty of treasures, they are neglected and cast aside and overlooked. Let this also benefit us, that souls which have received the gift of the divine word have become storehouses of precious things, worthy to be laid up in the divine treasuries; but when they are shown to be empty of divine adornments, they will be brought low, cast away, and condemned as useless. For this reason (he says) Jechoniah has become useless, like a vessel for which there is no need. In order, then,

Let us remain in the royal storehouses; let us not betray to thieves the precious pearl which was entrusted to us. 4. CHAPTER 4: And seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread and clothe ourselves with our own garments; only let your name be called upon us; take away our reproach. According to the literal sense, the passage seems to indicate a scarcity of men arising from wars or diseases that came upon the people by the anger of God, so that, in order not to be childless or barren (which in ancient times was reckoned a curse), the women grow bold and more than one take hold of a single man; and consoling themselves in the struggle of being subject to several women, they say: We will eat our own bread and clothe ourselves with our own garments. Setting aside, then, the care that is necessary for providing, grant us your name, so that we may escape the reproach of widowhood. This is what the text says literally. But the underlying meaning also summons our mind to the investigation of greater matters. Since, then, the place is hard to survey and has much that is overshadowed by obscurity, some such thought as this occurs to us concerning the seven women: that in many places both this present life and the Israel according to the flesh are taken to mean the number seven. The time concerned with things that come into being is so taken, because it is completed by the cycling of seven days; whence also the age after this present order is called the eighth in Scripture; and the psalms "for the eighth" mean "for the age after this time." And in many places both the Jews in the open and their manner of life are taken to mean the number seven.

Give a portion, it says, to the seven and even to the eight, since the Old Testament also owes it to receive some testimony that it comes from God, and the New Testament too, and that they come to a single harmony with one another. The seven women, then, are the Old Testament: it shall take hold of one man—of the Lord, who is not one of the many, but is one—saying, "We will eat our own bread," that is, we will remain at our own measure of subsistence. For we shall be a shadow of things to come and images of heavenly things. Only let the name of Christ be called upon the Old, so that the reproach of uselessness may be taken away. And it is possible that the synagogue of Israel also—the law having died, in which it was held captive—having become free and having been married to whom it wishes, may not be reckoned an adulteress, having come to the bridegroom Word and, as it were, clinging to him lovingly, to say: "Let your name be called upon us." And it has been said by some that the seven women are the seven spirits which this same Prophet is shortly going to enumerate, as resting upon the one who is to spring forth from the root of Jesse: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and piety, a spirit of the fear of God; which, because all have turned aside and at the same time become useless, having no one on whom it may gladly rest, having laid hold of the man who is according to the Lord, does the things that are written. For the spirit of knowledge and of piety is idle in times when there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God.

And it is, as it were, a reproach to the virtues that no one cleaves to them, but that they are, as it were, widowed through lack of a soul to receive them. For that no one was able to seize them by their own beauty, but they remain in desolation, seems to touch even the virtues themselves with reproach. But he who is about to display in himself every form of virtue according to the highest perfection removes the reproach from them. And since even among those who do not know God, knowledge and understanding and counsel and strength and wisdom and piety seem to be cultivated, they deem it worthy that the name of Christ be invoked upon them. But in that day the Lord will shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth, to exalt and glorify what is left of Israel. These things are in harmony with what has been set forth beforehand. For he whom the seven women took hold of as a man, this one will shine forth as Lord. For since they laid claim to having his name called upon them, God, accepting their eagerness, will shine upon them in counsel with glory upon the earth, that is, granting the good that comes from judgment in a judged and deliberated manner, and not without counsel nor in a scattered way. And this is the day on which God will shine forth in counsel with glory; this is the day which he himself makes, the sun of righteousness, our Lord, who teaches concerning himself that while he is in the world, he is the light of the world. Therefore he also exhorted us to work while it is day. And it should be noted that according to one conception and another, both the present life is called day, and the day of judgment is called night. And again, the present condition is night, but the age to come is day.

For the phrase "Work while it is day" clearly refers to this life, which is enlightened by the knowledge of Christ; but "the night comes" is spoken of the age to come, this name being deemed worthy because of the gloom and toil of those found in sins. In accordance with this, the Prophet also says to those who are in evil deeds but hasten the day of recompense: "Why do you" (he says) "desire the day of the Lord? And this is darkness, and not light." Conversely, the Apostle also calls this life night, both because of the confusion in it and because of the darkening of the mind that arises, for the most part, from the flesh and from worldly cares; and he calls the time of the resurrection day, when he says: "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand." In whichever sense, then, you wish to take it, "God will shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth." Since, therefore, he shines forth with counsel, let us make ourselves worthy to receive his illumination, so that he who grants the illumination in proportion to the fitness in each one may, with greater zeal of our soul, bestow greater and more perfect gifts from himself. And "the remnant of Israel shall be exalted," that is, he will set it above material things and will bring to contemplation of incorporeal things the remnant of Israel according to the election of grace. But if you also desire to learn the glory with which the saints shall be glorified, according to what is pleasing to Scripture, understand for me the reverent condition of the governing faculty of those who contemplate great and divine things, such as was in Moses when he was deemed worthy to be in the contemplation of God.

Since, then, God will shine forth in counsel with glory, he added two things corresponding to these two: to exalt and to glorify—so that exaltation is understood as the work of counsel, and glorifying as that of glory. And what remains in Zion, and what is left in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, all those written for life in Jerusalem. The remnant of Israel according to the election of grace shall be called holy and shall be enrolled for life in Jerusalem—those enlightened by the manifestation of God and exalted by his glory. These shall be called holy, whom God also left for himself, in imitation of those who did not bend the knee to Baal. But why are some in Zion and others in Jerusalem? Because there is also a difference among the saved, each sharing in the enjoyment of the good things from God in his own rank. And since those who are saved are few, the text issued the word not in the plural but in the singular. For it did not say "those left," but "what is left." And what remains in Zion seems to be the lower rank, as it were left behind by those pressing on to what lies ahead; while the more perfect, because of the worth of their works, is deemed worthy of establishment in Jerusalem itself. The history of the ranks also suggests to us the difference, from the fact that Zion is the ancient city and the lower, while Jerusalem is the royal city, in which is the sanctuary. All these, however, shall be written for life in Jerusalem; and blessed is he who is deemed worthy of enrollment in Jerusalem. For in that Jerusalem there seems to be the book of the living, in which

The disciples of Christ are written down; for he says, "Rejoice, because your names are written in the heavens." But since to "those who were written in Jerusalem" there is added "unto life," it is necessary to take note, lest perhaps there are some who are written, but not unto life, according to Jeremiah, who says: "Let those who have departed be written on the earth," so that in this respect two kinds of registration are to be understood: some unto life, and some unto destruction; and that there is often even a change of the writing, when we too fall away from virtue into wickedness. For the words "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous," and "Blot me out of your book," are spoken as of those who had already been deemed worthy of registration in the book of God. "For the Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood of Jerusalem from their midst, in a spirit of judgment and in a spirit of burning." Clearly the same things the word foretells in John, who says concerning the Lord, that "He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire"; and concerning himself, that "I indeed baptize you in water, unto repentance." Since, then, the Lord joined both together—both the baptism from water unto repentance and that from the Spirit unto regeneration—and the word hints at both baptisms... perhaps there are three conceptions of baptism: the cleansing of filth, the regeneration through the Spirit, and the testing in the fire of judgment; so that the washing is to be understood as the putting away of sin here, and the "spirit of judgment and spirit of burning" as the testing through fire in the age to come.

Sins committed in ignorance, being like some kind of filth that obscures the soul's appearance and defiles its natural beauty, require the cleansing that comes from washing; but sins unto death, committed willingly by those who have sinned after receiving full knowledge, are called blood, and require the judgment that comes through burning. Since, then, the one who confesses and deems himself worthy to be washed and cleansed, saying that his lawlessness needs washing and his sin needs cleansing—"Wash me more thoroughly from my lawlessness, and cleanse me from my sin"—those who are altogether unacquainted with the divine teachings, having sinned before they learned the word, are as it were soiled and need the cleansing that comes from water; but those who, after receiving life, plot against themselves, being guilty of blood, need the cleansing that comes from fire. It is also possible to understand this more simply: that the superficial sins resemble a kind of filth, while those that go deep, committed out of a disposition toward evil in those who transgress, are likened to blood; therefore it is said that the blood is cleansed out from the midst of those who have sinned through the burning of the Spirit. And he will come, and every place of Mount Zion and all things around it will be overshadowed by a cloud by day, and as of smoke and as of burning fire by night, it will be covered with all glory. And it will be for a shade from the heat, and for a shelter and for a hiding place from harshness and rain.

After the cleansing by the bath and the purification that comes from repentance, a time will come when every place will be made akin to the mountain of Sion—that is, it will be deemed worthy to be lofty and to look out upon heavenly things. After the seven women have taken hold of one man, and the Lord has shone forth with glory in counsel, to exalt and glorify what was left of Israel—when they were also called Holy, because the filth of the daughters of Sion was washed away and their blood was cleansed from their midst—then a cloud will overshadow the regions round about Jerusalem by day, so as to provide shade from the heat and shelter from harshness and rain; and by night they will be encompassed by a burning light, and the glory will be, as it were, a kind of smoke encompassing all things. We reckon that these things are promised to those worthy of rest. For since there are many mansions in the house of the Father and a varied inheritance is laid up in the land of the inheritance, which the meek will inherit, it is clear that some will rest in the brightness of the manifestation of God, others under the shelter of the heavenly powers, and others will be covered in the glory that comes from the light, as from smoke. Perhaps the light itself will shine upon Sion itself, while the cloud by day will shine upon the regions round about it—a cloud whose origin is from no other source than the light itself, just as smoke comes from fire, so this cloud has its constitution from the light, under which those who dwell there will enjoy great glory, being illuminated by the cloud itself, which is spread over their heads in the heat and provides a pleasant breathing through its overshadowing.

When violent rains burst forth, it supplies the need of protective coverings, and shelters sufficiently those who need to escape notice, and by its own density keeps off the eyes. Such was the luminous cloud at the Transfiguration of the Lord that wrapped the disciples around. And since the standing still and, as it were, the compacting of the cloud is a sign of calm, the untroubled character of the state at that time is shown through the shelter provided by the cloud. Further, so that we may see more clearly what it means to be "in the secret of a covering," we are led to some such example as this. Let someone be sought by enemies, but guarded by his own people in some house hard to find. Such a thing, then, must be understood to happen in the case of the Holy One, that divine cloud sheltering him, so that he is not easy for enemies to attack. So much for the help that comes to those round about Sion being understood more clearly—that by day the cloud shadows them, so that they may be delivered from heat, and by night a light of fire burns for them, illuminating them, and in both seasons they have safety from those who plot against them.

5. CHAPTER 5: Let me sing now to my beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard. All songs seem to contain a more cheerful state of affairs. The song in Exodus is a song of victory: Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified. The Song of Songs is a bridal song, composed dramatically. But here the word contains a threat, that which is brought upon the vineyard according to the just judgment of God. But perhaps even these fearful things, because they are directed toward a good end, have been fittingly included among the songs? The person who recites the song is the Holy Spirit, who sings the song to the beloved vineyard. And this song belongs to the Beloved. Who is the Beloved by nature, if not the Only-Begotten, the Good itself, which all things desire, whose love has been naturally and ineffably instilled into the minds of all rational beings? Since, then, according to the voice of the Lord, the Paraclete receives all things from the Only-Begotten and declares them to us, he also says that the song is the Beloved's, as having received it from him. And this same song is a song for the vineyard that was once beloved, when it repents; but for one who persists in sin it becomes a lamentation and a woe, just as we have learned in Ezekiel, in the same book, where a melody and a lamentation and a woe are written. And the word of the Lord, calling us to eternal life and the enjoyment of heavenly goods, was a melody, rousing souls to well-rhythmed and harmonious motion and to activity in accordance with virtue. But John's preaching, turning the disobedient to repentance, was a lamentation, producing a sorrow unto salvation that brings no regret.

The Jews were found, because of the hardness of their heart, neither urged toward life by good things, nor led to repentance by the more hateful things. Thus indeed the song in hand contains both praise of their ancient nobility and of God's care for them, and reproof of their present wickedness, and a threat of the terrible things that will be brought upon them. And yet neither do those things recall the disobedient people to their own proper worth, nor can these things restrain them and make them more temperate. He begins the praises of their ancient nobility. A vineyard was made for the beloved in a horn, in a fat place. He calls the people of Israel a vineyard. For (he says) you transplanted a vine out of Egypt. And in Jeremiah the people is reproached through the same image: But I planted you as a fruitful vine, wholly true. How have you turned into bitterness, the alien vine? In a horn, in a fat place. He speaks of the land possessed by Israel, given to their fathers by the promise of God. In a horn, in a fat place. A great encomium in brief. The horn is higher than the whole body and stronger, at once providing adornment for the head and being a defensive weapon. But it is dry and without moisture. For this reason also the offspring born from horned animals do not rush to the horn of their mother, but without being taught seek the teat, the moist and fat place. Showing therefore that the land of the Jews is sufficient for both—both for protection from enemies and to nourish those who dwell in it—the word joined both together: In a horn, in a fat place.

that is, in a firm and nourishing place. But some already touch upon a deeper meaning in the exposition of this saying: that just as the head of horned animals comes forth first in generation, but is completed last and only at length receives its own proper adornment through the growth of the horns, so too Israel, called first of all the nations into kinship with God (for it became, as it says, the people of the Lord, his portion, the cord of his inheritance, Israel), is destined after all the others to be deemed worthy of perfection; for when the fullness of the nations has come in, then all Israel will be saved. There is also a certain account of this kind preserved in the Church by unwritten memory, that Judea first had Adam as its inhabitant, settled there after he was cast out of paradise, as a consolation for what he had lost. She was therefore the first also to receive a dead man, since Adam there fulfilled his condemnation. A strange sight, then, it seemed to those of that time—a bone of the head, the flesh having fallen away—and laying the skull in the place, they named it the place of a skull. It is likely that the tomb of Noah also, the ancestor of all mankind, was not unknown, since after the flood the report of it was spread abroad from him. Therefore the Lord, searching out the beginnings of human death, received his Passion in what is called the place of a skull, so that in the place where the corruption of men took its beginning, from there the life of the kingdom might begin; and just as death prevailed in Adam, so it might be weakened in the death of Christ. For this reason also "in a horn," as having the cross of Christ as a means of defense against the enemy.

and to Pisgah, as being after paradise the one deemed worthy of the first place over all things under the sun. And I set a fence around it and fenced it in with stakes, and I planted a vine of Sorech; and I built a tower in the midst of it and dug a winepress in it. The sequence of the wording does not altogether follow the nature of the realities. For planting comes before fencing in with stakes, if indeed the stakes are a help to the vine so as to keep the fruits up from the ground. Or perhaps the provident husbandman, having prepared everything beforehand at the first construction, afterwards begins the planting? For this reason he first encloses, then sets stakes, then plants a vine—not any ordinary one, but Sorech, which Symmachus rendered as "choice." What then is the fence, if not clearly the commandments, which he gave to the people before leading them into the possession of the land? Then power was given to them from God to prevail over their adversaries and to destroy utterly the nations that had dwelt there before. This he called stakes, because they make them high and conspicuous, raising the fruits from the

of a fall, so that they might not be altogether easy to attack. After this comes the planting of the elect, because they are from the seed of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the elect of God. And the tower, built in the midst of the vineyard, is clearly the temple established in the midst of Judea. And the winepress-vat is the synagogue of the Jews itself, since properly the winepress is the Church of God, adorned from the gathering from everywhere, for which also the songs of the winepress are sung by the Psalmist. And the winepress-vat is also the preparation through the law, and the preliminary study for piety; and insofar as it leads to unity, it is a winepress; but insofar as it is a preparation for more perfect things, it is a winepress-vat. I waited for it to produce a grape, but it produced thorns. It was fitting, given the elect planting and such great care, that sweet fruits be returned. For the children of Abraham are required to do the works of Abraham. But instead of the expected grape, it produced thorns, that is, instead of gladdening and giving rest, it was ready to prick and tear and bloody those who came near. For which of the prophets did they not kill, according to the parable in the Gospel? And I think they are accused of having produced thorns not only in respect of murder, but because, having abandoned being lovers of God, they became rather lovers of pleasure and were choked in their mind by the cares of life as by thorns. And just as a thorn does not bear a grape, so neither does a vine-branch bear thorns. Therefore the Lord says: Do they gather grapes from thorns? But nevertheless the Jews produce thorns instead of grapes.

And now, man of Judah and you who dwell in Jerusalem, judge between me and my vineyard. If the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is a beloved new planting, how is it that judgment is made on behalf of the vineyard against the vineyard? Or is it because their reproofs are incontrovertible that the word wishes to use them as judges against themselves? This is what Nathan also did in the case of David, setting him as judge of his own wrongdoing. And the excess of his love for humanity is established by the fact that God condescends to enter into an equal judgment with his own servants. At the same time it also contains a demonstration of his righteousness, since none of those condemned have anything to say against the clear evidence of what is right. Judge (he says) between me and my vineyard. And say, what of all the things that contribute to its fruitfulness has not been done for it? For what (he says) shall I do for my vineyard that I have not done for it? What of the things that fall to me concerning my care for it have I not done? Is it not itself a rich and fertile place? Is there not a hedge? Are there not stakes? Is there not a most noble planting? Is there not a tower? Is there not a winepress? Is there anything at all that one might mention? These things, however, must be understood as said by the word also to us, who, having been called to produce the fruits of righteousness, through love of wealth fall into temptation and a snare and foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into destruction and perdition. I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns. The repetition has something necessary about it; for in the earlier part the one who announces the song said: I waited for it to produce grapes.

But here he addresses those between whom judgment is made: Judge between me and my vineyard; I waited for it to produce a grape cluster, but it produced thorns. And now I will declare to you what I will do to my vineyard. It is characteristic of God's love for humanity not to bring punishments in silence, but to proclaim them beforehand, calling sinners to repentance through threats, as he did to the Ninevites through Jonah. And upon Israel, when it had sinned, he did not bring destruction in silence, but, stirring his own servant to intercede on behalf of the people, he proclaimed beforehand, saying: And now leave me alone, and I will blot out this people. In a similar way we have also learned something in the Gospel concerning the parable of the fig tree, when its owner says to the vinedresser: Behold, for three years I come to the fig tree seeking fruit on it, and I do not find it. Cut it down. Why does it also make the ground useless? He said this, provoking the vinedresser to care for it, and rousing the fruitless soul to produce the fruits that befit it. What we are saying is found more clearly in Jeremiah: For behold (he says), as the clay of the potter, so are you in my hands, house of Israel, says the Lord. At one time I will speak against a nation, or against a kingdom, to uproot them and destroy them. And that nation will turn from its evils, and I will relent concerning the evils which I intended to do to them. And at another time I will speak against a nation and against a kingdom, to rebuild and to plant. And they will do evil before me, so as not to hear my voice.

And I will change my mind concerning the good things which I spoke of doing to them. So then here too let us receive the prediction, not as a declaration of what will certainly come to pass, but as a threat that produces a turning away from sin. What then are the things he threatens? I will take away its fence, and it shall be for plundering; and I will tear down its wall, and it shall be for trampling. And I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned, nor shall it be dug, and thorns shall come up in it as in dry land. And I will command the clouds not to rain rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah a beloved new plant. I waited for it to produce judgment, but it produced lawlessness; and not righteousness, but a cry. Taking up therefore each of the things threatened, and examining and testing their meaning, let us search whether what is said also touches us. I will tear down (he says) its fence. It is fitting to understand the commandments of the law as a fence, that is, Israel, from Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, where he says, He himself is the one who broke down the middle wall of the fence, having abolished the law of commandments in decrees. For the same thing seemed to be both a guard for Israel and a hindrance to the mingling and union of the peoples, since because of the heavy yoke of the law they shrank back from receiving the word of piety.

He, then, who in doctrines—that is, in lofty contemplations—has abolished the fleshly and lowly observance of the legal letter, has himself broken down the middle wall of the partition, not leaving his own people without a fence, but enclosing them in one fold, so that there may be one flock, one shepherd. Now, then, the word threatens that it will tear down the fence—that is, that it will remove every guard-post of Israel. And perhaps, since the law was given through angels by the hand of a Mediator, it hints that he will also remove the guard of the angels who keep watch over the borders of Israel. And perhaps each one of us too (having a holy Angel who encamps around those who fear the Lord) when he is examined in sins, may become liable to the threatened blow, and may be stripped of the wall of safety that comes from the holy Powers, which, for as long as they are present, preserve unbroken those whom they guard. But every soul stripped of this safety is exposed to plundering by the enemies—that is, by the opposing energies—and to being trampled down by him who boasts and says, "Having walked about the inhabited world, I am here." Something like this the Psalm also says concerning the vine: "Why have you torn down its fence? And the boar from the thicket ravaged it." For those who are not fenced by word and angelic power are given over to irrational impulses, and, because of the excess of the stench of sin in them, are fit for the reception of swine, which stir up the mire of sin all the more and wallow in it. Something like this the Apostle also says:

And just as they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge, God handed them over to passions of dishonor, to do things that are not fitting. That is: those who reject the guard that comes from the word are given over to beast-like reasonings and to wicked demons who work the unclean things. Yet upon Israel the threat came to pass, when because of their sin against the Lord they were handed over to the nations and became a plunder and a trampling-ground of their enemies. Then he says: And I will tear down its wall, and it shall be for a trampling-ground. In the passages above, recounting the benefits he himself bestowed on the people, he says, I set a hedge around it and built a tower; but here, I will take away its hedge and tear down its wall—calling the wall instead of a tower, as I think; since a tower too is four walls joined to one another at the corners, so that there too the high surrounding of the vineyard with walls is understood as a tower, so that it might be inaccessible and unassailable to adversaries. And our wall too is torn down whenever by slackness we make ourselves unworthy of the guard of the divine doctrines. For to the righteous God is a tower from the face of the enemy; but from the sinner, because of abandonment, every security is taken away and every bulwark's protection. And I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned nor dug. From this it is clear that the slackening of sinners comes about through abandonment. For of those whom he provides for, the word says: I will not let you go, nor will I ever forsake you.

But those whom he has wholly given up, he lets go free to do the desires of the flesh and of their own minds, since the discipline would be of no benefit to them. I will therefore let my vineyard alone, he says. And what results from this for it? It shall not be pruned, he says, nor dug any more. For just as those who prune a vine restrain its strength (so that it advances in a measured and temperate way, through the bearing of what is necessary), so too a soul bent by afflictions is, as it were, contracted and humbled to its profit, and is brought back to its own care, choosing what is necessary and beneficial in its affairs. But when it is let go and left free, like some neglected vine, it runs wild and pours itself out upon things useless and unprofitable, making all its display of works toward the deception of the many. For he who makes his business the working of corruptible things is like a vine that nurtures wood and leaves and tendrils, but does not produce the wine that makes glad, which could be stored away in the king's storehouses. The vineyard, then, that is let go suffers two evils: it is neither pruned, he says, nor dug. It has been said what it means not to be pruned, that is, not to be cut back by circumstances, which is ordered for the benefit of those who are afflicted. But it is dug when one is taught to take all the material that lies around it for his own benefit. For example, the rich man is un-dug, he who is pressed in his soul by the weight of earthly things; upon him the heavenly rain does not descend, for it does not reach the root, since much vanity has been heaped up over it.

But the one who has been taught by the compunctive word to strip off the crowd of earthly and corruptible things, and to breathe freely from constraint, and to uncover his own hidden things, and to overturn the roots of bitterness, and, so to speak, to dry them up through repentance—this is the one who has been dug. Therefore also the pouring forth of thorns is hindered, that is, the cares of this life will have no place in the overturning of earthly things. Further, for the sake of not being cut off, one must also take up what is said in the Gospel according to John: I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes it away; and every one that bears fruit, he prunes it, so that it may bear more fruit. The wicked steward, then, says, I am not able to dig; but the good and prudent steward will dig around knowingly, that is, he will stir up all his possessions and bring them into close association with his former life; showing that just as the earth, when it withdraws from the root, becomes food for the plant (but when it lies upon it, it presses and weighs it down), so also the surrounding of riches, when it lies upon

To the rich, it plunges their souls; but when it is alienated from those who possess and passes to the sharing with those in need, then it becomes their own. And there follows upon not being cut or dug the rising up, as on dry ground, of thorns. Our Savior said that those entangled in the cares of life are a land producing thorns, receiving indeed the fruit of the word, but choking it under the thorns. Into the uncultivated soul, then, comes the great multitude of cares. Therefore it says: Thorns shall come up upon it, as upon dry ground. And observe that above he said: I waited for it to produce a grape, but it produced thorns; here, however, he added the words And they shall come up. For the word indicates a certain magnitude of wickedness and its pouring forth to a great extent through the rising up of the thorns. Then, since the shoots of the vine are evil, its rain is taken away, because it did not use the help from him as it ought. So that even we, whenever we do not use for good the opportunities given to us by God, the help from heaven is taken away from us. But if Israel is a vineyard, it remains uncultivated because it does not render the fruits due to it to the Master, but first flayed and stoned and killed the servants who were sent, and later laid hands even on the Master's own son for slaughter. And all these evil and unjust deeds are called thorns, because they are the shoots of a cursed earth; fittingly the clouds receive commands not to rain upon the vineyard that brings forth such things. Who, then, are the clouds, and what is the rain?

Let us attempt to arrive at an understanding of what has been said from the natural philosophy concerning clouds. A cloud, then, is thick air, constituted from the moist exhalation from the earth; then, being raised aloft by the winds, when it receives from them a considerable mass and the weight from the moisture sown within it becomes sufficient, then it releases drops upon the earth. And this is the nature of rains, having their beginning from the earth and being carried again through the air to the earth. Such were the Prophets also, having their origin from the common nature, but through purity of soul being exalted on high by the power of the Spirit and distilling drops of fruitful words into souls that are good and productive. Such was Moses, saying: Let my speech be awaited as rain; and again: As a shower upon the grass and as a snowfall upon the herb. These heavenly powers, then, receive a command not to rain upon the thorn-bearing vineyard, the one that crowned my Master with its own thorns. For this reason now there is a silence of the word of God among that synagogue, and there is no longer a prophet, nor a ruler, nor a leader, but a dreadful and cloudless clear sky, the ancient curse being confirmed upon it: And your heaven shall be brass over your head, and your earth iron beneath you; and again: May the Lord give the rain of your land as dust, and dust from heaven shall come down upon you, until it wipes you out. For no longer are the clouds spiritual, and no longer is there a prophet, the command of the Lord being kept firm. And even if the clouds are said to rain, nevertheless it is the Lord who rains.

For the Prophet says, "There is none that waters as you do." And again it is spoken from the person of God: "And I will rain upon one city, but upon another city I will not rain; one portion shall be watered, and the portion upon which I do not rain shall be dried up," the good God so ordering it that the portion of the worse should not be watered, in order that the shoots of wickedness in it might be dried up. He has clearly set before us the intent of the passage, that he calls Israel a vineyard, concerning which he threatens that the things promised and foretold shall come to pass. "And the man of Judah, a beloved new plant." The name of Jacob was divided into Israel and Judah, first in the time of David, after the death of Saul, when the people was divided between the son of Saul and David, and later in the time of Rehoboam, when Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, drew away the ten tribes. For this reason even now it received a twofold designation. And it appears from the Fourth Book of Kings that Israel sinned more, and therefore was carried captive sooner. And in Ezekiel, ninety-three days are counted for the sins of Israel, but forty for those of Judah. For this reason also here the thorn-bearing vineyard becomes the house of Israel; but the man of Judah is no longer a vineyard, but a new plant, not grown wild, but beloved. And who is the man that sprang from Judah, flourishing in life and truly beloved, it is not hard for one who knows how to contemplate such things to see. "I waited that he should do judgment, but he did iniquity; and not righteousness, but a cry.

Since, according to Solomon, "the thoughts of the righteous are judgments," we are required to do all things with judgment, and nothing without judgment. Yet lawlessness follows upon an unjudging and unexamined life. For he who does not follow right reason, nor judge what is to be done and what not, according to the canon given from the law, commits lawlessness, and is not a worker of righteousness, but a cause of clamor and tumult and confusion. For upon righteous judgments follows the quietness of those who are judged, receiving steadfastly the things determined; but upon unrighteous ones, clamor and seditious tumult, as they are indignant at the injustice. And concerning this clamor the Apostle also exhorts, saying: "Let all clamor and tumult be taken away from you, with all malice." But there is also a certain comely clamor, which the Lord, standing in the temple, cried out; which David also used, saying: "With my voice I cried unto the Lord." And it is nothing wonderful that the same name is applied to things contrary, and signifies now the turbulent and hurried, now the loud-voiced and noble-mindedness of heavenly doctrines. In the present passage, however, the clamor is akin to that which went up from Sodom and Gomorrah. Woe to those who join house to house and bring field near to field, that they may take away something from their neighbor. Will you dwell alone upon the earth? For these things were heard in the ears of the Lord Sabaoth. For if many houses be made, they shall be for a desert; great and beautiful, and there shall be none to dwell in them. For where ten yoke of oxen work, it shall produce one jar; and he who sows six artabae shall produce three measures.

Now are they pronounced wretched who, through desire for more, cut off what belongs to their neighbors, and are not content in the fields with their own possessions, nor in their dwellings content with their own; but they encroach upon their neighbors in the cultivated land, and throw their own dwellings around those of their neighbors, being cramped by their own greed and not enduring to remain within their own boundaries; but using this plausible pretext for their boundless love of property, namely that the things of their neighbors seem to be adjacent and joined to their own. Against them the word came most reprovingly, saying: Will you dwell alone upon the earth? For if, because a neighbor farms the adjoining land, he is deemed fit to be dispossessed, then obviously, when he has been cast out, another neighbor will again appear to you; and the greedy heart suggests that you say the same thing again to that man too, pointing out that it is reasonable for you to make the neighboring parts your own. But when that man also has been stripped and departs from his own property, and the land of the third becomes part of your possession, again another neighbor, again other eager efforts—to drive that man from his holdings, and to make the property of the fourth neighbor your own. What boundary, then, will there be for your desire for more? For the greedy heart is like fire, advancing through burning material and destroying some things while encroaching upon others. Indeed, just as the extinguishing of a conflagration comes from a lack of material, so only that stops the greedy heart and the insatiable eye—having no one left whose possessions border on its own.

Therefore the Word, healing the passion from afar, as it were chanting an incantation to the property-loving soul, says these things: Will you not dwell alone upon the earth? For if you desire what belongs to your neighbor (and a neighbor will certainly never fail you), it is necessary, clearly, that you reach the farthest ends of the inhabited world. But if this is impossible, from the first thought restrain your impulse toward evil, O man, being content with what you have received, remaining in what you have, knowing that even the grand sizes of houses, because they were put together from injustice, are deserted of inhabitants, and that a multitude of land, encompassed through greed, has often been shown barren of fruits. For divine justice often anticipates the coming judgment, and already brings the unjustly acquired houses to uselessness, making them desolate of inhabitants, away from their populous dwelling and their splendid abundance. Often, then, we have known whole families utterly destroyed, so that for lack of successors the great-natured and arrogant constructions of dwellings have collapsed to the ground. But also all those who, with the removal of boundary stones of their neighbors, extended the boundaries of their own possession, because their possessions were gathered from the groaning of the wronged, were certainly shown to be strangers to the divine blessing, so that where ten yoke of oxen worked, scarcely one jar was gathered, and where six artabae were sown, three measures of fruits were collected, which is a small fraction of the seeds. The passage, then, has much that is profitable even from itself; but it is possible for the diligent, by way of allegorical interpretation, to carry the usefulness of the prophecy further.

For the doctrines and the practices of each person can be understood as his house, because of the compact and unified structure of the thoughts concerning each doctrine. For just as in a house a foundation lies beneath the rest of the structure, so also in the case of doctrines there are certain underlying principles and first beginnings, on which those who formulate doctrines rest, weaving together what follows in a manner consistent and connected with the first principles. Therefore, all who attach the doctrine of the faith—which has as its foundation and beginning our Lord Jesus Christ—to doctrines alien and foreign to godliness, these are the ones whom the Word laments as acting improperly in joining house to house. For that the doctrines of godliness are called a house, the Lord himself taught us through the parable, saying, Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them shall be likened to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. And Paul also seems to teach us in the first letter to the Corinthians that each of those who have believed in Christ builds a house for himself. For no one (he says) can lay another foundation besides the one that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw... And since of those who construct doctrines, some hold opinions worthy of laughter and mockery, as it were building a laughingstock, while others, more refined, construct things of seriousness, Micah, tearing down the dwellings of the ridiculous, says: Do not magnify yourselves, you in Gath; and you in Akarim, do not rebuild from a house for your laughter.

And again the same prophet, rebuking wicked teachers, says: Hear now these things, you who are leaders of the house of Jacob, and the remnant of the house of Israel, who abhor judgment and pervert all that is right, who build Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquities... For everyone who constructs alien doctrines builds Zion—that is, his own watchtower—with blood; and he who establishes a church of wicked men builds Jerusalem with iniquities. If, then, there are two kinds of building (the one good, upon the rock and upon the foundation of Christ; the other worthless, which is both ridiculous and the cause of destruction), the word reasonably counts as wretched those who join the good house to the more worthless one, and as it were mix things that cannot be mixed. And you will observe whether all men, whatever they may dogmatize concerning the truth, having a good house in certain sound and true preconceptions according to the common notions implanted by the Creator, whenever, erring from the truth, they introduce from external deceit things alien to the divine teaching, join, as it were, a worse house to a good house. And this much for the account concerning the house. But since the saint is not only God's building but also God's field, as the blessed Paul says, and the same soul is both founded as a house and rooted as a plant (for, he says, being rooted and grounded in love), come, let us also discuss the approach in relation to the field, of which those who act wickedly and erroneously become liable to the condemnation that lies upon them.

Let us therefore examine together all that has been said about farming, since it is akin to the matters at hand. There is, then, a fair planting, that according to Solomon, who says: I planted for myself a vineyard, I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted in them every tree of fruit. But there is a planting which the heavenly Father did not plant, which is also rooted up according to the threat of the Lord. This planting has its vine from the plant of Sodom, and its branch from Gomorrah, and it cultivates a grape of gall, and bears a cluster of bitterness for those who possess it: Their wine is the wrath of dragons, and the incurable wrath of asps. Therefore the one who has planted his own ruling faculty with every spiritual fruitfulness, and who, upon the things rooted in him by nature for the display of fruits of righteousness from the Creator, has superimposed the things of the wicked farmer—this is the one who, because of the forbidden joining of field to field, is condemned by the word. For this reason he also threatens him with barrenness, as one who will not bring forth fruit-displays proportionate to the teaching that is in him. For where ten yoke of oxen work, he will make one vessel. The letter speaks of the local custom of those in Phoenicia who plow the vine with oxen; but the meaning indicates those who are double-minded and who grasp and join together opposing doctrines, whose souls are unfruitful. Woe to those who rise early in the morning and pursue strong drink, who remain until late; for the wine will burn them up. For with lyre and psaltery and timbrels and flutes they drink wine.

But they do not look upon the works of the Lord, and they do not consider the works of his hands. This present portion of the prophecy contains the explanation of the apostolic phrase; for there he says: Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God; but here: Woe to those who rise early and pursue strong drink. For sikera is the name the Hebrews customarily give to every drink able to produce drunkenness. Those, then, who as soon as the day begins, according to Proverbs, give their eyes to cups and bowls, and look around for where drinking parties are taking place, scanning the wine-shops and taverns, and taking one another along to banquets, and consuming the whole care of their soul on the concern for such things—these are the ones bewailed by the Prophet. They grant themselves no time for the contemplation of the wonderful works of God, nor do they give their eyes leisure to look up to heaven and the beauties in it, so as to perceive the Creator from the ordering of these things; but even adorning their banquet with embroidered tapestries and flowered hangings, they display some excessive zeal and diligence in the preparation of the cups, devising for the equipment of drunkenness both the names and the shapes of coolers and pouring-vessels and bowls and the rustic cup, and mixing-bowls and the like, so that the variety of the vessels might steal away their satiety, and the exchange and change of cups might create for them sufficient pastime for drinking.

Then, drinking to one another in turn and setting themselves to a contest over drinking, what excess do they leave behind for shame? The defeated, the victors—all are drunk. And there are certain symposiarchs over these things, and chiefs of the drinking and chiefs of the couch, and order in disorder and arrangement in a thing devoid of order. The overseers are drunk, the servants are drunk; everything is full of laughing and drunken men—a pitiable sight to Christian eyes. Then, indeed, just as among the external authorities the dignity of the guards increases their power, so too, having set some attendance, as it were, around drunkenness as around a queen, they cloak what is disgraceful by the excess of their zeal. Crowns upon these things, and flowers scattered over the banquet, and perfumes and incense, and countless delights devised from outside, furnish greater occupation to those who are perishing, procuring for them eternal punishment in equal balance with their present cheerfulness. Then, as the drinking proceeds, flutes and lyres and drums—in truth lamenting those who are perishing, but in the practice of the drunken—so that all the pleasures of the soul are stirred up in them by the melody, so that wine does not suffice, but by its own heat it rouses a swarm of desires in the wretched soul of the drinker.

But so that all their senses, bewitched by pleasure, might be held captive: their ears are played upon by the flute, their nostrils are filled by the rising vapors, the mouth serves the passage of the wine, the eyes see what is going on—or rather, they overlook it, since the keenness of perception has been taken away by drunkenness. For this reason it is said: Woe to those who rise early in the morning and pursue strong drink, who stay until late and spend the day in these things, so as to give themselves no time to look upon the works of the Lord and to consider the works of his hands. For when would they be taught about God? In the morning? But as soon as they rise from sleep, they pursue strong drink. At midday? But then especially their drinking has its increase and progress. In the evening? But they are still drinking. And the day has failed them, but the drunkenness does not fail; rather, especially at night, as though it belonged to them peculiarly, they hold fast to it. Woe, then, to those who rise early in the morning and pursue strong drink, who stay until late. Then the Prophet states the reason why they are able to persist in drinking: For the wine will set them ablaze—giving the reason by which their desire to drink is insatiable. Because, he says, when much unmixed wine has been poured in, having introduced a greater heat into the body, it scorches up the natural moisture of the drinker. Then, I think, the wine itself becomes a kindling for itself: what came before prepares the spacious room for what enters.

Just as ravines, when the water flows into them, seem to be full, but when it has passed by, are left dry and stony and without moisture, so too the bodies of the drunken, hollowed out like ravines by the immoderate use of wine, draw away even the natural moisture along with it. Those who stay until late. For this reason they stay (he says) until late; for the wine will burn them up together. And the fire from the wine, arising in the flesh, becomes a kindling for the fiery darts of the enemy. For wine submerges the reason and the mind, but inflames the desires and pleasures like oil, so that the saying, that the wine will burn them up together, we understand not only of the desire to drink but also of the rest of the body's burning. Then, heightening the absurdity, the word proceeds: For with the lyre (he says) and the psaltery and the timbrels and the flutes they drink the wine. For certain young lyre-players, who have fallen in badly and drink with their eyes, and flute-girls and harp-girls, who arrange their youthful bloom badly, and choruses and concord of evils, broken down in their bodies to slackness and shattering their souls at the music of the crowd, provoke those in their drunkenness to every shameful and lawless pleasure. And from this what happens? That they do not look upon the works of the Lord and do not consider the works of his hands. But the looking, which is through the eyes