ECLOGUES FROM PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES.
A LXXXIV. Hence come fasts, supplications, prayers with outstretched hands, and genuflections, because the soul is rescued from the world and from the mouth of the lions. Hence, too, there are immediate temptations, as they from whom one has been snatched away are indignant, and even if someone carries such knowledge beforehand, these things that come from without shake him.
A LXXXV. The Lord immediately after baptism is cast about for our example, and is first with the beasts in the wilderness. Then, having overcome them and their prince, as one who is already truly king, he is ministered to by angels. For he who in the flesh commanded the angels, deservedly is now served by the angels. It is necessary, therefore, to be armed with the Lord's weapons, to possess body and soul invulnerable—with weapons of such a kind, surely, that can extinguish the darts of the devil, as the Apostle says.
B LXXXVI. When the coin was presented to the Lord, he said, not "Whose property is this?" but "Whose is the image and the inscription? Caesar's," so that whose it was, might be given to him. So also the believer has the name of God inscribed through Christ, but the Spirit as the image. Indeed, even animals, through marks, show whose each creature is, and are claimed by this sign. So too the soul that is faithful, having received the seal of truth, carries with it the stigmata of Christ. These are the children who are already resting in the bedchamber, and the prudent virgins, with whom those who were late did not enter into the prepared goods, into which the angels desire to look.
ECLOGUES FROM PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES.
You may deservedly doubt whether these excerpts from the prophetic scriptures were collected from the writings of Theodotus, and whether they were collected by Clement. For both the style, in some places, and the opinions differ from those preceding; nor does that little addition on p. 347 declare that all things were taken from the opinion of one author: *As we would say, pedagogical; but Pantaenus of ours used to say that he puts forth the prophecy of words indefinitely.* SYLBURG. These Epitomes and Electa are an indication that the work itself was held in esteem, but that its very length deterred people from copying it; and while learned men solaced themselves with its absence, it finally perished; as often happens to others whose fate has been the same. But that what we have of Clement's Eclogæ is trifling, is gathered from this, that brief expositions of almost all the passages of Scripture were mingled with others in them, as if confusedly, which now exist so few in these Electa. One must read with utmost caution what has reached us in this way—the true mingled with the false, and not sufficiently distinguished—monuments of this kind from the ancients, however great their erudition. COMBEF.
D I. Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, standing in the furnace of fire praising God, said:
A *Bless the Lord, O you heavens; praise and exalt him above all for ever.* Then: *Bless the Lord, O you angels.* Furthermore: *Bless the Lord, O you waters and all that are above the heavens.* Thus, indeed, do the Holy Scriptures interpret the heavens and the waters concerning pure powers, just as it is also clearly shown in Genesis. Deservedly, therefore, since the word "power" is named in various ways, Daniel adds: *Let every power bless the Lord.* Then in order: *Bless the Lord, O you sun and moon;* furthermore: *Bless the Lord, O you stars of heaven; bless the Lord, all you who worship the Lord; praise and give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy is for ever.* These things you will find written in Daniel, while the three boys are praising their God in the furnace.
II. *Blessed art thou, who beholdest the abysses, who sittest upon the cherubim,* says Daniel, B being of the same mind as Enoch, who said: *And I saw all the matters.* For an abyss is that which, when viewed according to its own substance, is boundless, but is bounded by the power of God. The material substances, therefore, from which the genera and their species are partially derived, are called abysses. For he did not call water alone an abyss, although even the water which is an abyss is allegorically interpreted as matter itself.
III. *In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth;* C the terrestrial, that is to say, and the celestial. But that this is true, the Lord said to Hosea: *Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms; for the earth committing whoredom shall commit whoredom away from the Lord.* For he does not mean the element, but those who are in the element, namely, those who are endowed with a terrestrial mind.
IV. That the Son is the beginning and the head, Hosea teaches clearly: *And it shall come to pass, in the place where it was said unto them: Ye are not my people, they themselves shall be called children of the living God. And the children of Israel shall be gathered together in one, and shall appoint for themselves one head, and shall ascend out of the earth; for great is the day of Israel.* For whatever a man believes, this he chooses. But a man believes in the Son, who is the beginning; for which reason he also added: *But I will have mercy upon the children of Juda, and I will save them in the Lord their God.* Now the Savior is he who saves, to wit, the Son of God; this, therefore, is the beginning, or head.
V. The Spirit says through Hosea: *I will be your instructor.* D *Sound the trumpet upon the hills of the Lord; sound upon the heights.* Is not this itself baptism, which is a sign of regeneration, excess by reason of the material,
which is the outcome through the teaching of the Savior, of that great and violent torrent always being carried along and carrying us with it—removing us, therefore, from disorder, the Lord illuminates us, leading us into the light that is shadowless and no longer material.
VI. B This river of matter and the sea were cleft and divided by the power of the Lord by two prophets, with matter constituting a boundary on either side when the water was divided. For indeed they served the will of God, those two illustrious commanders through whom the signs were entrusted, so that the righteous man might emerge from matter, having first traveled through it. And to one of the commanders, the very name of our Savior had been given.
VII. Immediately, there is regeneration through water and spirit, just as there is the creation of all things. For the Spirit of God was borne over the abyss. And for this reason our Savior was baptized, though He Himself had no need of it, that He might sanctify the entire water for those who are being regenerated. Thus we are cleansed not only in body but also in soul. For the sign that even our invisible parts are cleansed is that unclean spirits mingled with the soul are strained out by this new and spiritual birth.
VIII. There is water above the heaven, because baptism is performed through water and Spirit, being a remedy against the twofold fire—that which touches the invisible things and that which touches the visible things. It was necessary that the water be partly intelligible and partly sensible, as a remedy for this twofold fire, and to avert the harm from both. Indeed, the earthly water cleanses the body, whereas the heavenly water—because it is spiritual and invisible—is taken in an allegorical sense for the Holy Spirit, which possesses such great power that it cleanses what is invisible, just as the water of the Spirit acts as the water of the body.
IX. C God, in His goodness, has also mingled fear with goodness. For He provides what is beneficial for each person, just as a physician for the sick, or a father for a child who acts out of order. *For he who spares his rod hates his son.* And the Lord Himself, as well as His apostles, lived in fear and trials. When, therefore, this labor befalls the body of a believer, it happens either because the Lord is exacting penalties for some previously committed sin, or is exercising greater care for the future, or, without preventing a trial that arises externally from His power, proposes something useful as an example for both him and his neighbors.
X. D Now, those who inhabit a corrupt body, just as those sailing in an old ship, are not indifferent,
A but are always praying, stretched out toward God.
XI. The elders were greatly distressed if some illness did not befall their body from time to time; for they feared that perhaps, not receiving here the wages of their sins—which are many and accompany those in the flesh through ignorance—they might receive their punishment all at once there, and so they deemed it better to be chastened here. Therefore, we must fear not the outward disease, but the sins on account of which the disease occurs; and we must fear the disease of the soul, not that of the body; for "all flesh is grass," and things bodily and external are good but temporary, while things that are not seen are eternal.
XII. Regarding the things of knowledge: some we already possess, while others we firmly hope for, through those which we do have. For we have not yet obtained everything, nor do we lack everything, but we have received, as it were, a pledge of the eternal goods and of the paternal inheritance. The provisions for the Lord’s way are the Lord’s beatitudes. "Seek," He said, "and pursue with anxious care the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you; for your Father knows what you need." Thus, He forbids not only being unoccupied, but also being anxious. For, He says, by anxiety you cannot add anything to your stature. For God knows clearly what it is profitable for us to possess and what we lack. Having, therefore, emptied ourselves of worldly cares, He wants us to be filled with the things that are of God. "For we groan," longing to be clothed C with the incorruptible before we have unclothed ourselves of corruption. For when faith is poured in, unbelief vanishes. In the same way also regarding knowledge and justice. It is necessary, therefore, not only to empty the soul, but also to fill it with God. For that which has ceased to be is no longer evil; nor is that good which has not yet received anything: but that which is neither good nor evil is nothing. For, the unclean spirit that previously dwelt there returns to the house which has been purified and left empty, if nothing of those things which lead to salvation has been cast into it, taking along with it seven other unclean spirits. Therefore, once emptied of evils, it is necessary that we fill the soul with the good God, which is the chosen dwelling-place. For when the empty places are filled, then the seal follows, so that that which is holy may be kept for God.
XIII. "Every word is established by two or three witnesses" D; in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, by which witnesses and helpers the things that are called commandments ought to be observed.
XIV. Fasting is abstinence from food, as is evident from the word itself. But food does not make us more just or more unjust. According to the mystical sense, however, it is clearly evident that, just as for each person life comes from food, and fasting is a symbol of death, so we too [must fast from the world, so that we may die to the world, and after this be nourished by divine food...]
and live to God. Moreover, fasting empties the soul of material dross, and renders it pure and light—together with the body—and fit for divine discourses. Now, the food of this world is our past life and our sins; but the divine food is faith, hope, love, patience, knowledge, peace, temperance. For blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God; for they shall be filled. [*] It is the soul, however, and not the body, that takes on this appetite.
XV. By the example of a certain demoniac whom they could not cleanse, the Savior revealed to his faithful apostles the true meaning of his mind—that prayer is of greater power than faith—saying that miracles of this kind are accomplished through prayer. For he who has believed has received remission of sins from the Lord; but he who has attained to knowledge, since he no longer sins, obtains from himself the remission of the remainder. B
XVI. Just as healings and prophecies and signs, so too is the gnostic instruction accomplished through men, with God acting through them; for God demonstrates His power through men. And rightly does prophecy say: *And I will send them a man who shall save them.* It is He, therefore, who sends forth at one time prophets, at another apostles, as saviors of men. In this way God provides benefits through men; for it is not the case that God is able to do some things and unable to do others, nor is He ever weak in anything; nor do some things happen by His will and others as if against His will; nor are some things done by Him and others by another; but He even begot us through men, and instructed us through men. C
XVII. God created us, though we did not exist before. For it was necessary for us to know where we were, if we had pre-existed, and how and for what reason we came here; but if we did not pre-exist, God is the sole cause of our coming into being. As, therefore, He created us when we were not, so, having come into being, He saves us by His own grace, if we appear worthy and fit, if we do not fall short of our proper end; for He is Lord of the living and of the dead. D
XVIII. Behold, also, the power of God: not only that He brings those who do not exist among men into being, and promotes those who have come into being by the progress of their age, but also that He saves those who believe according to what is fitting for each. And He already changes the seasons, and the times, and the fruits, and the elements. For this is the one God, who has fittingly measured out both the beginning and the end of created things for each one.
A XIX. A human who has advanced from faith and fear to knowledge knows how to say, "Lord, Lord," but not as a slave; he has learned to say, "Our Father," having been liberated by the Spirit of slavery which leads to fear, and having progressed through love into adoption as a son, already revering out of love Him whom he previously feared. For it is no longer out of fear that he abstains from forbidden things, but out of love he holds fast to the commandments. "The Spirit Himself," He says, "bears witness when we say, 'Abba, Father.'"
B XX. But the Lord redeems us with precious blood, delivering us from the bitter masters of old—that is, from sins, on account of which the spiritual forces of wickedness were our masters. He leads, therefore, to the freedom that belongs to the Father, making us co-heirs, sons, and friends. "For my brothers," says the Lord, "and co-heirs are those who do the will of my Father." Do not, therefore, call anyone father for yourselves upon the earth; for there are masters upon the earth, but in the heavens is the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. For love rules those who are willing, but as for the unwilling, this meaner fear rules them; but that which acts as a pedagogue toward what is good leads to Christ and is salvific.
XXI. If, indeed, anyone understands God, it is by no means according to His dignity—for who could be worthy of God's dignity? Or what excellence is equal to Him?—but as far as capacity is granted to him, let him understand a great, incomprehensible, and most beautiful light, inaccessible; a light, I say, of such a kind that it has obtained all good power, all elegant virtue; that it cares for all things, that it is merciful, C without passions, endowed with supreme goodness; that it knows all things, foreknows the universe; and that, finally, it is sincere, sweet, splendid, and incorrupt.
XXII. That the soul is moved by itself, this it ought to attribute to the grace of God; that the soul has from itself—namely, the power of acting—it demands from it as a kind of earnest for salvation. For He wishes that good which the Lord bestows upon it to be the soul’s own. Indeed, it does not lack sense, so that it might be moved like a body. Therefore, the having is the portion of him who has first received; the receiving, however, is of him who has willed and desired; but to hold fast that which he has received is the portion of him who has planned and is able to hold it. And for this reason, God has given the soul the faculty of choosing, so that He Himself may indeed admonish it of its duty, but the soul, having chosen, may receive and hold fast. D
XXIII. Just as the Savior spoke and healed the sick through His body, so too, previously through the prophets, and now through the apostles and teachers—for the Church serves the activity of the Lord—hence He also took upon Himself a human in order that through him He might serve the will of the Father; and the philanthropic God always puts on a human being for the salvation of humanity, previously indeed the prophets, now
A the Church. For it is most fitting for one like to serve one like for a similar salvation.
XXIV. When we were of the earth... Caesar, however, is the temporary ruler, whose image is the earthly one, namely the old man, to whom it has reverted. To him, therefore, those things of the earth must be rendered, which we have borne in the image of the earthly one, and those of God to God; for each of the passions is, as it were, a letter and a mark and a sign impressed upon us. The Lord now signs for us a different mark, and other names and letters, faith instead of unbelief, and so on. In this way we are led up from material things to spiritual things, while we bear the image of the heavenly one.
XXV. John says, "I indeed baptize you with water, but He who comes after me B will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." But He baptized no one with fire. Some, however, as Heracleon asserts, marked the ears of those being sealed with fire, who had received the seal of this baptism; in this way, surely, the apostles understood the apostolic saying: "For the winnowing fan is in His hand, to cleanse His threshing floor; and He will gather the wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." Therefore, "by fire" is added to "by spirit," because it distinguishes the wheat from the chaff—that is, from the material garment—by the spirit; and the chaff is separated by being winnowed through the spirit. Thus the spirit has a separating power over material influences. But since some things were made from the unbegotten C and incorruptible—namely, those which are the seeds of life, the fire is also stored up—while the material part remains only as long as it is joined to the better part; when it is separated from that, it perishes, for it had its being in something else. This spirit, therefore, has the power of separating potentially, while the fire has the power of consuming; but material fire is to be understood here. But since that which attains salvation is like wheat, while that which adheres to the soul and is born with it is not unlike the chaff, and the former is incorporeal, while that which is separated is material, He set the spirit against the incorporeal—the spirit which is thin and pure, almost beyond mind—and against the material He set the fire, not existing as evil or bad, but as strong and a cleanser of evil; for fire is understood as a good and strong power, endowed with the capacity to corrupt worse things and to preserve better things; for this reason this fire is called prudent D by the prophets.
XXVI. Thus, therefore, even when God is called a consuming fire, it is to be understood not as a name or symbol of malice, but of power. For just as fire is the strongest of the elements and rules over everything, so also does
the Omnipotent God rule over gods, powers, and principalities, being able to grasp, create, act, nourish, increase, and save, having power over body and soul. The power of fire is twofold: one part is suitable for the creation, ripening of fruits, and the generation and nourishment of animals, of which the sun is an image; the other part tends toward the dissolution and corruption of things, such as earthly fire. When God is called a consuming fire, therefore, A a strong and unassailable power is understood, to which nothing is impossible, and which is also capable of destroying. The Savior also speaks of this power: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth" (Luke XII, 49); clearly meaning a power that is purifying for the holy, but, as they suggest, destructive for material things—though we would say it is educational. Fire brings fear, but light brings diffusion.
XXVII. Why the Ancients Did Not Write
The elders did not write, nor did it please them that the care of teaching the tradition should be burdened by another care—the labor of writing—nor that they should spend the time for premeditating what was to be said on the act of writing. Perhaps, too, being convinced that the composition of books and the study of teaching were not of the same nature, they left to each person what was according to his own disposition. For one type of discourse flows freely and with a certain impulse from the mouth of the speaker and can quickly carry away the listener, B while the other, which is subjected to the daily and diligent scrutiny of readers, demands the utmost inquiry and rigorous effort. There is, furthermore, the confirmation of doctrine in written form—to put it in this way—and thus its transmission to descendants in later times. For the deposit of the ancients, speaking through writing, uses the writer as a minister for the tradition of what is read. Just as the magnet stone, when joined to other materials, attracts only iron because of the affinity it has for it, so too do books, though many may engage with them, draw only those who are capable of understanding. For the word of truth is to some madness, to others a scandal, but to a few it is wisdom. So also is the power of God found, though the Gnostic might burst with envy. For this reason he also seeks C whether it is worse to give to the unworthy or not to provide for the worthy; and out of excessive love, there is the risk that he might communicate not only to everyone to whom it is fitting, but sometimes even to an unworthy person who fervently entreats him. He does not do this because of the prayer—for he is not moved by a love of praise—but because of the perseverance of the one who asks, who, through a long prayer, trains his soul for faith. D
[XXVIII] There are some who, though they are called gnostics, envy those of their own household more than those outside. For as the sea lies open to all, yet one swims in it, another carries on trade, and another engages in fishing; and as the earth is common, yet one travels upon it, another ploughs, another hunts, another searches for metals, and yet another builds: so also with the reading of the Scriptures, one is edified unto faith, another unto character, while a third puts away superstition, inasmuch as he thoroughly understands the matters. But he who is a pugilist, and who well understands the Olympic stadium, strips himself for teaching and struggles and emerges victorious, repelling and fighting against the adversaries who oppose themselves to the gnostic path. For knowledge is necessary both for the exercise of the soul and for the dignity of character, rendering the faithful more estimable and accurate observers of reality. For as it is impossible to believe without instruction, so neither is it possible to comprehend without knowledge.
[XXIX.] For not only is the discourse concerning things useful and necessary for salvation, such as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but also that concerning our own soul, absolutely required; and this discourse, which is called gnostic, happens to be both useful and necessary. Now, for those who have undertaken the office of leadership in order to benefit others, much experience is useful, so that nothing of what is considered necessary and has been learned with much erudition by others may escape them. Moreover, the exposition of the teaching of heretics brings another care for the exercising of the soul, and keeps the disciple un-deceived by the truth, as he is already prepared on all sides to sound the trumpet, having been trained with the instruments of war.
[XXX.] Of the gnostic law—just as they say that Crete is barren of destructive beasts—the life is pure from every evil deed, and thought, and word, having no enemy at all, but rather being placed outside the reach of envy, hatred, every blasphemy, and calumny.
[XXXI.] He is to be celebrated as blessed for his longevity, not he who has lived for many years, but he who, by living, has shown himself worthy of eternal life. He has grieved no one, except when he has chastised those with wounded hearts, like with a salutary honey, which
is both sweet and stinging. A Hence, the wise and truly Gnostic man keeps what is becoming, in accordance with reason, before all else. For when all that is emotional has been excised and removed from the whole soul, he lives and associates with what is supreme—having become pure and liberated unto adoption as a son.
XXXII. Pythagoras held that he who assigned names to things should be considered not only the most learned, but also the most ancient of wise men. Therefore, one must scrupulously examine the Holy Scriptures, since it is agreed that they are constructed in parables, so that we may hunt out from their names the meanings which the Holy Spirit has proposed concerning things, and, so to speak, has instilled into the very words, thereby teaching His own expressed mind. This is for the purpose that names, which are spoken with multiple significations, may be diligently pondered and explained by us, and that the sense, hidden by so many things shrouding it, may appear and shine forth as if by feeling and descending into it. For in this way, lead grows incandescent through friction, becoming white ceruse from black; thus also B knowledge, shedding light and splendor upon things, would truly be that divine wisdom, that pure light, illuminating those whose pupil of the eye is pure, so that they may see the truth and firmly grasp it.
XXXIII. Therefore, having been kindled by the principle of this light, and striving as much as possible for likeness as regards the passion that resides in it, we become, as full-lighted men, Israelites in reality. For He called those His friends and brothers who, by desire and by effort, study and labor to attain likeness with God. C
XXXIV. Clean places and meadows have received voices and certain appearances of holy visions; but every man who is accurately purified will become a master of divine doctrine and virtue.
XXXV. Moreover, I am well aware that the mysteries of knowledge are held in derision by many, especially when they are not mixed and woven with sophistic tropology; but as for the few, like a light suddenly brought into a festive dining room, it will first strike them with amazement; but afterwards, they grow accustomed and are exercised in mind, as if refreshed and exulting with joy in the Lord. . . . For just as pleasure has the liberation from pain in its own nature, so knowledge has the removal of ignorance. For just as those who are most weighed down by sleep think themselves to be most awake, being subject to clearer and less dissipated dreams that draw them elsewhere; so those who suffer from the greatest ignorance think that they know most. Blessed are those from this sleep D
A and madness, being awakened, and having looked up to the light and the truth.
XXXVI. It therefore behoves one who wishes to have a disciple who is obedient, and who has mixed faith with desire, to exercise him and to have him meditate daily, while examining the truth of the doctrines for himself. And when he feels that he has a good grasp of it, then indeed he should descend to inquiries bordering upon these; for the nestlings of birds also make trial of flight by exercising their wings in the nest.
XXXVII. For Gnostic virtue is everywhere good and gentle and harmless, and painless, and blessed, and prepared—doing best to converse with all that is divine, and best with men—fashioning man into a divine image, both by contemplation and action, B and making him a lover of the beautiful through love. For it is good, in so far as it is considered and understood there as wisdom, and here it is practiced through temperance and justice by faith; having meditated upon the angelic ministry in the flesh, consecrating the mind in the body as in a transparent and undefiled place.
XXXVIII. Against Tatian, who says that the phrase "Let there be light" is a prayer, we must say: If, therefore, he is praying to the superior God, how does He say, "I am God, and beside me there is no other"? We have said that these are the punishments for blasphemies, of babbling, and of licentious words, by which those who are punished and disciplined are punished by C reason.
XXXIX. He also asserted that women are punished on account of their hair and their adornment by the power appointed over these matters, which also provided power to the hair of Samson, which also punishes those who are moved to fornication through the adornment of their hair.
XL. Just as men are made good by the outpouring of the good, so also are they imbued with the quality of evil. The judgment of God is good, both the discernment of the faithful from the unfaithful, and the judgment for the purpose of not falling into a greater judgment, and the judgment which is correction.
XLI. Scripture says that infants who have been exposed are handed over to a guardian angel, by whom they are both educated and grow; D and they will be, it says, as one hundred years old, the faithful here; wherefore Peter also says in the Apocalypse: "And a flash of fire leaping from those infants, and striking the eyes of the women." For the just man shines forth like a spark in the reeds, and shall judge the nations.
XLII. "With the holy thou shalt be holy." By way of proverb, [alt-version omitted]
A in accordance with our recognition, God is glorified; and likewise by way of the right of inheritance. So too that saying, "the Lord lives," and that, "the Lord has risen."
XLIII. "A people whom I had not known, served me"; by way of a covenant I did not know them. "Strange children, who have envied the things that are another's."
XLIV. "Magnifying the salvations of his king." All the faithful are called kings, being translated into the kingdom and being future heirs.
XLV. The endurance of evils is a sweetness greater than honey; not in that it is endurance, but by reason of the fruit of such endurance. Since, therefore, he who is continent is not entirely immune from affections, inasmuch as he does not contain himself from the passions without labor. But when B the habit is present, he is no longer continent, because the man is now in a single habit and the Holy Spirit.
XLVI. The passions that are in the soul are called spirits, not spirits of power—for otherwise a man subject to these would be a legion of demons—but by way of suggestion. For the same soul, by receiving various and different qualities of wickedness through certain changes, is said to have received spirits.
XLVII. The Reason (Logos) of the creation does not command us to depart from it, but to use the creation without any depravity of the passions; and when something befalls us, not to be vexed, nor to be grieved, nor to desire to acquire it. The command to depart from the affection of the possession C of things and from every lust, divine Providence directs only at those who dwell in the flesh.
XLVIII. Straightway Peter says in the Apocalypse that infants who have been aborted, as they are to be partakers of a better lot, are handed over to a guardian angel, so that, having partaken of knowledge, they might attain a better habitation, having suffered those things that they would have suffered had they lived in the body; the others, however, will merely be partakers of salvation, having been treated mercifully as though they had suffered injustice, and they remain without torment, receiving this as their reward.
XLIX. But the milk of women, flowing from their breasts and curdling, Peter says in the Apocalypse, will bring forth small carnivorous beasts, D and returning into them, they will devour them; for he is teaching that punishments come on account of sins; he says that these [punishments] are born of sins, just as the people were sold on account of sins; and because they would not believe in Christ, as the Apostle says, they were bitten by snakes.
L. A certain elder said that the living creature which is in the womb...
entered after the purification prepared for conception, and was infused by one of the angels who preside over generation, who, knowing well the season and the moment of conception, moves the woman to intercourse. And when the seed has been cast, the spirit which is in the seed, so to speak, is A conjoined in a friendly manner, and thus it is conceived through the formation. He called this a testimony for all, when the angels announce to those who are barren, as they pre-infuse the souls before the conception; and in the Gospel, the infant leaped as one endowed with a soul. And for this reason, the barren are barren, as if the soul were not being infused which gathers the cast-in seed for the correct detention of conception and generation.
B LI. The heavens declare the glory of God. Heavens are spoken of in many ways: those which are so by distance and circuit, and those which are so by the covenant of the first-created angels, being an immediate power; for the covenants operated a more principal presence of angels, in Adam, in Noah, in Abraham, in Moses. For the first-created angels, being moved by the Lord, acted upon the angels close to the prophets, establishing the glory of God, that is, the covenants. But also, the things that happened on earth by the angels were done through the first-created angels to the glory of God.
C LII. But the heavens are called, primarily, the Lord, and then the first-created ones, after whom also the holy men before the Law, such as the patriarchs and Moses and the prophets; then also the apostles. And the firmament announces the work of his hands. By "firmament" he calls God, who is impassible and immutable, just as David himself says in another place: "I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my firmament and my refuge." The firmament itself, therefore, announces the work of his hands, that is, it shows and declares the work of his angels; for it announces and declares those whom he made.
D LIII. Day unto day utters speech. As the heavens are many, so also is the day. And the Word is the Lord; and the same is often called the day. And night unto night declares knowledge. The devil knew that the Lord was coming; but whether he was God, he did not know; wherefore he tempted him, that he might know if he was powerful. "And," he says, "he departed from him for a time," that is, he postponed the discovery unto
A the resurrection. For he knew this to be the Lord who was to rise again. Likewise the demons also; since they suspected that Solomon was the Lord; but they knew he was not, as he had sinned. "Night unto night:" all the demons knew that the Lord was he who rose again after the passion. Already, moreover, Enoch says that the transgressing angels taught men astronomy and divination and the other arts.
LIV. "There are no speeches nor words, in which their voices are not heard," not of days, nor of nights. "Into all the earth their sound has gone forth." He transferred the discourse to the saints alone, whom he has also called heavens and days.
NE B. The stars are spiritual bodies, sharing in the administration of things together with the angels who are set over them; they are not themselves causes of generation, but are significant of things that are happening, and of things that shall be, and of things that have been, both in the changes of the air, and in the fertility and unfruitfulness of crops, and in plagues and fevers, and concerning men. Nor do the stars produce their effects in a dream; but 74 they signify both things that are, and things that shall be, and things that were before.
NϚ C. "And in the sun he placed his tabernacle." Here there is a transposition (hyperbaton); for the discourse is about the second advent. Thus, therefore, the transposition must be read in sequence. "And he, as a bridegroom going forth from his bridal chamber, will rejoice as a giant to run his course. His going forth is from the end of heaven, and there is none who shall hide from his heat" 75. And then: "In the sun he set his tabernacle." Some therefore say that the Savior placed his own body in the sun, as Hermogenes. And some call the body his tabernacle, while others call it the Church of the faithful. But our Pantaenus 76 said that the prophets express their words indefinitely for the most part, and use the present tense for the future 77, and
indeed what is now appears. For the word "he set" A is used both for the past and for the future. For the future, because, when the period of the status of this present life is fulfilled 78, the Lord will come and will restore the righteous, the faithful, in whom He rests as in a tabernacle (for they are all one body, of the same kind, having chosen the same faith and righteousness) into the same unity 79; but some as the head, others as eyes, others as ears, others as hands, others as breasts, others as feet, will be placed in the sun, shining. "Shine as the sun," or "in the sun," since the ruling angel is in the sun; for he was established for the beginning of the days, just as the moon for ruling the night. And days were called angels. With those angels who are in the sun 80, he says, they will be organized as one, just as, the sun being the head of one body, they will be followers at some point; and they themselves are also rulers of days, as he who has his seat in the sun, to that which is greater, to which he himself formerly migrated in the same; and again, by ascending, they arrive 81 at the first station, because he spoke in the past tense; and he set the first-created angels so that they no longer serve according to the providence of the defined office, but so that they may remain in rest, and in the sheer contemplation of God; but those who are closer to these will advance into the order which they have left behind; and thus those who are below them [will advance] proportionately.
LVII. There are therefore, according to the Apostle, angels of the first creation who are placed in the highest citadel; and they would be thrones, B although these first-created ones are also powers, because God rests in them, just as He also does in the faithful. For everyone, according to his own progress, has his own knowledge concerning God; in which knowledge God rests, and they have attained eternity because of the knowledge with which they are endowed. And consider whether the text, "In the sun he set his tabernacle," should be understood thus: "In the sun he set," that is, in God who is the near God—as it is in the Gospel, "Eli, Eli" 82, instead of "My God, my God." And as to what is "above every principality and power and C authority, and every name that is named," these are the ones who, having been perfected from among men into angels and archangels, are constituted into the nature of the first-created angels—for they who have migrated from among men into angels are schooled for a thousand years by the angels, being restored to perfection—then those who teach D
take upon themselves the archangelic power; but those who have completed the phases of learning, in turn, take up those who have migrated from among men into angels to be schooled; thus, afterwards, at the fixed periods already mentioned, they are established in their own proper angelic station of body.
A LVIII. *The law of the Lord is immaculate, converting souls.* The Law and the Word are said to be the Savior himself, as Peter says in the *Preaching*; and also the prophet: *For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.*
LIX. *The testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to the little ones.* The testament of the Lord is true, giving wisdom to the little ones—namely, to those who are immune from all malice; then to the apostles, and thereafter to us. Moreover, the testimony of the Lord itself, by which he rose from the dead after his passion, being truly faithful in that very deed, brought the Church to the confirmation of faith.
LX. *The fear of the Lord is chaste, abiding for ever and ever.* He asserts that those who have been converted from fear to faith and righteousness abide for ever. *The judgments of the Lord are true, firm, and immovable,* which grant a just reward, and which establish the just in the unity of faith. For this is what is meant by what is said: *Justified in themselves.* Such desires are *above gold and precious stone.*
LXI. *And indeed thy servant keepeth them.* Not, of course, because he is a servant like David, but every people who are to be partakers of salvation, having performed the commandments out of obedience, is called the servant of God.
LXII. *Cleanse me from my secret faults.* Namely, from thoughts contrary to right reason, and from failings. For he affirms that these are altogether foreign to a just man.
LXIII. *If they do not dominate me, then shall I be immaculate.* As if he had said: If those who persecute me, even as they persecuted the Lord, shall not have dominated me, I shall not be immaculate. For no one is entered into the list of martyrs unless he has suffered persecution; nor does one appear just unless, having suffered injury, he has not rendered equal injury in return; nor, finally, is he one who endures evils. B C D