of the truth, in which it is fitting for one who desires to enter to participate (for cherubim is interpreted as "multitude of knowledge"); and by the sword, the laborious way of life is signified. For it is not possible to obtain entry into the kingdom except through many tribulations.
CAP. VI, vers. 22. Tolles igitur tecum ex omnibus escis quæ mandi possunt, et comportabis apud te, et erunt tam tibi quam illis in cibum. Didymus. That which pertains to the dung of the animals is rightly passed over in silence, since Noah, together with his sons, was able to provide for this matter suitably, and it is obvious for us to conjecture and fill in what has been omitted.
CAP. VIII, vers. 1. Et recordatus est Deus Noe, etc. Didymus. B The phrase, "God remembered Noah," must be understood in a way that befits the divine nature. It does not imply that He suffered forgetfulness, but just as He says concerning the impious, "I do not know where you are from" (Luc. XIII, 27), that is, "I have never known you," as if to say, "I have never counted you among our number"; so too here, "He remembered" is the same as if He said: He established him to be the beginning of a new generation.
FRAGMENTA IN EXODUM.
(Ex eadem Catena.)CAP. XXIV, vers. 10. Et viderunt Deum Israel: et sub pedibus ejus quasi opus lapidis sapphirini, et quasi cœlum cum serenum est. Didymus. C For it is manifest from this reading that wherever God is present spiritually, there it is said to be the place of His feet, standing firmly there where virtue is practical. Perhaps, too, by the work of the sapphirine stone, wisdom is designated, which, because it consists in the contemplation of intellectual things, is compared to a serene heaven.
CAP. XXXIII, vers. 13. Si ergo inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, ostende mihi faciem tuam ut per cognitionem videam te et inveniam gratiam ante oculos tuos, et cognoscas quia populus tuus est gens ista. Didymus. D That which is seen through knowledge is manifest as being grasped by the intellect alone, and by no means by the senses. For just as the eye perceives sensible things through vision, so the mind receives the vision of God through knowledge.
VERS. 19. Et dixit : Ego transibo prior te cum gloria mea; præibo ante faciem tuam cum gloria mea, et vocabo nomine Domini coram te. Didymus. For that (glory of mine) is posterior. For before the ages exists my glory, which is my only-begotten Son. When, therefore, I have passed by first, having
[BEGINS] our glory, then you shall follow. As a servant follows a master. A
VERS. 23. And I will take away my hand, and you shall see my backside: but my face you cannot see.
Didymus.—The divine nature, such as it existed from eternity before the foundation of the world, is indicated by the face; but creation and providence are signified by the backside.
CAP. XXXIV, vers. 2. And be ready in the morning, that you may ascend immediately into Mount Sinai, and you shall stand with me on the summit.
Didymus.—For he does not stand with any other but with God, to whom he will complete the predicted progress. But what is it to stand with God, unless it be to be prepared to hear the precepts of God? B
VERS. 3. And let no one ascend with you, nor let any one be seen throughout the whole mountain: let the oxen also and the sheep not graze over against it.
Didymus.—He commanded those who were more imperfect than Moses to remain at the foot of the mountain.
Fragments on the Second Book of Kings.
(From the Catena of Nicephorus praised above, tom. II.)CAP. XXII. Vers. 5. For the sorrows of death encompassed me: the torrents of iniquity terrified me. C
Didymus.—He also speaks of the torrents of iniquity, because those who do not manfully withstand temptations fall into iniquity.
VERS. 6. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Didymus.—The sorrows of death and hell are mortal sins.
VERS. 9. There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire from his mouth shall devour: coals were kindled by it.
Didymus.—“There went up a smoke in his wrath,” as the pernicious matter is consumed, having an analogy to the things that are built up upon the foundation of Christ by wicked men—wood, hay, stubble (1 Cor. III, 12). D These are evil actions or perverse dogmas. But coals sometimes designate punishments, for example, when the Apostle says: “If your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in doing this, you shall heap coals of fire upon his head” (Rom. XII, 20); and David: “Coals shall fall upon them; you shall cast them into the fire” (Ps. CXXXIX, 11). These coals will be a help to you. Sometimes, however, coals signify the fiery words of God, by which the thoughts of the soul are purified; which Isaiah makes manifest, saying: “And there was sent one of the seraphim, and he took a coal with the tongs from the altar.”