are, hell was opened, and the dead rose again, and souls escaped, and many appeared there of those who rose in Jerusalem, while this mystery of Christ was being fulfilled. For on the cross he exalted the flesh, so that the flesh might appear fixed by nails, and death was brought into subjection under the feet of the flesh. Then the angels were seized with wonder, and the heavenly powers were astonished at the passion of Christ. The creature was terrified and thunderstruck, saying: What is this new mystery that now presents itself? The Judge is judged and remains silent; he who is invisible is seen and is not confounded; he who is incomprehensible is apprehended and is not indignant; he who himself is immense is subjected to measure and does not resist; he who is impassible suffers and does not retaliate; he who is immortal dies and endures; he who dwells in the heavens is delivered up to burial and continues B to exist. And to what end is this new kind of mystery, if not entirely for the sake of man? Death, indeed, is alienated, lies prostrate under the feet of Christ, and hell, having been made captive, has been conquered for the triumph; and all its powers vanished, immediately upon hearing the voice of Christ, just as the Scripture says: "You heard the voice of his words." For hell did not look upon the face of the Lord, but heard only his voice, saying: Come forth, O souls, bound in the chains of the shadow of death; I announce life to you, I am Christ, your life. Having heard this, hell was loosed, and its bronze gates were shattered, and the iron bars were broken, and the souls of the saints escaped, following the footsteps of Christ. And thus was the Scripture fulfilled: "He broke the bronze gates and shattered the iron bars." But even the earth cried out, saying: O Lord, deliver me from evil, rescue me from wrath, loose me from the curse, for whose sake I received blood and human bodies—nay, even your body, O Lord; but the earth received your Adam. The Lord therefore rose again within three days, teaching us to worship the Trinity in unity. And all nations have been saved by Christ. For one was judged, and we, infinite in number, have been saved, because the Lord died for all. In exactly the same way, having put on the whole man, he passed through the height of the heavens and ascended into the height of the glory of his kingdom, bringing back a gift to the Father—not gold, not silver, nor precious stone, but man, whom he fashioned in his own image. This man, however, the Father, exalting him at his right hand, placed upon a sublime throne, until his enemies are put under his feet. For he is to come, the Judge of the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. For glory is to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
OF OUR HOLY FATHER EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF CONSTANTIA IN CYPRUS, ON THE MYSTERIES OF NUMBERS.
Of Faith
1. Faith is something that looks toward God; it can neither be handled, nor comprehended, nor perceived by contemplation, nor grasped by curious investigation, nor explored; but it is honored in silence and worshiped in the mind. It is the fixed seat of the soul; the foundation of life, a living root, an incorruptible branch, the fruit of immortality, the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things not seen; the justification of all the saints.
On the Holy Trinity.
A II. The Trinity is simple, in no way composite, which no conjecture can reach, no speech can explain; ineffable, interminable, Father, Son, Holy Spirit; consubstantial in all things, in concord, in power, in operation, in divinity, in magnitude; distinct only in hypostasis and in names, but joined together in power and in reality. The Trinity existed before the ages, without beginning, without time, ageless, immortal, unending, never waxing, never waning; always existing in the same way and in the same state; not found just now, but always worshipped; preached by the voice of the apostles; faithfully magnified by the Church; omnipotent, all-seeing, creator, lover of mankind, good, needing nothing, perfect.
That the number of the Trinity itself, which is expressed in the divine Scriptures, is a mystery and a marvel.
III. The Cherubim, for the third time, hymn: Holy, holy, holy Lord. There are three great elements: heaven and the earth, and the sea. There are three things in us: mind, spirit, reason. There are three fathers: Adam, Seth, Enoch. There are three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Three angels at the tent of Abraham. Three days of the sacrifice of Abraham. Three measures of fine flour Sarah offered to the angels whom she had welcomed. Jacob peeled three rods and placed them in the water-troughs for the drinking of the flocks. Three decades of years, and then Joseph was king. For three months Moses was hidden by his parents. Thrice three, nine, C were the plagues of the Egyptians. Three months after the departure from Egypt, the law was written, and the tablets [were carried]. Three benefits of the desert: water, the quail-meat, the manna. Three times, he says, Moses appeared before the Lord. Three priests: Moses, Aaron, Samuel. Three marvelous generals: Joshua the son of Nun, Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Phinehas. Three standing on the hill against Amalek: Moses, Joshua, Hur. Three powerful judges: Gideon, Jephthah, Samson. Three elders of the children of Israel: Moses, Job, Daniel. For three weeks Daniel continued his fast. The three children who would not worship the golden image: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.
For three things the earth is shaken, as Solomon said: if a slave reigns, if a fool is filled with food, and if a hateful woman obtains a good husband. Three things that cannot be sated: Hades, the love of a woman, D and parched earth. Three things are incomprehensible: the tracks of an eagle flying, the path of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship sailing the sea. Three things there are that go well: the lion's whelp, stronger than the herds, the rooster walking about in his [p. 510 cont]
A midst, lively, a goat leading the herd. Three wise women: the woman of Tekoa, the Shunammite, Abigail. For the one saved her husband Nabal; the other, [saved her household] from the artifice of Absalom; the first, finally, going to the prophet for her son, and not despairing, brought about salvation. Three women who were prophetesses and tympanists: Mary, Deborah, Judith. Three holy women: Sarah, Rebecca, Leah. Three praised kings: David, Hezekiah, Josiah. Three orders of beings: heavenly, earthly, infernal. Three virtues: faith, hope, charity. Three gifts that have proceeded divinely: kingship, priesthood, prophecy. Three times: of things present, of things past, of things future. Three possessions of the righteous: paradise, Abraham’s bosom, the kingdom of heaven. Three punishments for sinners: darkness, the worm, Gehenna. Three renewals of the world: the first, which happened in the time of Noah; the second, that of Christ; the third, at the end of the world. Three times [did] Elijah cut [into] the limbs of the ox and, sprinkling water with the wood, called down fire from heaven. Three times a day Daniel was accustomed to pray. For three months the Virgin remained in the house of Zechariah. Three are the gifts offered [to] Christ by the Magi: gold, frankincense, myrrh. Three kinds of baptism: legal, that of John, and that of the Lord. Three invocations of baptism: to the Father and B the Son and the Holy Spirit. Three immersions, and as many emersions of baptism. Three victories of the Lord over the devil: when He would not eat, although He was hungry; when He did not adore that wicked one; when He did not cast Himself down. Three days after the baptism, and then the water was turned into choice wine.
Three reproofs [arising] from the only-begotten Son of God toward the Virgin: "What was it that you were seeking me? Did you not know that I must be in those things which pertain to my Father?" Then: "What is it to me and to you, woman?" Finally: "Who are my brothers?" Three disciples to whom Christ trusted more than the others: Peter, James, John. For three years the Lord brought forth prodigies. For three years the Lord came seeking fruit on the fig tree, and did not find it. The Lord cursed three [things]: the fig tree: "May no fruit arise from you forever"; the Synagogue: "Stone upon stone shall not remain"; Judas: "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified." For three days and three nights Jonah remained in the belly of the whale. By a space of three days the sentence decreed against the Ninevites was defined. The death of the Savior was a three-day death. C The same is the three-day and mighty resurrection from the dead of the Lord. After three days, Paul, having been deprived of sight, recovered his vision. Three times, because of the thorn of the flesh, he besought the Lord that it might depart from him. Three times he suffered shipwreck. He was caught up to the third heaven. Three measures of meal that woman, who is likened to the kingdom of heaven, taking, and hiding in a small leaven,
That the number, as a double trinity, is observed in the divine Scripture concerning great matters.
IV. B God fashioned the world in six days. On the sixth day He formed Adam. At the sixth hour, He sought him who had been stripped bare by sin. Six times He appeared to Abraham: first in Charran . . . third in dreams; fourth at the addition of the letter to his name; fifth at the oak of Mamre at midday, at the sixth hour; and finally at the sacrifice of his only son on the mountain. He ordained that the Hebrews should serve for six years. In the sixth month, He sent Gabriel to the Virgin. Six water-pots He changed from water into wine. At the sixth hour, He conversed with the Samaritan woman at the well. Six days before the Passover, He raised Lazarus. At the sixth hour, being crucified, He was reconciled to the thief. Six times, after He rose from the dead, He showed Himself available to be seen: to the women; to Cleopas; to the disciples when Thomas was absent; to the same when Thomas was present; to Peter and John when they had taken the net; and finally on the day on which He was taken up into heaven. Six times, as Paul says, He appeared to the brethren: to Cephas, to the ten, to the five hundred, to James at one time, to all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself. Six great mysteries did our Lord Jesus Christ perform, as Paul testifies: He was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Great names are written in six letters: Adonai, Sabaoth, Lord, Physician, Good, Cloud, Mary.
That the number seven is a perfect one.
V. On the seventh day God rested from all His works. Seven vengeances He paid out for him who killed Cain. For that wicked man had committed seven sins: envy, deceit, fratricidal murder; then, as the first master and author of homicide C to mortals, he brought sorrow to his parents; he lied to God. Therefore, seven punishments were inflicted upon him: for he dwelt on the cursed earth; then he tilled it: watching, he mourned, he trembled, he withdrew himself from the eyes of all, trembling anxiously wherever anyone passed by; finally he was publicly recognized by a certain sign. The seventh from Adam, Enoch, pleased God, and like wheat was separated from the tares of the ungodly. Jacob served Laban for seven years, and then seven others for Rachel. Abraham presented seven ewe lambs to Abimelech as a testimony of the right which he held over the well. Seven gaunt kine represented famine, and seven full ears of grain represented fertility, in that dream of Pharaoh. Seven sacred trumpets did Jesus the son of Nave carry when he brought down the walls of Jericho. In the seventh year of servitude he released the Hebrews.
A From the fifteenth to the twenty-first day, during which the Passover of the Jews was celebrated, there were seven days of the feast. God delivered seven nations into servitude to the Jews: the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites (93). For seven days Moses' sister was separated from the tent. Samson was bound with seven ropes, and he snapped them like flax. He had seven sacred locks of hair; when these were shorn, his entire strength and power vanished. There are seven eyes that look out over the whole earth. Zacharias saw seven vessels and seven lamps, for they are the seven spirits from God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are seven: the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of piety, and the spirit of the fear of God. Wisdom has supported her tabernacle with seven pillars. Seven women among Isaiah will entreat one Lord with these words: "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own garments. Only let your name be invoked upon us: take away our reproach" (Isa. iv, 1).
B For seven legal books testify to Christ, that by assuming flesh he wiped away their reproach: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. For unless he had become man, they would be rejected as mere fables. For he was sacrificed without being sacrificed, as Isaac was, and suffered without undergoing suffering; and by carrying his own cross upon his shoulders, he confirmed what was written in the book of Genesis. Then, inasmuch as he was received into a virgin womb and did not consume the one who bore him with the fire of his divinity—representing that bush which Exodus testifies burned but was not consumed—he illustrated the book of Exodus. And because he held the high priesthood, like Aaron, and was a mediator between us and God, he expressed the things contained in Leviticus. Now, when he coupled the New Testament with the Old, and thus declared: "It was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you, that everyone who looks at a woman to commit adultery with her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. v, 27, 28); and again: "It was said to the ancients: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but I say to you, not to resist evil; but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other" (ibid. 38, 39);—when he enjoined these things, which are comprised in Deuteronomy, he brought the one into the Testament and gathered the useful things within it. D Inasmuch as he transferred our race into the true rest, and prepared for us many mansions in heaven, he revealed the things that are in the book of Numbers. When he entered the Jordan and sanctified the waters, and recalled the sun which had fled at the cross†, and worked a double day instead of a single one, he depicted the things in the book of Jesus the son of Nave for those who read them not cursorily. When he [gave] his most beloved soul for... †*Translator's note: The Latin text reads "fugientem solem in cruce revocans" (recalling the sun that had fled at the cross), mirroring the Greek "ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ φυγόντα τὸν ἥλιον ἀνακαλεσάμενος".*
laid down his life for us, laying it down as a ransom for many, he interpreted those things which the book of Judges comprises; for Jephthah also offered up his daughter to God as a whole burnt offering for the salvation of his people. Jesse was the father of seven sons; Moses is numbered the seventh from Abraham. The name of John is written with seven letters. The name of Christ also consists of seven letters. Seven deacons were chosen by the disciples for the service of the Christians: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicolaus. Seven children overthrew the tyranny of Antiochus. And, to sum up in a word, this is the commended and admirable number: since the Lord formerly shouted out clearly in the words of Scripture: "Honor the day of the Sabbath, and sanctify it; for on it God rested from all his works which he had begun to do." To Him be glory unto ages of ages. Amen.
OF OUR HOLY FATHER EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF CONSTANTIA IN CYPRUS
To the Physiologus, who has discoursed on the nature of every kind of beast and bird.
CHAPTER I.
The Physiologus speaks first of the lion.
Let us begin to speak of the lion, the king of beasts or animals; for Jacob, blessing Judah, says: "Judah is a lion's whelp; from the shoot, my son, you have gone up," and what follows.
The first property of the lion.
When the lion wanders in the mountain and perceives the scent of a hunter, he covers his tracks with his tail, so that the hunters, not following his tracks, might not find his lair nor capture him.
Interpretation.
Thus also our Lord Jesus Christ, the spiritual lion, who conquered from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, sent by the Father, covered his spiritual tracks, that is, his divinity, until his descent. For he descended into the womb of Mary, to save the human race deceived by fraud. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Because of this, those who were ignora-