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4 Then what follows: "Cloud and darkness are around him." The cloud once covered the Hebrews as they came out of Egypt, blocking the burning rays of the sun, and illuminating it with its own light. But if you wish to see the cloud itself more clearly, go up the mountain with Christ and Peter and James and John, and you will see there the bright cloud overshadowing and a voice coming out of the cloud and saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him." What then is "a cloud is around him"? A cloud is one thing and darkness is another. For a cloud is a light-emitting and most delicate fabric from luminous air. But darkness is a misty and foggy gloom. How then are cloud and darkness around him. And he put the cloud first and then the darkness. For first is the cloudiness (divinity?) and then the humanity. Therefore, he said cloud, so that through the cloud he might show the godlike and light-bearing beauty of his divinity; and he said darkness, so that through the darkness he might signify the human covering; in this darkness the Word of God hid his path. 5 For hear the prophet saying: "coals were kindled from him, and he bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet." And he said "feet of God" to indicate his journey upon the earth. "Coals were kindled from him and he bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet." And he hid the path of his divinity with the covering of the flesh, so that the manifold way of his wisdom might not be known to the opposing powers. "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." Just as the prophet also says: "Your way is in the sea, and your paths in many waters, and your footsteps will not be known." And his footsteps will not be known, says the prophet, yet Eunomius dares to trace out the generation of his divinity.

6 "And he bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet, and

he mounted upon the cherubim and flew, he flew upon the wings of the winds." Not that the Lord has wings and flies, but the prophet said "he flew" in order to declare the swift and rapid descent of the Word of God from heaven to earth. "And he mounted upon the cherubim and flew. He flew upon the wings of the winds." Who are they, if not certainly the angels? "For he makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." But since I said the darkness was misty and foggy, a misty gloom, lest anyone think I am speaking a myth and not a fact, let the prophet himself bear witness: "and he mounted upon the cherubim and flew, he flew upon the wings of the winds."

7 And "he made darkness his hiding place," which is certainly the body. That he calls the

tabernacle of the body darkness, let the next verse of the psalm teach you. For after saying "and he made darkness his hiding place," he added, saying: "around him was his tabernacle." Did you see his cloud? Did you know his darkness? Do you know what darkness is? Now solve that much-talked-of interpretation, spoken by many, but not truly interpreted: "Day to day utters speech; and night to night proclaims knowledge. And he made darkness his hiding place." "The darkness, says the scripture, God called Night," now, there was night among the gentiles; therefore the Lord put on the night; he wore our tabernacle.

8 "Day to day utters speech." The Father to the Son; inasmuch as he is light, he is day

and the Son. "For I am the light of the world"; "Day to day utters speech". Approach the Jordan, and there you will see how the day from above "utters"

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4 Εἶτα τὸ ἑξῆς· "Νεφέλη καὶ γνόφος κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ." Ἡ νεφέλη τοὺς Ἑβραίους ἐξερχομένους ποτὲ ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐσκέπαζεν, τὰς μὲν τοῦ ἡλίου καυσωνιζούσας ἀκτίνας ἀναχαιτίζουσα, ταῖς δὲ ἰδίαις αὐγαῖς αὐτὴν φωταγωγοῦσα. Εἰ δὲ θέλεις τρανότερον ἰδεῖν τὴν νεφέλην αὐτὴν, ἀνάβηθι εἰς τὸ ὄρος μετὰ Χριστοῦ καὶ Πέτρου καὶ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ ὄψῃ ἐκεῖ τὴν νεφέλην φωτεινὴν ἐπισκιάζουσαν καὶ φωνὴν ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης ἐξερχομένην καὶ λέγουσαν· "οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ᾧ ηὐδόκησα, ἀκούετε αὐτοῦ." Τί δέ ἐστιν τὸ· "νεφέλη κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ"; ἄλλο νεφέλη καὶ ἄλλο γνόφος. Νεφέλη γάρ ἐστιν ἐκ φωτοειδοῦς ἀέρος φεγγοβόλον καὶ λεπτότατον ὕφασμα. Γνόφος δέ ἐστιν ἀχλυώδης, καὶ ὁμιχλώδης σκοτασμός. Πῶς οὖν νεφέλη καὶ γνόφος κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ προέταξεν τὴν νεφέλην καὶ τότε τὸν γνόφον. Πρῶτον γὰρ ἡ νεφελότης (θεότης?) καὶ τότε ἡ ἀνθρωπότης. Νεφέλη οὖν εἶπεν ἵνα διὰ τῆς νεφέλης τὸ θεοειδὲς αὐτοῦ καὶ φωτοφόρον τῆς θεότητος ἐνδείξηται κάλλος· γνόφον δὲ εἶπεν ἵνα διὰ τοῦ γνόφου τὸ ἀνθρώπινον σημάνῃ κάλυμμα· τούτῳ τῷ γνόφῳ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πορείαν ὁ θεοῦ λόγος ἔκρυψεν. 5 Ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· "ἄνθρακες ἀνήφθησαν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐράνους καὶ κατέβη, καὶ γνόφος ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ." Πόδας δὲ Θεοῦ εἶπεν ἵνα τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς πορείαν αὐτοῦ μηνύσῃ. "Ἄνθρακες ἀνήφθησαν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐράνους καὶ κατέβη, καὶ γνόφος ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ." Ἔκρυψεν δὲ τὴν πορείαν τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ τῷ καλύμματι τῆς σαρκὸς, ἵνα μὴ ταῖς ἀντικειμέναις δυνάμεσιν γνώσθῃ ἡ πολυποίκιλος αὐτοῦ τῆς σοφίας ὁδός. "Εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν." Καθὼς καὶ ὁ προφήτης λέγει· "ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἡ ὁδός σου καὶ αἱ τρίβοι σου ἐν ὕδασιν πολλοῖς, καὶ τὰ ἴχνη σου οὐ γνωσθήσονται." Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἴχνη αὐτοῦ οὐ γνωσθήσονται, λέγει ὁ προφήτης, τὴν δὲ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ γέννησιν Εὐνόμιος ἐξιχνιάζειν τολμᾷ.

6 "Καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐράνους καὶ κατέβη, καὶ γνόφος ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ

ἐπέβη ἐπὶ χερουβὶμ καὶ ἐπετάσθη, ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων." Οὐχ ὅτι πτέρυγας ἔχει ὁ Κύριος καὶ πέταται, ἀλλ' εἶπεν ὁ προφήτης τὸ ἐπετάσθη, ἵνα τὴν ταχεῖαν καὶ ὀξεῖαν ἀπ' οὐρανῶν εἰς τὴν γῆν καταδρομὴν τοῦ θεοῦ Λόγου δηλώσῃ. "Καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ χερουβὶμ καὶ ἐπετάσθη. Ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων." Τίνες εἰσὶν ἢ πάντως οἱ ἄγγελοι; "Ὁ ποιῶν γὰρ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα." Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ εἶπον τὸν γνόφον ἀχλυώδη καὶ ὁμιχλώδη, σκοτασμὸν ἀχλυώδη ἵνα μή τις νομίσῃ μύθον λέγειν καὶ μὴ πρᾶγμα, αὐτὸς ὁ προφήτης μαρτυρησάτω· "καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ χερουβὶμ καὶ ἐπετάσθη, ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων."

7 Καὶ "ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ", ἢ πάντως τὸ σῶμα. Ὅτι δὲ τὸ

σκήνωμα τοῦ σώματος λέγει σκότος, ὁ ἑξῆς στίχος τοῦ ψαλμοῦ σε διδαξάτω. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εἰπεῖν "καὶ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ", ἐπήγαγεν λέγων· "κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἡ σκηνὴ αὐτοῦ." Εἶδες αὐτοῦ τὴν νεφέλην; ἔγνως αὐτοῦ τὸν γνόφον; ἔγνως τί ἐστιν γνόφος; νῦν λύε τὴν πολυθρύλλητον ἑρμηνείαν ἐκείνην, τὴν παρὰ πολλοῖς μὲν ῥηθεῖσαν, οὐκ ἀληθῶς δὲ ἑρμηνευθεῖσαν· "ἡμέρα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐρεύγεται ῥῆμα· καὶ νὺξ νυκτὶ ἀναγγέλλει γνῶσιν. Καὶ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ." "Τὸ σκότος, φησὶν ἡ γραφὴ, ὁ θεὸς ἐκάλεσεν νύκτα", νὺξ μὲν ἦν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη· τὴν νύκτα οὖν ἐνεδύσατο ὁ κύριος· τὸ ἡμέτερον σκῆνος ἐφόρεσεν.

8 "Ἡμέρα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐρεύγεται ῥῆμα." Ὁ πατὴρ τῷ υἱῷ· καθὸ φῶς ἐστὶν ἡμέρα

καὶ ὁ υἱός. "Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου"· "ἡμέρα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐρεύγεται ῥῆμα". Ἔγγισον τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ, κἀκεῖ ὄψῃ πῶς ἡ ἄνωθεν ἡμέρα τῇ κάτω ἑστηκυίᾳ "ἐρεύγεται