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9 Loins therefore girt about with "truth" according to the Apostle; for thus you will be well-girded for the good race, if you consider all present things to be vanity and falsehood according to David, you would seek the coming truth and have a desire for it.

10 And feet shod with the "preparation," he says, "of the gospel of peace," ready for every good race, through which we secure for ourselves peace with God, as the Apostle says: "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," and "Let us run with patience," he says, "the race that is set before us," and "So I run, that I may obtain."

11 And "staffs" for them "in hands," <faith and> hope in God, a support for the soul, not allowing it to be subject to tribulations, just as Paul has said, but establishing it firmly so as not to be shaken.

12 "You shall eat" it "in haste; it is the Lord's Passover," not a lazy nor a pleasurable meal, not for those with a relaxed or reclining but an awakened and intent mind, because it provides us a passing over from the destroying punishment, the Lord bestowing this; wherefore he says: "It is the Lord's Passover," which another interpreting has said plainly: "It is a passing over to the Lord."

13 After such a partaking of the divine food, let us see, thirdly, what the life of one who has partaken of holy food ought to be; and the unleavened bread and the days of unleavened bread indicate this. 14 Let the Jews then be zealous about the unleavened bread and let them consider that the seven days provide them something wonderful, because they do not eat leavened bread nor have it among them, though they can show no benefit from the practice, for they perform a type, not the reality; but you, consider the unleavened bread, as has been said before by the Apostle and as we have noted, to be the sincere soul, pure from all malice, the new way of life bringing with it nothing of the old wickedness, to which also the saying seems well applied: "You shall put away leaven out of your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from Israel"; for a return to old wickedness is destruction for one who has been transferred to newness; "For if you live according to the flesh," he says, "you will die."

15 And what is the symbol of the seven days? "Therefore," he says, "you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days"? It happens that all of time is seven days; for after the seventh, which is the sabbath, there is a return of the first, and so the cycle of time proceeds through the seven days, 16 cycling back on itself. All the time, then, you ought to live "in simplicity and sincerity," and this is truly salutary; "For if by the Spirit," he says, "you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

17 And simple is the way of one who does not seek carnal things, guileless, without craft, thinking nothing evil, nothing bitter; but why does he especially call the first and seventh days holy, saying, "The first day shall be called holy, and the seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you"? Because the first day denotes the beginning, in which we are sanctified by receiving the Holy Spirit, and the seventh signifies the end, when, having departed from the body, we are with Christ and are at home with the Lord, leaving behind the sojourning on earth, and wholly transferred to holiness; "For while we are at home," he says, "in the body we are away from the Lord."

18 And the law wills these holy days to be free from works; "For no manner of work," he says, "shall you do in them," which indicates that the soul should not be bent down by earthly affairs nor endure a servitude inconsistent with the service of God, but to do those things only with zeal and to strain the soul toward those things, which are for its benefit, and of this again is the symbol: "But that which every soul must eat, that only may be prepared by you."

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9 Ὀσφὺς οὖν περιεζωσμένη τῇ "ἀληθείᾳ" κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσῃ πρὸς τὸν δρόμον τὸν ἀγαθὸν εὔζωνος, ἐὰν πάντα τὰ παρόντα ματαιότητα καὶ ψεῦδος ὑπολαβὼν κατὰ τὸν ∆αυὶδ τὴν μέλλουσαν ἀλήθειαν ἐπιζητοίης κἀκείνης ἔχοις τὸν πόθον.

10 Πόδες δὲ ὑποδεδεμένοι τῇ "ἑτοιμασίᾳ" φησὶ "τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης", πρὸς πάντα δρόμον ἀγαθὸν εὐτρεπεῖς, δι' οὗ τὴν εἰρήνην τὴν πρὸς θεὸν βεβαιοῦμεν ἑαυ τοῖς, καθά φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος· "Εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ", καὶ "∆ι' ὑπομονῆς τρέχομέν" φησι "τὸν προκείμενον ἡμῖν ἆθλον", καὶ "Οὕτω τρέχω ἵνα καταλάβω".

11 "Βακτηρίαι" δὲ ἐκείνοις "ἐν χερσὶ", <πίστις καὶ> ἐλπὶς ἡ εἰς θεόν, στήριγμα ψυχῆς, οὐκ ἐῶσαι ταῖς θλίψεσιν ἔσεσθαι, καθάπερ ὁ Παῦλος εἴρηκεν, ἀλλὰ στηρίζουσαι βεβαίως εἰς τὸ μὴ σαλεύεσθαι.

12 "Ἔδεσθε" δὲ αὐτὸ "μετὰ σπουδῆς· πάσχα ἐστὶ κυρίου", οὐ ῥᾴθυμος οὐδὲ πρὸς ἡδονὴν τροφή, οὐκ ἀνειμένον οὐδὲ κατακεκλιμένον ἀλλ' ἐγηγερμένον ἐχόντων τὸ φρόνημα καὶ συντεταμένον, διότι τῆς ὀλοθρευτικῆς τιμωρίας ὑπέρβασιν ἡμῖν παρέχει, τοῦ κυρίου ταύτην δωρουμένου· διό φησι· "Πάσχα ἐστὶ κυρίου", ὅπερ ἕτερος ἑρμηνεύων ἄντικρυς εἴρηκεν· "Ὑπέρβασίς ἐστι τῷ κυρίῳ".

13 Μετὰ δὲ τὴν τοιαύτην μετάληψιν τοῦ θείου βρώματος τὸ τρίτον ἴδωμεν, ὁποῖον εἶναι δεῖ καὶ τὸν βίον τοῦ μετεσχηκότος ἁγίας τροφῆς· ὑποδείκνυσι δὲ τοῦτον τὰ 14 ἄζυμα καὶ αἱ τῶν ἀζύμων ἡμέραι. Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν οὖν περὶ τῶν ἀζύμων σπουδαζέτωσαν καὶ τὰς ἑπτὰ νομιζέτωσαν ἡμέρας παρέχειν αὐτοῖς τι θαυμάσιον, ὅτι ζυμωτὸν οὐκ ἐσθίουσιν οὐδὲ ἔχουσι παρ' ἑαυτοῖς, οὐδεμίαν ἔχοντες ὠφέλειαν ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος ἐπιδεῖξαι, τύπον γὰρ ἐπιτελοῦσιν, οὐκ ἀλήθειαν· σὺ δὲ σκόπει τὸ ἄζυμον, καθὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ προείρηται καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπεσημηνάμεθα, τὴν εἰλικρινῆ καὶ καθαρὰν ἀπὸ πάσης κακουργίας ψυχήν, τὸν καινὸν τρόπον καὶ μηδὲν τῆς παλαιᾶς κακίας ἐπαγόμενον, εἰς ὃ καὶ καλῶς εἰρημένον φαίνεται τὸ "Ἀφανιεῖτε ζύμην ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ὑμῶν. Πᾶς ὃς ἂν φάγῃ ζυμωτόν, ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἐξ Ἰσραήλ"· κακίας γὰρ παλαιᾶς ἐπανάληψις ὄλεθρος τῷ πρὸς τὴν καινότητα μετηγμένῳ· "Εἰ κατὰ σάρκα ζῆτέ" φησι "μέλλετε ἀποθνῄσκειν".

15 Τί δὲ τὸ τῶν ἑπτὰ σύμβολον ἡμερῶν· "∆ιό" φησιν "ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἔδεσθε ἄζυμα"; Ἑπτὰ συμβέβηκεν ἡμέρας εἶναι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον· μετὰ γὰρ τὴν ἑβδόμην, ἥτις ἐστὶ τὸ σάββατον, ἐπάνοδος τῆς πρώτης γίνεται, καὶ οὕτως ὁ κύκλος τοῦ χρόνου διὰ τῶν ἑπτὰ πρόεισιν ἡμερῶν 16 εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀνακυκλούμενος. Πάντα δὴ τὸν χρόνον "ἐν ἁπλότητι καὶ εἰλικρινίᾳ" ἔδει σε ζῆν, καὶ τοῦτο σωτήριον ἀληθῶς· "Εἰ" γὰρ "πνεύματί" φησι "τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματος θανατοῦτε, ζήσεσθε".

17 Ἁπλοῦς δὲ ὁ τρόπος τοῦ μὴ ζητοῦντος τὰ σαρκικά, ἀκακοήθης, ἀπάνουργος, μηδὲν κακόν, μηδὲν πικρὸν ἐννοῶν· διὰ τί δὲ τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν καὶ ἑβδόμην ἐξαιρέτως ἁγίας καλεῖ λέγων. "Ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ πρώτη κληθήσεται ἁγία, καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ ἑβδόμη κλητὴ ἁγία ἔσται ὑμῖν"; Ὅτι πρώτη μὲν ἡμέρα δηλοῖ τὴν ἀρχήν, καθ' ἣν ἁγιαζόμεθα τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὑποδεχόμενοι, ἑβδόμη δὲ τὸ τέλος σημαίνει, ἡνίκα δὴ ἀπὸ σώματος ἀναλύσαντες γινόμεθα σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ ἐπιδημοῦμεν τῷ κυρίῳ, καταλιπόντες τὴν ἐκδημίαν τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς, ὅλοι δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἁγιότητα μεταστάντες· "Ἐνδημοῦντες" γάρ φησι "τῷ σώματι ἐκδημοῦμεν ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου".

18 Τὰς δὲ ἁγίας ταύτας ἡμέρας ἀνειμένας ἔργων ὁ νόμος εἶναι βούλεται· "Πᾶν" γὰρ "ἔργον" φησὶν "οὐ ποιήσετε ἐν αὐταῖς", ὅπερ δηλοῖ μὴ συγκάμπτεσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν περὶ τὰς πραγματείας τὰς ἐπιγείους μηδὲ δουλείαν ὑπομένειν ἀνάρμοστον τῇ θεοῦ δουλείᾳ, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα καὶ μόνα ποιεῖσθαι διὰ σπουδῆς καὶ περὶ ἐκεῖνα συντείνεσθαι τὴν ψυχήν, ὅσα αὐτῇ πρὸς ὠφέλειάν ἐστι, καὶ τούτου πάλιν σύμβολον τὸ "Πλὴν ὅσα ποιηθήσεται πάσῃ ψυχῇ, τοῦτο μόνον ποιηθήσεται ὑμῖν"·