Such, then, throughout is the Word; and every particle of it is naturally 12.809 cultivated in a good and noble soil, that is, of the soul. And the manna is white. For the Word is light and bright, and in this respect white, to the one who understands it and is nourished by it. And it is also like frost; for it is compact, and nowhere soft, nor flowing, but solid, which is indeed the word of heaven, and reporting to us heavenly things. For the Lord your God will bring you into a good and large land. To us Christ promised not these things, but the kingdom of heaven, and a good and eternal land, whose torrent is Christ, watering it with the streams of wisdom. And the torrents go forth through the plains and humble and fertile men, and through the high mountains, which rise up to the heavens through the height of contemplation. There is the wheat that strengthens the heart of man, and the barley that nourishes the lesser. There is the true vine, Christ. There is the oil that anoints the heads of the holy. Likewise also the pomegranates, bearing sweetness within, but clothed with the austerity of their manner of life without. There is the fig tree, not the one that is fruitless and proud of its leaves, but the one that is rich in the sweetness of the spirit. There is the desirable sweetness of the Savior's throat, and the lips of the bride in the song dripping honeycomb, and the holy stones, rolled upon the earth, unyielding to temptations, and imitating the nature of iron. There are the mines of bronze, from which they have fashioned the spiritual panoply. And the chief point of these things is to bless God unceasingly. Of the same. It is not, he says, to toil and suffer with clay and brick-making, but to have stones, and these most sturdy, and not easily broken, so as to suffice for buildings and to last for a long time. And he says these things, wishing their mind to turn away from Egypt. For by saying, "good," he showed its fertility; and by "large," its size and breadth. "Of which are torrents of waters (this is not in Egypt), and springs of the deeps;" which is exceptional for the land of promise. And he added "through the mountains;" which is not present in Egypt, nor does it abound in vines, nor have an abundance of oil; but the land of promise has all things richly. Take heed to yourself, lest you forget the Lord your God. After the promise of good things, he rouses them to vigilance, to remember their benefactor, and not to grow insolent with satiety, nor to despise the one who bestowed these things, and that from slavery in Egypt he brought them into freedom. You shall not do so to the Lord your God. He accuses men of sacrificing their own children to the gods of the nations, as a cruel and inhuman thing; as an abomination. And one must not only turn away from those who say to sacrifice to the gods of the nations, but also not give ear to their words. 12.812 You shall not add to it, nor take away from it. Men, sinning, in a general sense sin in two ways, either by transgressing the commandments or by falling short of them. For when we do not live according to knowledge, nor knowing the measures of righteousness, we err, and sometimes transgressing the rule, with the fantasy of doing something better, we fall away from what is set before us. Of the same. Therefore, those who do not do all things, or those who do more than is required, are lawless. Every animal that parts the hoof and chews the cud. The parting of the hoof might show the path by which we come to any good endeavor whatsoever; and chewing the cud, the turning up and down of the words of the divinely inspired Scripture, and as it were re-chewing and making fine by investigation the hidden things of its teachings. All that have fins and scales in them, you shall eat. Of the flying things, I think he wishes whatever have shanks below the knees above their feet to be clean; but whatever do not, unclean. You shall make for yourself a feast of booths for seven days. We find in the Scriptures the name of the feast and of the solemn assembly, as with the prophet who says: "What will you do on the day of solemn assembly and on the day of the feast of the Lord?" The ... must be sought

Τοιοῦτος δὲ δι' ὅλου ὁ λόγος· καὶ πᾶν μόριον αὐτοῦ γεωργεῖσθαι 12.809 πέφυκεν ἐν καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ, τουτέστι ψυχῆς. Ἔστι δὲ τὸ μάννα λευκόν. Φῶς γὰρ ὁ λόγος καὶ λαμπρὸν, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο λευκὸν, τῷ αὐτὸν συνιέντι καὶ τρεφο μένῳ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ὡσεὶ πάγος· συν εστραμμένος γὰρ, καὶ οὐδαμοῦ πλαδῶν, οὐδὲ διεῤ ῥυηκὼς, ἀλλὰ πάγιος, ἃ δὴ οὐρανοῦ λόγος, καὶ ἀπαγ γέλλων ἡμῖν τὰ οὐράνια. Ὁ γὰρ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου εἰσαγάγῃ σε εἰς γῆν ἀγαθὴν καὶ πολλήν. Ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστὸς οὐ ταῦτα δώσειν ὑπέσχετο, ἀλλὰ οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, καὶ γῆν ἀγαθὴν καὶ ἀΐδιον, ἧς χείμαῤῥος ὁ Χριστὸς, ποτίζων τοῖς τῆς σοφίας νάμασιν. Ἐκπορεύονται δὲ οἱ χεί μαῤῥοι διὰ τῶν πεδίων καὶ ταπεινῶν καὶ γονίμων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ διὰ τῶν ὑψηλῶν ὀρέων, τῶν ἀνατει νομένων διὰ τὸ ὕψος τῆς θεωρίας εἰς οὐρανούς. Ἐκεῖ ὁ σῖτος ὁ στηρίζων καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου, καὶ κριθὴ τοὺς ὑποδεεστέρους τρέφουσα. Ἐκεῖ ἡ ἀληθινὴ ἄμπελος ὁ Χριστός. Ἐκεῖ τὸ ἔλαιον τὸ λιπαῖνον τῶν ὁσίων τὰς κεφαλάς. Ὁμοίως καὶ ῥοαὶ, τὸ γλυκὺ μὲν ἔνδοθεν φέρουσαι, τῆς πολιτείας δὲ τὸ αὐστηρὸν ἔξωθεν ἐν δυσάμεναι. Ἐκεῖ ἡ συκῆ, οὐχ ἡ ἄκαρπος καὶ φύλλοις κομῶσα, ἀλλ' ἡ πλουτοῦσα τοῦ πνεύματος τὴν γλυ κύτητα. Ἐκεῖ ὁ γλυκασμὸς τοῦ φάρυγγος τοῦ Σωτῆ ρος ὁ ἐπιθυμητὸς, καὶ τὰ χείλη τῆς ἐν τῷ ᾄσματι νύμφης κηρίον ἀποστάζοντα, καὶ οἱ λίθοι οἱ ἅγιοι, οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κυλισθέντες πρὸς πειρασμοὺς ἀνένδοτοι, καὶ φύσιν σιδήρου ἀπομιμούμενοι. Ἐκεῖ τὰ μέταλλα τοῦ χαλκοῦ, ἐξ οὗ τὴν νοητὴν πανοπλίαν κατε σκεύασαν. Καὶ τὸ τούτων κεφάλαιον ἀπαύστως εὐλο γεὶν τὸν Θεόν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Οὐκ ἔστι, φησὶ, πηλῷ καὶ πλινθείᾳ μοχθεῖν, καὶ ταλαιπωρεῖν, ἀλλὰ λίθους ἔχειν καὶ τούτους ἰταμωτάτους, καὶ μὴ ῥᾳδίως διαλυομένους, ὡς καὶ οἰκοδομίαις ἐξαρκεῖν καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ διαμένειν. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγει τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν ἀποστῆναι τῆς Αἰγύπτου βουλόμενος. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦ εἰπεῖν, «ἀγαθὴν,» τὸ γόνιμον ἔδειξε· διὰ δὲ τοῦ, «πολλὴν,» τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ πλάτος. «Οὗ χείμαῤῥοι ὑδάτων (τοῦτο οὐκ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ), καὶ πηγαὶ ἀβύσσων·» ὅπερ ἐξαίρετον τῇ γῇ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας. Προσέθηκε δὲ καὶ «διὰ τῶν ὀρέων·» ὅπερ τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ οὐ πρόσεστιν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀμπέλοις κομᾷ, οὐδὲ ἀφθονίαν ἔχει ἐλαίου· ἡ δὲ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας γῆ πάντα πλουσίως. Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ, μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου. Μετὰ τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπαγγελίαν εἰς νῆψιν αὐτοὺς διανίστησιν, τοῦ εὐεργέτου μεμνῆσθαι, καὶ μὴ ἐξυβρίζειν τῷ κόρῳ, μηδὲ περιφρονεῖν τοῦ ταῦτα δωρησαμένου, καὶ ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δουλείας εἰς ἐλευθερίαν αὐτοὺς μετεκόμισεν. Οὐ ποιήσεις οὕτως Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ σου. Αἰτιᾶ ται τὸ θύειν τὰ ἑαυτῶν τέκνα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὡς ὠμὸν καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον· ὡς βδε λυκτόν. Καὶ τοὺς λέγοντας θύσαι θεοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν οὐ μόνον ἀποστρέφεσθαι δεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν τοῖς λόγοις αὐτῶν μὴ ὑπέχειν. 12.812 Οὐ προσθήσεις ἐπ' αὐτὸ, οὐδὲ ἀφελεῖς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. Οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἁμαρτάνοντες γενικῷ λόγῳ διχῶς ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἢ ὑπερβαίνοντες τὰς ἐντολὰς ἢ ὑποκενοῦντες. Ὅταν γὰρ μὴ ἀπὸ ἐπιστήμης πολι τευόμεθα, μηδὲ γινώσκοντες τὰ μέτρα τῆς δικαιοσύ νης σφαλλόμεθα, καὶ ἔσθ' ὅτε ὑπερβαίνοντες τὸν κα νόνα, φαντασίᾳ τοῦ ποιεῖν τι κρεῖττον, ἐκπίπτομεν τοῦ προκειμένου. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Οἱ οὖν μὴ ποιοῦντες πάντα, ἢ οἱ πλεῖόν τι ποιοῦντες, παράνομοι. Πᾶν κτῆνος διχηλοῦν ὁπλὴν, καὶ ἀνάγον μη ρυκισμόν. Τὸ μὲν διχηλεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς ὁπλῆς, τὴν πο ρείαν καθ' ἣν πρὸς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἐρχόμεθα τῶν ἀγαθῶν σπουδασμάτων ἐμφάνειεν· ὁ δὲ μηρυκισμὸς, τὸ ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω ποιεῖν τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς τοὺς λό γους, καὶ οἷον ἀναμασᾶσθαι καὶ καταλεπτύνειν ἐρεύ ναις τὰ κεκρυμμένα τῶν θεωρημάτων. Πάντα ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτοῖς πτερύγια καὶ λε πίδες, φάγεσθε. Τῶν πτηνῶν οἶμαι ὅσα μὲν σκόλο πας ἔχει κατωτέρω τῶν γονάτων ὑπὲρ τὰς βάσεις καθαρὰ εἶναι βούλεται· ὅσα δὲ μὴ, ἀκάθαρτα. Ἑορτὴν σκηνῶν ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας. Εὑρίσκομεν ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς τὸ ὄνομα τῆς ἑορτῆς καὶ τῆς πανηγύρεως, ὥσπερ παρὰ τῷ προφήτῃ λέγοντι· «Τί ποιήσετε ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πανηγύρεως καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτῆς Κυρίου;» Ζητητέον τὴν