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human flesh according to nature, because blood is superabundant in it. But where he saw the man standing, and between what, and when, the one divinely inspired must consider. 1.22 Therefore he saw him "between the shady mountains." And these happen to be the two testaments, being fruitful and shady because of the density of their thoughts and the abundance of the words concerning theology and the incarnation. And since each of the things announced in the two testaments with enigma and depth has much obscurity, he saw in the night the mounting of the man upon the horse, similarly to what was said about him: "He made darkness his hiding place;" for in this saying also, that which is hidden from obscurity is signified, just as also in this: "The abyss as a garment is his covering." 1.23 In addition to seeing the interpreted man mounted on the red horse, he also beheld the horses coming behind him in a very theological manner. And behind him come those who follow him; and Moses at any rate, the great hierophant, not yet being able to see his face knowably, has beheld his back, that is, the things after him, being nothing other than the creation of God. Indeed, when the things after God, which are called his back, were shown to him, he wrote an account of the Creation, beginning from: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." 1.24 And a varied color of the horses behind the one who appeared is recorded, since some of them are men, and others happen to be divine "spirits, sent forth for ministry for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation." For as many as have handed down the human things of the Word who sojourned and was made flesh are red, especially since he himself, behind whom they are, bears the "redness of garments from Bosor," so that it was said to him by those who saw him: "Why are your garments red?" calling his garments the flesh with which he is clothed and the blood sprinkled on it. These things have been explained more completely in the commentaries on Isaiah the prophet. 1.25 After the red horses behind the one who is praised, dappled and pale and white horses were seen. And perhaps the dappled and pale are those who in many ways lead the teaching concerning sensible and intelligible things, which the divine words say are "visible and invisible," with the white horses being those who announce theological matters without any matter. 1.26 It must be said according to another interpretation that the dappled and pale are those who, in their teaching, adapt themselves to the varied disposition of those being instructed. Or was not Paul a dappled horse, being a follower of Christ who spoke in him, when to the Jews he became a Jew that he might gain them, and to those without law as one without law, that he might turn them from the choice of the lawless, and to those under the law as one under the law, that he might gain them also, persuading them to go beyond "the law of the shadow"? At any rate, after saying these things, he says: "I have become all things to all people, that I might save all." 1.27 And not only those after the sojourning but also those before it had this varied quality, partaking "of the manifold wisdom of God," of whom it is sufficient to mention two, so that the account may not become long, since it is possible to pass on in thought to the others also. 1.28 Isaiah, having received divine visions from God, had all the forms of beneficial words together. For on the one hand he was a prophet, and seeing future things with a prophetic eye, he would say: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bear a son." On the other hand he was a lawgiver, commanding and forbidding, saying: "Cease from your wickednesses, learn to do good." But he also wrote histories concerning Sennacherib king of the Assyrians and Hezekiah the ruler of the Hebrews. In addition to these, he was also a singer, in one place saying: "I will sing now to my beloved a song of my beloved for my vineyard," and in another: "In that day they will sing this new song: Behold a strong city, and our salvation." 1.29

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κατὰ φύσιν ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη σάρξ, διὰ τὸ ἐπιπολάζειν αὐτῇ αἷμα. Ποῦ δὲ εἶδεν ἑστῶτα τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τίνων καὶ πότε ὁ θεολημπτούμενος ἐπιστατέον. 1.22 Εἶδεν τοιγαροῦν αὐτὸν «ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ὀρέων τῶν κατασκίων». Τυγχάνουσι δὲ ταῦτα αἱ δύο διαθῆκαι, καρποφόρα καὶ κ̣ατάσκια ὄντα διὰ πυκνότητα νοημάτων καὶ τὸ ἀμ̣φιλαφὲς τῶν περὶ τῆς θεολογίας καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσεως λέξεων. Καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀσάφειαν ἔχει πολλὴν ἕκαστον τῶν ἐν ταῖς δύο διαθήκαις μετ' αἰνιγμοῦ καὶ βαθύτητος ἀπηγγελμένων, ἐν νυκτὶ εἶδεν τὴν ἐπίβασιν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς πρὸς τὸν ἵππον, παραπλησίως τῷ λεχθέντι περὶ αὐτοῦ· «Ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ»· καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ ῥητῷ τὸ ἐξ ἀσαφείας ἀπόκρυφον σημαίνεται, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν τῷ· «Ἄβυσσος ὡς ἱμάτιον περιβόλαιον αὐτοῦ.» 1.23 Πρὸς τῷ ἰδεῖν τὸν ἡρμηνευμένον ἄνδρα ἐπιβεβηκότα τῷ πυρρῷ ἵππῳ, καὶ τοὺς ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἐρχομένους ἵππους πάνυ θεολογικῶς τεθέαται. Ὀπίσω δ' αὐτοῦ ἔρχονται οἱ ἑπόμενοι αὐτῷ· καὶ Μωϋσῆς γοῦν, ὁ μέγας ἱεροφάντης, οὔπω τέως τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ γνωστῶς ἰδεῖν δυνάμενος, τέθειται ἰδεῖν τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὰ μετ' αὐτόν, οὐχ ἕτερα ὄντα τῆς δημιουργίας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἀμέλει γοῦν δειχθέντων αὐτῷ τῶν μετὰ τὸν Θεόν, ἃ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καλεῖται, Κοσμοποιίαν ἀνέγραψεν, ἀρχομένην ἀπὸ τοῦ· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.» 1.24 ∆ιάφορος δὲ χροιὰ τῶν ὀπίσω τοῦ φανέντος ἵππων ἀναγέγραπται, ἐπείπερ οἳ μὲν αὐτῶν ἄνθρωποι, οἳ δὲ θεῖα «πνεύματα τυγχάνουσιν, εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν». Ὅσοι γὰρ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα τοῦ ἐπιδημήσαντος καὶ γεναμένου σαρκὸς Λόγου παραδεδώκασιν, πυρροί εἰσιν, μάλιστα ὅτι καὶ αὐτός, οὗ ὀπίσω ὑπάρχουσιν, «ἐρύθημα ἱματίων ἐκ Βοσὸρ» φέρει, ὡς λεχθῆναι πρὸς αὐτὸν πρὸς τῶν θεασαμένων· «∆ιὰ τί τὰ ἱμάτιά σου ἐρυθρά;» ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ λέγοντες ἣν περίκειται σάρκα καὶ τὸ παρεσπαρμένον αὐτῇ αἷμα. Ἐντελέστερον σεσαφήνισται ταῦτα ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασιν Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου. 1.25 Μετὰ τοὺς πυρροὺς ἵππους ὀπίσω το̣ῦ ὑμνουμένου, ποικίλοι καὶ ψαροὶ καὶ λευκοὶ ὤφθησαν ἵπποι. Καὶ τάχα μὲν ποικίλοι καὶ ψαροὶ τυγχάνουσιν οἱ πολυτρόπως ἄγοντες τὴν διδασκαλίαν περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν καὶ νοητῶν, ἅπερ «ὁρατὰ καὶ ἀόρατα» εἶναί φασιν οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι, λευκῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἵππων τῶν τὰ θεολογικὰ χωρὶς πάσης ὕλης ἀπαγγελλόντων. 1.26 Ῥητέον κατὰ διάνοιαν ἄλλην ποικίλους καὶ ψαροὺς εἶναι τοὺς ἁρμοζομένους ἐν τῷ διδάσκειν πρὸς τὴν ποικίλην ἕξιν τῶν παιδευομένων. Ἢ οὐ ποικίλος ἵππος ἦν Παῦλος, ὀπαδὸς ὢν τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ, ὅτε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις Ἰουδαῖος ἐγίνετο ἵνα κερδήσῃ τούτους, καὶ τοῖς ἀνόμοις ὡς ἄνομος, ἵνα ἀποστήσῃ αὐτοὺς τῆς τῶν ἀνόμων προαιρέσεως, καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ νόμον ὡς ὑπὸ νόμον, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὺς κερδάνῃ, πείθων ὑπερβαίνειν «τὸν τῆς σκιᾶς νόμον»; Μετὰ τὸ ταῦτα γοῦν εἰπεῖν λέγει· «Τοῖς πᾶσιν γέγονα πάντα, ἵνα πάντας σώσω». 1.27 Οὐ μόνοι δὲ οἱ μετὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πρὸ αὐτῆς εἶχον τὸ ποικίλον τοῦτο, μετέχοντες «τῆς πολυποικίλου σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ», ἀφ' ὧν ἀρκεῖ δύο μνημονεῦσαι, ἵνα μὴ μακρὸς ὁ λόγος γένηται, δυνατοῦ ὄντος καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τῇ νοήσει μεταβῆναι. 1.28 Ἠσαΐας ὁ θείας ὁράσεις θεόθεν λαβὼν πάνθ' ὁμοῦ τὰ εἴδη τῶν ὠφελούντων λόγων εἶχεν. Ἠμὲν γὰρ προφήτης καὶ ὁρῶν τὰ ἐσόμενα ὀφθαλμῷ προφητικῷ, ἔφασκεν· «Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει, καὶ τέξεται υἱόν.» Ἠδὲ νομοθέτης προσέταττεν καὶ ἀπηγόρευεν φάσκων· «Παύσασθε ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν.» Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἱστορίας ἀνέγραφεν περὶ τοῦ Σενναχηρεὶμ βασιλέως τῶν Ἀσσυρίων καὶ Ἐζεχίου τοῦ κρατοῦντος τῶν Ἑβραίων. Πρὸς τούτοις καὶ ᾠδός, ὅπου μὲν λέγων· «Ἄισω δὴ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου», ὅπου δέ· «Τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ᾄσονται τὸ ᾆσμα τοῦτο καινόν· Ἰδοὺ πόλις ὀχυρά, καὶ σωτήριον ἡμῶν.» 1.29