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to read the ancient laws, so that the discourse may become clearer to you from every side. There was an ancient law for the Jews; or rather, let us take the discourse higher; When God delivered the people of the Hebrews from the Egyptian tumults and the tyranny of the barbarian, seeing them still having remnants of impiety and being captivated by sensible things, and marveling at the sizes and beauties of temples, 49.355 he commanded a temple to be built for them, which would surpass all the temples on earth not only in the richness of its material, nor in the variety of its art, but also in the form of its construction. And just as a loving father, taking his son who for a long time associated with wicked men and corrupters and profligates and enjoyed much luxury, establishes him with security and dignity in greater abundance, so that he neither, being in want, would remember his former things, nor come to desire them; so also God, seeing the Jews captivated by sensible things, makes a great excess in these things, so that they might never come to desire the things of the Egyptians or the things among the Egyptians. And he makes the temple in the image of the whole world, both the sensible and the intelligible. For just as there is earth and heaven, and this firmament is a partition in the middle, so also he commanded that one to be. And cutting this temple into two, and placing a veil in the middle, he permitted the part outside the veil to be accessible to all, but the part inside to be inaccessible and unseen by all, except for the high priest alone. And that this is not our conjecture, but that the temple was constructed in the type of the whole world, hear what Paul says, speaking of Christ having ascended into heaven: For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; showing that the things here were figures of the true things.

But that the veil also separated the Holy of Holies from the outer holy places, just as this heaven walls off the things above it from all these things among us, hear how he also alluded to this, calling the heaven a veil. For speaking of hope, that we have it as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, he added: And which enters into that within the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, above the heaven. Do you see how he called the heaven a veil? Outside the veil, then, were the lampstand, and the table, and a brazen altar, receiving the sacrifices and the burnt offerings; but inside the veil was the ark, covered on all sides with gold, having the tablets of the covenant, and the golden pot, and Aaron's rod that budded, and a golden altar, not for sacrifices nor for burnt offerings, but for incense only. And the outer things were permitted for all to enter, but the inner things only for the high priest. And of these things themselves I will again provide testimony, from Paul speaking thus: Then verily the first tabernacle had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. And he calls the outer tabernacle a worldly sanctuary, because it was lawful for the whole world to enter; In which were both the lampstand and the table and the shewbread. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all, having a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold; wherein 49.356 was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the Cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people. Do you see that the high priest both enters alone, and once in the whole year?

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παλαιοὺς ἀναγνῶναι νόμους, ὥστε πάντοθεν ὑμῖν γενέσθαι τὸν λόγον σαφέστερον. Νόμος ἦν παλαιὸς τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις· μᾶλλον δὲ ἀνωτέρω τὸν λόγον ἀγάγωμεν· Ὅτε τῶν Αἰγυπτιακῶν θορύβων καὶ τῆς τοῦ βαρβάρου τυραννίδος τὸν τῶν Ἑβραίων δῆμον ἀπήλλαξεν ὁ Θεὸς, ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς ἔτι λείψανα ἀσεβείας ἔχοντας καὶ περὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ ἐπτοημένους, καὶ μεγέθη καὶ κάλλη ναῶν θαυμάζον 49.355 τας, ἐκέλευσεν αὐτοῖς οἰκοδομηθῆναι ναὸν, οὐχὶ τῇ πολυτελείᾳ τῆς ὕλης μόνον, οὐδὲ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τῆς τέχνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ σχήματι τῆς οἰκοδομῆς πάντας τοὺς ἐν τῇ γῇ ναοὺς ἀποκρύπτοντα. Καὶ καθάπερ πατὴρ φιλόστοργος διὰ πολλοῦ χρόνου τὸν υἱὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μιαροῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ φθορεῦσι καὶ ἀσώτοις συναναστραφέντα καὶ πολλῆς ἀπολαύσαντα τρυφῆς λαβὼν, μετὰ ἀσφαλείας καὶ σεμνότητος ἐπὶ πλείονι καθίστησιν αὐτὸν ἀφθονίᾳ, ὥστε μήτε στενοχωρηθέντα τῶν προτέρων μνήμην λαβεῖν, μήτε εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκείνων ἐλθεῖν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Θεὸς βλέπων τοὺς Ἰουδαίους περὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ ἐπτοημένους, καὶ ἐν τούτοις πολλὴν ποιεῖται τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, ὥστε αὐτοὺς μηδέποτε εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἢ τῶν παρ' Αἰγυπτίοις ἐλθεῖν. Καὶ ποιεῖται τὸν ναὸν πρὸς τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς, τοῦ τε αἰσθητοῦ καὶ νοητοῦ. Καθάπερ γάρ ἐστι γῆ καὶ οὐρανὸς, καὶ μέσον διάφραγμα τὸ στερέωμα τοῦτο· οὕτω κἀκεῖνον ἐκέλευσε γενέσθαι. Καὶ εἰς δύο διατεμὼν τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ καταπέτασμα ἀφεὶς μέσον, τὸ μὲν ἔξω τοῦ καταπετάσματος πᾶσι συνεχώρησεν εἶναι βατὸν, τὸ δὲ ἔνδον ἄβατον καὶ ἀθέατον πᾶσι, πλὴν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως μόνου. Καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἡμέτερος ταῦτα στοχασμὸς, ἀλλ' ἐν τύπῳ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς ὁ ναὸς κατεσκεύαστο, ἄκουσον τί φησιν ὁ Παῦλος, περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγων εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβάντος· Οὐ γὰρ εἰς χειροποίητα ἅγια εἰσῆλθεν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀντίτυπα τῶν ἀληθινῶν· δεικνὺς ὅτι τὰ ἐνταῦθα ἀντίτυπα ἦν τῶν ἀληθινῶν.

Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τὸ καταπέτασμα διεῖργε τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων τῶν ἔξω, καθάπερ οὗτος ὁ οὐρανὸς τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ἀποτειχίζει τούτων τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἁπάντων, ἄκουσον πῶς καὶ τοῦτο ᾐνίξατο, τὸν οὐρανὸν καταπέτασμα καλέσας. Περὶ γὰρ τῆς ἐλπίδος λέγων, ὅτι ὡς ἄγκυραν αὐτὴν ἔχομεν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀσφαλῆ τε καὶ βεβαίαν, ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ εἰσερχομένην εἰς τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος, ὅπου πρόδρομος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν εἰσῆλθεν Ἰησοῦς, ὑπὲρ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἄνω. Ὁρᾷς πῶς καταπέτασμα τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐκάλεσεν; Ἔξω μὲν οὖν τοῦ καταπετάσματος ἦν ἡ λυχνία, καὶ ἡ τράπεζα, καὶ βωμὸς χαλκοῦς, τὰς θυσίας δεχόμενος καὶ τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα· ἔσω δὲ τοῦ καταπετάσματος ἡ κιβωτὸς, περικεκαλυμμένη πάντοθεν χρυσίῳ, τὰς πλάκας ἔχουσα τῆς διαθήκης, καὶ τὴν στάμνον τὴν χρυσῆν, καὶ τὴν ῥάβδον Ἀαρὼν τὴν βλαστήσασαν, καὶ βωμὸν χρυσοῦν, οὐχὶ θυσιῶν οὐδὲ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, ἀλλὰ θυμιάματος μόνου. Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἔξω πατεῖν πᾶσιν ἐφεῖτο, τὰ δὲ ἔνδον μόνῳ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ. Καὶ τούτων δὲ αὐτῶν μαρτυρίαν παρέξομαι πάλιν, τοῦ Παύλου οὕτω πως λέγοντος· Εἶχε μὲν οὖν ἡ πρώτη σκηνὴ δικαιώματα λατρείας, τό τε ἅγιον κοσμικόν. Ἅγιον δὲ κοσμικὸν καλεῖ τὴν ἔξω σκηνὴν, ἐπειδὴ τῷ κόσμῳ παντὶ εἰσιέναι θέμις ἦν· Ἐν ᾗ ἥ τε λυχνία καὶ ἡ τράπεζα καὶ ἡ πρόθεσις τῶν ἄρτων. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ δεύτερον καταπέτασμα σκηνὴ ἡ λεγομένη τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, χρυσοῦν ἔχουσα θυμιατήριον, καὶ τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης περικεκαλυμμένην πάντοθεν χρυσίῳ· ἐν ᾗ 49.356 στάμνος χρυσῆ ἔχουσα τὸ μάννα, καὶ ἡ ῥάβδος Ἀαρὼν ἡ βλαστήσασα, καὶ αἱ πλάκες τῆς διαθήκης· ὑπεράνω δὲ αὐτῆς Χερουβὶμ δόξης, κατασκιάζοντα τὸ ἱλαστήριον. Τούτων δὲ οὕτω κατεσκευασμένων, εἰς μὲν τὴν πρώτην σκηνὴν διαπαντὸς εἰσίασιν οἱ ἱερεῖς, τὰς λατρείας ἐπιτελοῦντες· εἰς δὲ τὴν δευτέραν ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ μόνος ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς, οὐ χωρὶς αἵματος, ὃ προσφέρει ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν τοῦ λαοῦ ἀγνοημάτων. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι καὶ μόνος εἰσέρχεται ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς, καὶ ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ παντός;