4

a necessary exercise, a worldly school, a temporary decree, a passing mystery. 9.6 The Law through Moses is a symbolic and enigmatic summary of the grace to come, proclaiming through images the perfection of the truth to come, through sacrifices, the victim, through blood, the blood, through the lamb, the Lamb, through the dove, the Dove, through altars, the High Priest, through the temple, the dwelling place of the divinity, through the fire around the altar, the whole light of the world from above.

10.1 Thus the Law has been mystically foreordained for us; and the Law necessarily comes after Egypt, cutting out the unseen evil offshoots of a soul raging for matter and of a heart acting like an Egyptian, cutting like a plow the thick and bushy thorns of the thoughts within, plow-cutting and splitting furrow-wise the depths of the soul, preparing the way and breaking new ground in the soul for the reception of the heavenly divine word and seed; wherefore the divine spirit rightly cries out: "Break up your fallow ground for yourselves, and do not sow on thorns." 10.2 For this reason the Passover also mystically begins first out of Egypt, the first cutting out of dark idolatry and the mystical cutting off of godless idol-madness and the nocturnal and just plague of the firstborn seeds of error.

11.1 Egypt, therefore, admittedly suffered the plague of the firstborn

plague and every first-born people died, so that the stiff-necked Pharaoh might thus at last be chastened, not having been chastened by the first plagues, and Israel might be wonderfully saved even in these things, and God might be glorified in all things; for Egypt, therefore, the suffering was in a plague, but for Israel the Passover was in a feast, wherefore it is also called the feast of the Passover of the Lord. There are many other mysteries of God's coming philanthropy, for every account concerning these matters has it so; Egypt is the image of the great and black, dark and deep error, for from there are the first streams of deceit, calves and fishes and birds and beasts and all such creatures deified and theologized; but when the just wrath from heaven is revealed and the great anger is spread over all the earth, then first the superstitious and idol-mad error will be struck down; "For against all the gods of the Egyptians," he says, "I will execute judgment: I am the Lord." And the plague is upon all the firstborn, because claiming for themselves the seniority of time, they held the servitudes of idolatry as older than all things. And the plague is dark and at night, for dark and gloomy and smileless and lightless and savage are the tribunals of dark works and demons; "For," he says, "I will show wonders in heaven and on earth, blood, fire, vapor; the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and manifest day of the Lord comes," and: "Woe," he says, "to those who desire the day of the Lord; for what is this day of the Lord to you? It is darkness and not light. Just as if a man should flee from the face of a lion and a bear meet him, and he enter into the house and rest his hands on the wall and a serpent bite him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?" And the "blood for a sign" is the bloody mystery of the seal of Christ; but "a sign," not yet the truth itself, but a sign is a sign of a coming truth; for as many as have the sign through blood impressed upon their souls as upon their houses and at the same time anointed, all these the destroying plague will pass by; "For in whichever houses," he says, "he considers the blood, I will shelter you, and there will be no plague among you to destroy, when I strike in the land of Egypt."

15.2 The "blood as a sign," therefore, is a phylactery; and "in the houses" as

in the souls, for this is the sacred thing of the divine spirit from faith

4

ἀναγκαῖον γυμνάσιον, κοσμικὸν διδασ καλίον, δόγμα ἐμπρόθεσμον, παρερχόμενον μυστήριον. 9.6 Νόμος ὁ διὰ Μωϋσέως τῆς μελλούσης χάριτος συμβολικὴ καὶ αἰνιγματώδης ἐπιτομή, ταῖς εἰκόσιν ἀπαγγέλλουσα τὴν τελειότητα τῆς μελλούσης ἀληθείας, ταῖς θυσίαις τὸ ἱερεῖον, τῷ αἵματι τὸ αἷμα, τῷ ἀμνῷ τὸν ἀμνόν, τῇ περιστερᾷ τὴν περιστεράν, τοῖς βωμοῖς τὸν ἀρχιερέα, τῷ ναῷ τὸ τῆς θεότητος καταγώγιον, τῷ περιβωμίῳ πυρὶ ὅλον ἄνωθεν τοῦ κόσμου τὸ φῶς.

10.1 Νόμος μὲν δὴ ὧδε ἡμῖν μυστικῶς προώρισται· ἔρχεται δὲ μετὰ Αἴγυπτον ἀναγκαίως νόμος, ὑλομανούσης ψυχῆς καὶ αἰγυπτιαζούσης καρδίας ἐκκόπτων τὰ ἀόρατα κακὰ μοσχεύματα, τέμνων ἀρότρου δίκην τὰς ἔνδον πυκ νὰς καὶ δασείας ἀκάνθας τῶν λογισμῶν, ἀροτροτεμὼν καὶ αὐλακηδὸν σχίζων τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς βάθη, προοδοποιῶν καὶ νεάζων τὴν ψυχὴν εἰς ὑποδοχὴν τοῦ οὐρανίου θείου λόγου καὶ σπόρου· διὸ καὶ εἰκότως βοᾷ τὸ θεῖον πνεῦμα· "Νεώσατε ἑαυτοῖς νεώματα καὶ μὴ σπείρετε ἐπ' ἀκάνθας". 10.2 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ πάσχα μυστικῶς πρῶτον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἄρχεται, τῆς σκοτεινῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἡ πρώτη ἐκκοπὴ καὶ τῆς ἀθέου εἰδωλομανίας ἡ μυστικὴ ἀποτομὴ καὶ τῶν τῆς πλάνης πρωτοτόκων σπερμάτων ἡ νυκτερινὴ καὶ ἔνδικος πληγή.

11.1 Ἔπασχε μὲν οὖν καὶ Αἴγυπτος ὁμολογουμένως τὴν τῶν πρωτοτόκων

πληγὴν καὶ πᾶς ὁ προγενὴς ἀπέθνησκε δῆμος, ἵνα ὁ μὲν σκληροτράχηλος Φαραὼ καὶ οὕτω βραδέως παιδευθῇ ταῖς πρώταις πληγαῖς μὴ πεπαιδευμένος, ὁ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐν τούτοις παραδόξως σωθῇ, καὶ Θεὸς ἐν πᾶσι δοξασθῇ· Αἰγύπτῳ μὲν οὖν τὸ πάθος ἐν πληγῇ, τῷ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ τὸ πάσχα ἐν ἑορτῇ, διὸ καὶ ὀνομάζεται ἑορτὴ πάσχα Κυρίου. Πολλὰ καὶ ἕτερα τῆς μελλούσης Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας μυστήρια, ἔχει γὰρ ὧδε πᾶς ὁ περὶ τούτων λόγος· Αἴγυπτος μὲν ἡ πολλὴ καὶ μέλαινα τῆς σκοτεινῆς καὶ βαθείας πλάνης ἐστὶν εἰκών, ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ τὰ πρῶτα τῆς ἀπάτης ῥεύματα, μόσχοι καὶ ἰχθύες καὶ ὄρνιθες καὶ θηρία καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα ζῷα θεοποιούμενα καὶ θεολογούμενα· ὅταν δὲ ἡ ἐξ οὐρανῶν ἔνδικος ὀργὴ ἀποκαλυφθῇ καὶ ὁ μέγας θυμὸς ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐφαπλωθῇ, τότε πρῶτον ἡ δεισιδαίμων καὶ εἰδωλομανὴς πλάνη παταχθήσεται· "Ἐν γὰρ πᾶσι, φησί, θεοῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ποιήσω τὴν ἐκδίκησιν· ἐγὼ Κύριος". Εἰς δὲ τὰ πρωτότοκα πάντα ἡ πληγή, ἐπειδὴ τὰ πρεσβεῖα τῶν χρόνων ἐκδικοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς πρεσβύτερα πάν των ἔσχον καὶ τὰ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας δουλεύματα. Σκοτεινὴ δὲ καὶ κατὰ νύκτα ἡ πληγή, σκοτεινὰ γὰρ καὶ σκυθρωπὰ καὶ ἀμειδῆ καὶ ἀφεγγῆ καὶ ἀνήμερα τῶν σκοτεινῶν ἔργων καὶ δαιμόνων τὰ δικαιωτήρια· "∆ώσω" γάρ φησι "τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, αἷμα πῦρ ἀτμίς· ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ἡμέραν Κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ", καί· "Οὐ, φησίν, οἱ ἐπιθυμοῦντες τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου· ἵνα τί ὑμῖν αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου; Καὶ αὐτή ἐστι σκότος καὶ οὐ φῶς. Ὃν τρόπον γὰρ ἂν φύγῃ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ προσώπου λέοντος καὶ συναντήσῃ αὐτῷ ἄρκος καὶ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ ἀπερείσηται χεῖρας αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν τοῖχον καὶ δάκῃ αὐτὸν ὄφις, καὶ οὐχὶ σκότος ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου καὶ οὐ φῶς, καὶ σκο τία καὶ οὐκ ἔστι φέγγος ἐν αὐτῇ." Τὸ δὲ "αἷμα εἰς σημεῖον" τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ σφραγίδος τὸ ἔναιμον μυστήριον· "σημεῖον" δὲ, οὔπω αὐτὸ τὸ ἀληθές, ἀλλὰ μελλούσης ἀληθείας τὸ σημεῖόν ἐστι σημεῖον· ὅσοι γὰρ ἔχουσι τὸ σημεῖον τὸ δι' αἵματος ἐπὶ τῶν ψυχῶν ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκιῶν ἐντετυπωμένον ὁμοῦ καὶ κεχρισμένον, τούτους πάντας ἡ ὀλοθρεύουσα πληγὴ παρε λεύσεται· "Ἐν αἷς γὰρ οἰκίαις, φησίν, ἐὰν σκέψηται τὸ αἷμα, σκεπάσω ὑμᾶς, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐν ὑμῖν πληγὴ τοῦ ἐκτρίψαι, ὅταν παίω ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ".

15.2 Τὸ μὲν οὖν "αἷμα ὡς σημεῖον" φυλακτήριον· τὸ δὲ "ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις" ὡς

ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς, τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι θείου πνεύματος τὸ ἐκ πίστεως ἱεροπρεπὲς