apostles and prophets; almost saying, Mingle me with the body of Christ. Strengthen me with ointments, heap me up with apples, for I am wounded by love. Symmachus has rendered it thus: Recline me on vine-blossoms, that is, on fragrant trees, those that produce good, flowering fruit; since inferior trees are said to be fruitless or producing bad fruit; but some of the copies have: Strengthen me with what is not ointments; which must be understood either as believers, but not so as to be called members of her who has no spot or wrinkle, or as good people who are strangers to the faith; And the phrase, 'heap me up with apples,' Symmachus, clarifying it, said: 'roll apples around me'; for the bride wishes to rest among many apples being rolled around him; which I think is the fruit of the apple tree among the trees of the wood of the bridegroom, so that she might partake of their quality; 'For I am wounded by love,' she says, according to Symmachus; by the chosen arrow, according to Isaiah. 17.264 The voice of my beloved, behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. Some have assigned this to what precedes, but the Hebrew text sets it as its own section; and it is clear that the bride, conversing with the daughters of Jerusalem, suddenly perceives the voice of the bridegroom, speaking to some, as is likely; and when she perceives him speaking on the mountains and the hills lying near the place of the bride, so that he is not unlike a fawn; then in his haste for the bride, he came near the house and appeared behind it; then leaping he reaches the windows of the house, as if wishing amorously to peer in at her; and near the house where the bride is, many nets have been spread out as a trap for the bride and those with her, which the bridegroom, being stronger, cut through, and peered through them; and he calls the bride to come near; encouraging her by his deed to despise the nets, as they were already torn, and since the difficult time had passed through them, which he calls winter, bringing useless and heavy rain; and he urges her also through the beautiful things of the present season, speaking of flowers as in spring and the tending of vines; he describes also the voice of the turtledove, and the unripe figs of the fig tree, and the blossoming vines; and the place where he will rest with her; where he wished her to be seen by the bridegroom with her whole face, and to let him hear her sweet voice. My beloved answers and says to me: Arise, come, my love, my fair one, my dove; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers have appeared on the earth; the time of pruning has come; the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land; the fig tree has put forth its unripe figs; the vines are in blossom, they have given forth their fragrance, etc. Arise, he says, from sensible things to intelligible things, that we may be together; The rain is over; we would say that the rain was the time before the Advent, when God commanded the clouds to rain down the word of the law and the prophets; and that this has ceased, since the law and the prophets were until John; but spring and summer are after the Advent; because there is no longer need of rains when the flowers have appeared on the earth on account of Christ; and from his advent, the fig tree is not cut down for being fruitless as it was in the former time; for now it has put forth unripe figs, and the vines are in blossom; wherefore one of the branches of Christ says, 'we are a sweet savor to God'. Arise, come, my love, my fair one, my dove; and come you, my dove, in the shelter of the rock, in the secret places of the rampart; show me your face, and let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is comely. He wishes the soul to transcend sensible things; and as with a city's wall and rampart, so he calls the sensible world; therefore the soul that partakes of the Word must be in the shelter of the rock, not only outside the wall of the city, but also of the rampart; so that having drawn near, she may reflect the 17.265 glory of the Lord with an unveiled face; obeying the one who says, Show me your face; and he also desires to hear her speak, marveling at her voice as sweet; and a rampart is that which

ἀποστόλους τε καὶ προφήτας· μο νονουχὶ λέγουσα, Συγκεράσατέ με τῷ σώματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Στηρίσατέ με ἐν μύροις, στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις, ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ. Ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως ἐκδέδωκεν· Ἐπανακλίνατέ με οἰνάνθη, τουτέστιν εὐώδεσι δένδροις, τοῖς καλὸν καρπὸν ποιοῦσιν, ἀνθοῦντα· τῶν φαύλων λεγομένων δένδρων ἀκάρπων ἢ κακοκάρπων ὄντων· τινὰ δὲ τῶν ἀντιγράφων ἔχει· Στηρίσατέ με ἐν ἀμύροις· ὃ νοη τέον, ἢ πιστοὺς μὲν, οὐ μὴν ὡς χρηματίζειν μέλη τῆς μὴ ἐχούσης σπῖλον ἢ ῥυτίδα, ἢ ἀλλοτρίους τῆς πίστεως χρηστούς· τὸ δὲ, στοιβάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις, σαφηνίζων ὁ Σύμμαχος, περικυλίσατέ με μῆλα, εἶπε· βούλεται γὰρ ἡ νύμφη ἐν πολλοῖς περικυλιομέ νοις αὐτὸν μήλοις ἀναπαύεσθαι· ἅτινα οἶμαι καρπός ἐστι τοῦ μήλου ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις τοῦ δρυμοῦ νυμφίου, ἵνα τῆς αὐτῶν μεταλάβῃ ποιότητος· Τέτρωμαι γὰρ φίλ τρῳ, φησὶ, κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ βέλους, κατὰ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν. 17.264 Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου, ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούς. Τοῦτό τινες τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν ἀπέδωκαν, τὸ δὲ Ἑβραϊκὸν ἐξ ἰδίας τάττει περικοπῆς· καὶ δῆλόν ἐστιν ὡς ἡ νύμφη διαλεγομένη ταῖς θυγατράσιν Ἱερουσα λὴμ, αἰφνίδιον αἰσθάνεται τῆς τοῦ νυμφίου φωνῆς, διαλεγομένου τισὶν ὡς εἰκός· ἧς αἰσθανομένης ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ τῶν βουνῶν τῶν παρακειμένων τῷ τό πῳ τῆς νύμφης διαλέγεσθαι, ὡς μηδὲν ἀπᾴδειν νεβρῷ· εἶτα σπουδῇ τῇ περὶ τὴν νύμφην, ἐγένετο πλησίον τοῦ οἴκου καὶ παρέφηνεν ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ· εἶτα πηδήσας μέχρι τῶν τοῦ οἴκου φθάνει θυρίδων, ἐρωτικῶς ὥσπερ ἐθέλων εἰς αὐτὴν παρακῦψαι· ἐγγὺς δὲ τῆς οἰκίας ἔνθα ἡ νύμφη, δίκτυα πολλὰ ἐπενέδρα τῆς νύμφης καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτὴν ἐκπεπέτασται, ἅπερ διακόψας ὁ νυμ φίος ὡς ἰσχυρότερος, διέκυψε δι' αὐτῶν· καὶ καλεῖ τὴν νύμφην πλησίον ἐλθεῖν· παραθαῤῥύνων ἔργῳ τῶν δικτύων καταφρονεῖν, ὡς ἤδη σχισθέντων, καὶ τοῦ χαλε ποῦ δι' αὐτῶν παραδραμόντος καιροῦ, ὃν χειμῶνα καλεῖ, ἀνωφελῆ φέροντα καὶ σφοδρὸν ὑετόν· προτρέπεται δὲ καὶ διὰ τῶν καλῶν τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ, ἄνθη λέγων ὡς ἐν ἔαρι καὶ θεραπείαν ἀμπέλων· τρυγόνος τε φωνὴν, καὶ συκῆς ὀλύνθους, καὶ κυπριζούσας ἀμπέλους δια γράφει· καὶ τὸν ἔνθα συναναπαύσεται τόπον· ἔνθα γε νομένην ἐβούλετο αὐτὴν ὅλῳ προσώπῳ τῷ νυμφίῳ φανῆναι, καὶ τῆς ἡδείας αὐτῇ παρέχειν ἀκοῦσαι φωνῆς. Ἀποκρίνεται ἀδελφιδοῦς μου καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἀνά στα, ἐλθὲ, ἡ πλησίον μου, καλή μου, περιστερά μου· ὅτι ἰδοὺ ὁ χειμὼν παρῆλθεν, ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλ θεν καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ· τὰ ἄνθη ὤφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ· καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἔφθακε· φωνὴ τῆς τρυγόνος ἠκούσθη ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν· ἡ συκῆ ἐξήνεγκεν ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς· αἱ ἄμπελοι κυπρίζουσιν, ἔδω καν ὀσμήν, κ. τ. ἑ. Ἀνάστα, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν πρὸς τὰ νοητὰ, ἵνα συνῆμεν· Ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν· εἴπομεν ἂν ὑετὸν γεγονέναι, τὸν πρὸ τῆς Ἐπιδημίας καιρὸν, τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντειλαμένου ταῖς νεφέλαις ὕειν τὸν νομικὸν καὶ προ φητικὸν λόγον· πεπαῦσθαι δὲ τοῦτον, ἐπειδὴ ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἕως Ἰωάννου· ἔαρ δὲ καὶ θέρος μετὰ τὴν Ἐπιδημίαν· ὅτι μηκέτι ὑετῶν χρεία ὅτε τὰ διὰ Χριστὸν ἄνθη ὤφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ· καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιδη μίας αὐτοῦ, ἡ συκῆ οὐκ ἐκκόπτεται ἄκαρπος ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ γενομένη καιρῷ· νυνὶ γὰρ ὀλύνθους ἐξ ήνεγκε, καὶ κυπρίζουσιν αἱ ἄμπελοι· διό φησιν, ἓν τῶν κλημάτων Χριστοῦ, εὐωδία, ἐσμὲν τῷ Θεῷ. Ἀνάστα, ἐλθὲ, ἡ πλησίον μου, καλή μου, περι στερά μου· καὶ ἐλθὲ σὺ, περιστερά μου, ἐν σκέ πῃ τῆς πέτρας ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου, καὶ ἀκούτισον με τὴν φωνήν σου, ὅτι ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὡραία. Βούλεται τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπερβῆναι τὰ αἰσθητά· ὡς ἐπὶ πόλεως δὲ τεῖχος καὶ προτείχισμα, τὸν αἰσθητὸν κόσμον καλεῖ· δεῖ οὖν τὴν τῷ λόγῳ κοινωνοῦσαν ψυχὴν ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας, οὐ μόνον ἔξω τοῦ τείχους τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ προτειχίσματος γενέσθαι· ὡς πλησίον γενομένην ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν 17.265 δόξαν τοῦ Κυρίου κατοπτρίζεσθαι· πειθομένην τῷ λέ γοντι, ∆εῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου· ἐπιθυμεῖ δὲ καὶ διαλεγομένης ἀκοῦσαι, τὴν φωνὴν ὡς ἡδεῖαν θαυμά ζων· προτείχισμα δέ ἐστιν, ὅπερ