is said to come up out of the wilderness; but that the righteous one is a sweet savor of Christ in every place to those who are being saved, she is conceived as being perfumed, similarly to pillars of smoke, sending up a pleasant vapor, delighting the breath of those who call her blessed. CHAPTER 4. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes which have come up from the washing; which all bear twins, and there is none barren among them. Bearing twins in another sense, because of the twofold nature of understanding, both of the letter and of the spirit. Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your speech is comely. That is, let the preparation of the word be fiery, as able to win over the hearer, or it signifies the blood-red 17.272 and vital quality of the words coming forth from the lips, as if being dipped in the true drink of the blood of Christ. Your cheek is like a piece of a pomegranate, apart from your silence. He adds to the praise of her modesty, that which comes from her silence; for the bride knows the seasons for comely speech and for praiseworthy silence; and since 'a faithful spirit conceals a matter,' so the bride in the depth conceals her insights, like the seeds of the pomegranate, each embodied in its own order in the ruling part of the soul; wherefore he added: Apart from your silence; signifying the doctrines kept in silence like the seeds of a pomegranate under its rind. Your neck is like the tower of David, built for an armory; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all shields of mighty men. Aquila has rendered Thalpioth as 'battlements'; but Symmachus, 'heights'; following which, wisdom is the tower above the battlements, from which likewise hang the bucklers, which are the doctrines entrusted to us, which the Apostle spoke of singularly as the shield of faith; and the shields of the mighty men are the arguments that powerfully overturn the plausibility of the opponents of the truth; but instead of 'battlements,' the fifth edition has rendered it 'commandments,' interpreting the sense rather than the letter; for without pre-existing commandments, it is impossible for true knowledge to be built up. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows move. The ruling part of the soul, like the breasts of a bride; which is most sharp-sighted; wherefore he compared it to two fawns of a gazelle feeding in beautiful and fragrant places; signifying both the intelligible and the sensible things; and fawns, because now we know in part; but when that which is perfect has come, we put away childish things; when the burning heat of the present life ceases, and the time of refreshing arrives, when the shadow is also dispelled; for the present life is a shadow; for then as perfect ones, but not as fawns, shall we feed. You have ravished our heart, my sister, my bride; you have ravished our heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck. The 'ornament' is so called from being put on and fastened to the bride's neck; but if the breasts of the bride remained as two fawns of a gazelle, how were they beautified? it would not have been spoken with admiration concerning, as I said, the intellectual faculty, but also the doubling of the admiration indicated the increase of her beauty; such as the 'you have ravished our heart' being said a second time; and the garments of the bride are those who have put on Christ Jesus, bowels of mercies and kindness and humility; and her lips are the teachers; and good words are honeycombs of honey; and prophets and apostles have made the honeycomb and honey. A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed. Secondly, 'a garden enclosed' was said, the one concerning someone who is advancing, the other concerning someone who is perfect, when his ruling 17.273 part, having been seen, is stamped with the seal of theology; or even now the bride is a garden enclosed only, but in the age to come, because of her perfection and steadfastness, she is also a fountain sealed. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; now therefore the Scripture says it is a garden simply; but elsewhere, as concerning another, it also adds 'of vegetables'. Awake, O north wind, and come, O south; blow upon my garden, that my spices may flow out. The bride seems to rebuke the north wind, having received the authority from him who rebuked the wind

ἐξ ἐρήμου λέγεται ἀναβαίνειν· τὸ δὲ τὸν δίκαιον εἶναι Χριστοῦ εὐωδίαν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ τοῖς σωζομένοις, τεθυμιαμένη νοεῖται παραπλησίως στελέχεσι, καπνὸν ἡδὺν ἀναπέμπουσιν, εὐφραίνοντα τὰς τῶν μακαριζόντων ἀναπνοάς. ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ∆ʹ. Ὀδόντες σου ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν κεκαρμένων αἳ ἀνέβη σαν ἀπὸ τοῦ λουτροῦ· αἱ πᾶσαι διδυμεύουσαι, καὶ ἀτεκνοῦσα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖς. ∆ιδυμεύουσαι δὲ ἄλλως, διὰ τὸ διττὸν τῆς νοήσεως τῆς τερητῆς καὶ πνευματικῆς. Ὡς σπαρτίον τὸ κόκκινον χείλη σου, καὶ ἡ λαλιά σου ὡραῖα. Ἤγουν ἔστω διάπυρος ἡ τοῦ λόγου παρασκευὴ ὡς κερδῆσαι τὸν ἀκροατὴν δυναμένη, ἢ καὶ τὸ ἔναιμον 17.272 καὶ ζωτικὸν δηλοῖ τῶν διὰ τοῦ χείλους ἐξιόντων ῥη μάτων, οἱωνεὶ βαπτομένων ἐν τῇ ἀληθινῆ πόσει τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὡς λέπυρον τῆς ῥόας μῆλόν σου ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου. Προστίθησι τῷ τῆς σωφροσύνης ἐπαίνῳ, τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς σιωπῆς· ἐπισταμένης τῆς νύμφης καιροὺς λαλιᾶς ὡραίας καὶ ἐπαινουμένης σιγῆς· καὶ ἐπεὶ πιστὸς πνοῇ κρύπτει πράγματα καὶ ἡ νύμφη ἐν τῷ βάθει κρύπτει τὰ θεωρήματα τοὺς οἱονεὶ κόκκους τῆς ῥόας ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι σεσωματοποιημένον ἐν τῷ ἡγεμο νικῷ· διὸ ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου· δη λῶν τὰ σιωπώμενα δόγματα ὡς κόκκους ῥόας ὑπὸ τὸ λέπυρον αὐτῆς. Ὡς πύργος ∆αυῒδ τράχηλός σου, ὁ ᾠκοδομημένος ἐν Θαλπιώθ· χίλιοι θυρεοὶ κρέμανται ἐπ' αὐτὸν, πᾶσαι βολίδες τῶν δυνατῶν. Ἀκύλας τὸ Θαλπιὼθ ἐπάλξεις ἐκδέδωκεν· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, ὕψη· ᾧ ἀκολουθεῖ τὸν ὑπὲρ τὰς ἐπάλξεις πύργον εἶναι τὴν σοφίαν, ἧς ὁμοίως ἤρτηνται θυρεοὶ μὲν τὰ πεπιστευμένα δόγματα, ἅπερ εἶπεν ἑνικῶς ὁ Ἀπόστολος θυρεὸν πίστεως· βολίδες δὲ τῶν δυνατῶν, οἱ δυνατῶς ἀνατρέποντες λόγοι τῶν ἐναντίων τῆς ἀληθείας τὴν πιθανότητα· ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ ἐπάλξεις, ἐν τολὰς ἐκδέδωκεν ἡ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις, τὸν νοῦν μᾶλ λον ἢ τὴν λέξιν ἑρμηνεύουσα· μὴ προαποκειμένων γὰρ ἐντολῶν, οἰκοδομηθῆναι τὴν ἀψευδῆ γνῶσιν ἀδύ νατον. ∆ύο μαστοί σου, ὡς δύο νεβροὶ δίδυμοι δορκάδος οἱ νεμόμενοι ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις, ἕως οὗ διαπνεύσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα καὶ κινηθῶσιν αἱ σκιαί. Τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν, ὡς ἐπὶ νύμφης μαστοί· ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὀξυδερκέστατον· διὸ παρείκασε δύο νεβροῖς δορκάδος νεμομένοις ἐν ὡραίοις τόποις καὶ εὐώδεσι· σημαίνων τά τε νοητὰ καὶ αἰσθητά· νεβροὺς δὲ, ἐπειδὴ νῦν ἐκ μέρους γινώσκομεν· ὅταν δὲ τὸ τέλειον ἔλθῃ, καταρ γοῦμεν τὴν νηπιότητα· ὅταν ὁ καύσων τοῦ παρόντος βίου παύσηται, καὶ καιρὸς τῆς ἀναψύξεως ἐπιστῇ, λυομένης καὶ τῆς σκιᾶς· σκιὰ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ παρὼν βίος· τότε γὰρ ὡς τέλειοι, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὡς νεβροὶ νεμη θησόμεθα. Ἐκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς, ἀδελφή μου νύμφη· ἐκαρ δίωσας ἡμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου, ἐν μιᾷ ἐν θέματι τραχήλου σου. Τὸ ἔνθεμα εἴρηται παρὰ τὸ ἐντίθεσθαι καὶ ἐνορ μᾶσθαι τῷ τραχήλῳ τῆς νύμφης· εἰ δὲ ὡς δύο νεβροὶ δορκάδος ἔμειναν οἱ μαστοὶ τῆς νύμφης, τὸ τί ἐκαλ λιώθησαν; οὐκ ἂν ἐῤῥέθη θαυμαστικῶς περὶ τοῦ, ὡς ἔφην, διανοητικοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ διπλοῦν τοῦ θαύματος, τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ κάλλους ὑπέδειξεν· ὁποῖον τὸ ἐκαρ δίωσας ἐκ δευτέρου ῥηθέν· ἱμάτια δὲ τῆς νύμφης, οἱ ἐνδεδυμένοι Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ χρηστότητα καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνην· χείλη δὲ οἱ διδάσκαλοι· καὶ κηρία μέλιτος λόγοι καλοί· εἰργάσαντο δὲ κηρίον καὶ μέλι προφῆται καὶ ἀπόστολοι. Κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, ἀδελφή μου νύμφη· κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, πηγὴ ἐσφραγισμένη. ∆εύτερον, τὸ κῆπος κεκλεισμένος ἐῤῥέθη, τὸ μὲν ἐπὶ προκόπτοντος, τὸ δὲ ἐπὶ τελείου, ὅτε τὸ ἡγεμο 17.273 νικὸν αὐτοῦ καθοραθὲν, τῇ τῆς θεολογίας σφραγίδι τετύπωται· ἢ καὶ νῦν μὲν ἡ νύμφη κῆπός ἐστιν κε κλεισμένος μόνον, ἐν δὲ τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι διὰ τὴν τελειότητα καὶ τὸ βέβαιον, καὶ πηγή ἐστιν ἐσφρα γισμένη. Παντὶ γὰρ τῷ ἔχοντι δοθήσεται καὶ πε ρισσευθήσεται· νῦν μὲν οὖν ἡ Γραφὴ κῆπον εἶναι ἁπλῶς· ἀλλαχοῦ δὲ ὡς περὶ ἑτέρου, καὶ τὸ λαχανείας προστίθησιν. Ἐξεγέρθητι, Βοῤῥᾶ, καὶ ἔρχου, Νότε, διάπνευσον κῆπόν μου, καὶ ῥευσάτωσαν ἀρώματά μου. Ἔοικεν ἐπιτιμᾷν ἡ νύμφη τῷ Βοῤῥέᾳ, τὴν ἐξουσίαν λαβοῦσα παρὰ τοῦ ἐπιτιμήσαντος τῷ ἀνέμῳ