Collectio dictorum veteris testamenti

 is forced to descend into a foreign state and if the demons should see any good understanding accompanying him, they hasten to subject it to the sowi

 escaping. The heifer, taken first, signified the first generation. For just as the heifer struggles against the yoke, so also the first generation of

 the river, but to keep alive every female. For the devil, the spiritual Pharaoh, also conceived a threefold manner of plotting against the spiritual I

 He interprets what that one speaks spiritually and obscurely, and transforms his weak voice to be more melodious. For I have not come, he says, to abo

 the Gospel according to Christ, had as a son the multitude of those being reborn to it through the Holy Spirit whom she also circumcised with a stone

 and easy to comprehend is the mystery concerning Christ. But God did not lead the Jews to this immediately, but through the long law and the many ridd

 Moses commanded Joshua son of Nun to choose mighty men and go out and fight 77.1196 Amalek, signified that Jesus Christ would be subject to the comman

 of the people of the Jews, and servant of God, he ascends to the highest knowledge of God but the people are prevented from approaching, lest they di

 coming after it, demands this final penalty, as one who, after being freed from the burden of sin, is again voluntarily subjected to it. And He comman

 But the eighth ineffably suggests the mystery of the eternal well-being of the 77.1204 beings. The sixth day is called Preparation, because on it the

 and poverty of intellect, they make their neighbors, that is, those of the same faith, partners, so that through one another they may be raised to hig

 unmixed with wickedness, those partaking of the true Lamb nourish their own soul, throughout the whole weekly age, which is measured by the week. And

 the body bears uncircumcision. Circumcision is mystical, a voluntary removal of the passions. The circumcision of circumcision is the putting away of

 of rational discernment, as Israel did in the time of Moses, commits idolatry. For having cast into the fire of the passions the words concerning theo

 to do good things, and to walk toward good things. Humpbacked is the one bent downwards, and not able to look up from earthly things. Sun-spotted is o

 God, ostracizing stupidity, and wishing his subjects to belong to necessity alone, through the not weaving together of linen and wool, banished variet

 but in heaven God Himself whom alone they both worship and attend. And on the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, an

 they were catechized by the evangelists. Or otherwise, the four types of meanings were a symbol of the four types of moral discourse. Of which the one

 Aaron's rod, as a symbol of watchfulness. For to Jeremiah, seeing a staff of a nut tree, God says: Behold, I am watchful over my words. And it budded

 bracelets, and rings, and armlets, and braided chains. For the leaders of the people in Christ and the eminent often surpass the evangelical commands

 with bodily ways of the ministry of the virtues, they return to the contemplation of kindred intelligible things. A foreign boy and a servant-girl are

 undertaking. For she will pay the penalty for the offense to God, the Father of spirits, and she will be his wife, as having already been joined to hi

 of the other man wherefore he is required to pay the penalty for the murder, but he alone suffers loss in his soul. For this, I think, is what this m

 war for one year he shall cheer his wife, whom he has taken. For it is not right that one who has just taken a spouse for himself should be led out t

 Virtue is the mother of the good deeds from it. And its nest is the soul in which it dwells. It is necessary for those who encounter them to be benefi

 its fruit for three years will be unpurified for you. It shall not be eaten, and in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy to the Lord. But in th

 dragging down to earth, those things that draw up to heaven. Saul, is the natural 77.1249 law, which from the beginning received from the Lord the lot

 David is the law according to the spirit, who reigns over the Christians who worship God spiritually. But Saul is the law according to the letter, who

 the face of the Lord, according to David, and learns the cause of such a famine, that this injustice was against Saul, and against his house, with whi

 taking from the spiritual David, that is, the law according to the spirit, may kill the aforementioned sons and grandsons of 77.1257 Saul then in eve

 of knowledge, if it should receive the divine and discerning word, which brings to memory former sins, and will prefer even to nature itself the heali

 The Lord in the desert I mean in the world, and in the nature of men, digging out and cleansing the hearts of the worthy from material weight and min

 of the city. Since Hezekiah is interpreted as 'strength of God,' every mind 77.1265 that through practical philosophy has acquired divine strength, wh

 through themselves they again turn him away, as he flees into his land which is the fixed habit of evil, whom his sons kill as he is fleeing, and the

 the king of the Assyrians, flees to God, and silently cries out to Him, through progress in virtue and knowledge, and receives an angel as an ally th

 at once a philosopher and a lover of God has both Judah and Jerusalem the one taken as the habit of confession and repentance for Judah is interpret

 becomes a lofty and exalted mind, and in the good things given to it by God, boasts as if in its own accomplishments. There comes by providence upon t

 the spear and the flask of water that is, the power of practical virtue, and the grace of gnostic contemplation, even if he again gives these things

 of king Darius, I mean of the natural law, having conquered by him, lifts up his face to heaven, that is, the disposition of the soul, in which are th

 not being guarded. For lead is a symbol of punishment, but silver of brightness. And the seven eyes of this practical faith are the seven gifts of the

 constituted. For since matter is indeed a tetrad, because of the tetraktys of its elements, and form is a pentad, because of the fivefold nature of se

 they rise up for mischief. And approaching Zerubbabel, and Joshua and the leaders of the families, they say to them: We will build with you for like

and poverty of intellect, they make their neighbors, that is, those of the same faith, partners, so that through one another they may be raised to higher contemplations. Let the lamb, he says, be perfect; for Christ is perfect in both divinity and humanity. But also male; for he it is who places in all of us the seeds of the knowledge of God; but also a year old, so that each year the Pascha may be celebrated. It is taken from the lambs and from the kids, as the Theologian has interpreted. The doorposts and the lintel are anointed with the blood, that is, the body. For this is the house of the soul, and this drives away the death from transgression. And the doors of such a house are the senses within us; through which the quality of things is ministered to all hearts. He commands the flesh to be eaten on this night; that is, during the present age. For Paul also called it night, saying: The night is far spent, the day is at hand; calling the age to come day. While, therefore, we are in this world, we eat the holy flesh of Christ through communion; but when we pass from here, we will partake of him in another manner. He commands to eat the flesh roasted with fire; that is, with the fire of the spirit and of the love of Christ. But also to eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs; that is, to nourish their own soul with unleavened and pure desires, unmixed with wickedness, and to accept the bitternesses from temptations. You shall not eat, he says, of it raw. For the raw does not come easily to the teeth, nor is it eaten for digestion. Those who do not, through careful investigation, break down the mystery concerning Christ with the teeth of their intellect, certainly eat it raw; refining and testing it according to what was said by David: And in my meditation a fire shall be kindled. He also forbids eating it boiled in water, indicating that a more watery and diluted conception of him would not be good food. Again he commands to eat the head with the feet and the entrails, so that our intellects may have knowledge of the whole mystery concerning Christ through and through. The head would be the beginning of the mystery, and the feet, the end. The entrails are the more ineffable and hidden teachings. And the 77.1208, You shall leave none of it until the morning; indicates that the perfect knowledge concerning him should not be put off for postponement, but that all of it should be partaken of completely. You shall not break a bone of it, because the luminous and hidden teachings of his divinity are inedible to the teeth of the mind on account of their own hardness. But the heretics, who distort the correct teachings of the knowledge of God, break them as much as is in their power. What is left of it until morning, he commands to be burned with fire, showing from this the enlightenment that will come in the age to come of the undiscerned teachings about him that remain. And to have the loins girded would be a symbol of swiftness and a youthful spirit. For, he says, gird up your loins like a man. And again concerning someone through the prophet, And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, instead of, swift and brave in righteousness. The sandals signify the readiness of the will to walk towards whatever God may wish. For Paul also says, And having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The staff, the hope that supports us, and sustains us for endurance. To eat the lamb with haste means not to be sluggish or lax in the discernment of the mystery concerning Christ. And he adds the reason why it must be seen as such, saying, It is the Lord's Passover, that is, a crossing over. For we cross over from sin to virtue. For seven whole days he commands those who have eaten the sacred lamb to be fed with unleavened bread. For it is necessary with pure foods of dogmas, and

καὶ πενίαν διανοίας, ποιοῦνται κοινωνοὺς καὶ τοὺς γείτονας, ἤτοι τοὺς ὁμοπίστους, ἵνα δι' ἀλλήλων εἰς μείζους θεωρίας ἀναταθῶσιν. Ἔστω δὲ, φησὶ, τὸ πρόβατον τέλειον· τέλειος γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς ἔν τε θεότητι καὶ ἀνθρωπότητι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄρσεν· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ἐντιθεὶς τῆς θεογνωσίας τὰ σπέρματα· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνιαύσιον, ἵνα καθ' ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπιτελῆται τὸ πάσχα. Λαμβάνεται δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀμνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρίφων, ὡς Θεολόγος ἡρμήνευσε. Χρίονται δὲ τῷ αἵματι οἱ σταθμοὶ καὶ ἡ φλιὰ, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ σῶμα. Τοῦτο γὰρ οἰκία τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ τοῦτο τὴν ἐκ παραβάσεως ἀπελαύνει νέκρωσιν. Καὶ θύραι δὲ τῆς τοιαύτης οἰκίας αἱ ἐν ἡμῖν αἰσθήσεις· δι' ὧν ταῖς ἁπάντων καρδίαις ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων διακονεῖται ποιότης. Ἐσθίεσθαι δὲ τὰ κρέα προστάττει ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτί· τοῦτ' ἔστι, κατὰ τὸν ἐνεστῶτα αἰῶνα. Νύκτα γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ Παῦλος ἐκάλεσε, λέγων· Ἡ νὺξ προέκοψεν, ἡ δὲ ἡμέρα ἤγγισεν· ἡμέραν ὀνομάζων τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν μέλλοντα. Ἕως μὲν οὖν ἐσμεν ἐν τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ, ἐσθίομεν τὴν ἁγίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ σάρκα διὰ τῆς μεταλήψεως· μεταβαίνοντες δὲ ἐντεῦθεν, τρόπον ἕτερον αὐτοῦ μεταληψόμεθα. Πυρὶ δὲ ὀπτῶντας ἐσθίειν κελεύει τὰ κρέα· δηλαδὴ τῷ πυρὶ τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ τῆς ἀγάπης Χριστοῦ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄρτους ἀζύμους ἐπὶ πικρίδων φαγεῖν· ἤγουν ἀζύμοις καὶ καθαραῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν ἀποτρέφειν, καὶ ἀμιγέσι φαυλότητος, καὶ προσίεσθαι τὰς ἐκ πειρασμῶν πικρίας. Οὐκ ἔδεσθε δὲ, φησὶν, ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὠμόν. Ἐπὶ γὰρ τὸ ὠμὸν οὐ ῥᾳδίως ἥκει τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν, οὐδ' εἰς πέψιν ἐσθίεται. Ὠμὸν πάντως ἐσθίουσιν οἱ μὴ δι' ἐρεύνης ἀκριβοῦς τὸ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστήριον καταλεπτύνοντες τοῖς ὀδοῦσι τῆς διανοίας· πυροῦντές τε καὶ δοκιμάζοντες κατὰ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ εἰρημένον· Καὶ ἐν τῇ μελέτῃ μου ἐκκαυθήσεται πῦρ. Κωλύει δὲ ἐσθίειν καὶ ἐψημένον ἐν ὕδατι, τὴν ὑδαρεστέραν καὶ ἐκλελυμένην περὶ αὐτοῦ διάληψιν οὐ καλὴν ἔσεσθαι τροφὴν ὑποφαίνων. Κεφαλὴν δὲ πάλιν σὺν τοῖς ποσὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐνδοσθίοις ἐπιτάττει φαγεῖν, ἵνα ὅλη δι' ὅλου τοῦ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστηρίου ταῖς διανοίαις ἡμῶν ἡ γνῶσις. Εἴη δ' ἂν κεφαλὴ μὲν ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ μυστηρίου, πόδες δὲ, τὸ τέλος. Ἐνδόσθια δὲ οἱ ἀποῤῥητότεροι καὶ κρυφιωδέστεροι λόγοι. Τὸ 77.1208 δὲ, Οὐχ ὑπολείψεσθε ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῷ πρωΐ· παραδηλοῖ τὸ μὴ παραπέμπεσθαι εἰς ἀναβολὴν, τὴν τελείαν περὶ αὐτοῦ γνῶσιν, ἀλλὰ πάσης μεταλαμβάνειν εἰς ὁλόκληρον. Ὀστοῦν δὲ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ οὐ συντρίψετε, διότι ἄβρωτα τοῖς ὀδοῦσι τοῦ νοῦ, οἱ λευκοὶ καὶ κεκρυμμένοι τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ λόγοι διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν στεῤῥότητα. Συντρίβουσι δὲ ὅσον τὸ ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς, οἱ τὰ ὀρθὰ διαστρέφοντες αἱρετικοὶ τῆς θεογνωσίας διδάγματα. Τὰ δὲ καταλιμπανόμενα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἕως πρωῒ πυρὶ κατακαίεσθαι κελεύει, δηλῶν ἐντεῦθεν τὸν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν μέλλοντα γενησόμενον φωτισμὸν τῶν ὑπολιμπανομένων περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγων ἀδιαγνώστων. Καὶ τὸ μὲν περιεζῶσθαι τὴν ὀσφὺν, γοργότητος ἂν εἴη σύμβολον καὶ νεανικοῦ φρονήματος. Ζῶσαι γὰρ, φησὶν, ὡς ἀνὴρ τὴν ὀσφύν σου. Καὶ πάλιν περί τινος διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, Καὶ ἔσται δικαιοσύνῃ ἐζωσμένος τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, γοργὸς καὶ ἀνδρεῖος ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ. Σημαίνουσι δὲ τὰ μὲν ὑποδήματα, τὴν ἑτοιμότητα τῆς γνώμης εἰς τὸ βαδίζειν πρὸς ὅπερ ἂν βούλοιτο Θεός. Φησὶ γὰρ καὶ Παῦλος, Καὶ ὑποδυσάμενος τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης. Ἡ δὲ ῥάβδος τὴν ἀντιστηρίζουσαν ἡμᾶς ἐλπίδα, καὶ ἀνέχουσαν πρὸς ὑπομονήν. Τὸ δὲ μετὰ σπουδῆς ἐσθίεσθαι ἀμνὸν, τὸ μὴ νωθρὸν μὴ δὲ παρειμένον ἐν τῇ διαγνώσει τοῦ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστηρίου. Ἐπάγει δὲ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ δεῖν ὁρᾶσθαι τοιοῦτον, Πάσχα, λέγων, ἐστὶ Κυρίῳ, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, διαβατήριον. ∆ιαβαίνομεν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας εἰς τὴν ἀρετήν. Ἐφ' ἑπτὰ δὲ ὅλαις ἡμέραις ἄρτοις ἀζύμοις τρέφεσθαι κελεύει τοὺς τὸν ἱερὸν φαγόντας ἀμνόν. Χρὴ γὰρ καθαραῖς τροφαῖς δογμάτων, καὶ