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of the mind, which naturally orders it. But since the gnostic state was diluted through the diffusion according to pleasure from the disobedience that occurred, the Word came, leading back to the earth the original solidity. The mother who asks is faith, or humility, or scientific wisdom; for each of these is by nature able to give birth to the supreme godlike state in human beings.

But "my hour has not yet come" indicates that teaching precedes signs, for the demonstration of signs happens because of those who disbelieve the teaching. And since he had not yet taught there and experienced their unbelief, for this reason he said, "my hour has not yet come."

The servants indicate the prophets, who through their teaching *** nature 14Α_062 which was emptied by the transgression; but the Lord, having come, changed it into spiritual knowledge and led nature up to what is beyond nature through faith. For she holds the place of the Theotokos; for just as the Theotokos, existing from her Lord and Son according to creation, herself bore him according to the flesh, so also faith, existing from the word, through the energy of action brings the word into energy.

And the water jars, since they are six, indicate the state that produces good things, because the Lord also created the visible world in six days. The master of the feast is the discerning law; for this reason it says: "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and then the inferior"; for the pure and discerning law, in discerning, says, "the mind ought first, by recognition, to have run up to the cause and then to the things after it, which Adam did not do" or also that "the teaching of the Lord ought to be desired before that of the law and the prophets."

QUESTION 36 How should we understand that saying of the Gospel, "Among those born there has not risen one greater than John, but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he"?

RESPONSE Whoever humbles himself more than John—for this is what

"least" means—he is greater than John. Or otherwise: since John is believed to have apprehended the knowledge attainable here through contemplation, the small and last knowledge according to 14Α_064 the state that is to be revealed in the future is greater than that here. Or also that the highest theologian among men is less than the last among angels. Or also he who has the last rank according to the evangelical way of life is greater than the highest according to the righteousness of the law.

QUESTION 37 What then do the unclean birds, land animals, and water creatures in the law indicate in a

general sense? RESPONSE We have supposed the birds to indicate the universal passion of vainglory and

pride, which is divided into different modes according to the differences of the birds. The land animals in general indicate the passion of avarice, which is split into differences according to the difference of each animal's character. The water creatures in general indicate the passion of gluttony, because the unclean fish in the law are sticky and slow-moving and roll about in the earth and are phlegmatic; but the law defines as clean those that have fins and scales, indicating, through the one having fins on its belly, the one who has a high principle attached to pleasure, not allowing him to go on his belly, and through the one having fins on its back, the one who manfully swims through life with patience for what comes upon him

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νοῦ γένηται, τοῦ φυσικῶς αὐτὴν τάττοντος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ γνωστικὴ ἕξις διὰ τῆς καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν διαχύσεως ἐκ τῆς γενομένης παρακοῆς ὑδαρώθη, ἦλθεν ὁ Λόγος ἐπανάγων εἰς γῆν τὴν ἐξαρχῆς στερρότητα. Ἡ δὲ αἰτοῦσα μήτηρ ἐστὶν ἡ πίστις ἢ καὶ ἡ ταπείνωσις ἢ καὶ ἡ ἐπιστημονικὴ σοφία· ἑκάστη γὰρ τούτων τίκτειν πέφυκεν τὴν ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἄκραν θεοειδῆ ἕξιν.

Τὸ δὲ «οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου» δηλοῖ, ἐπειδὴ προηγεῖται ἡ διδασκαλία τῶν σημείων διὰ γὰρ τοὺς ἀπιστοῦντας τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ ἡ τῶν σημείων ἐπίδειξις γίνεται οὔπω δὲ ἦν ἐκεῖ διδάξας καὶ πεῖραν λαβὼν αὐτῶν ἀπιστίας, διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν· «οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου».

Οἱ δὲ ὑπηρέται δηλοῦσιν τοὺς προφήτας, οἵτινες τὴν φύσιν 14Α_062 διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως κενωθεῖσαν διὰ τῆς αὐτῶν διδασκαλίας *** ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἐλθὼν μετέβαλεν εἰς πνευματικὴν γνῶσιν καὶ τὴν φύσιν εἰς τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἀνήγαγεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως. Αὐτὴ γὰρ ἐπέχει τῆς Θεοτόκου τὸ πρόσωπον· καθάπερ γὰρ ἡ Θεοτόκος, κατὰ τὴν δημιουργίαν ἐκ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Υἱοῦ αὐτῆς ὑπάρχουσα, κατὰ σάρκα αὐτὴ αὐτὸν ἀπεκύησεν, οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις ἐκ τοῦ λόγου ὑπάρχουσα διὰ τῆς ἐνεργείας τῆς πράξεως τὸν λόγον εἰς ἐνέργειαν ἄγει.

Αἱ δὲ ὑδρίαι ἐπειδὴ ἕξ εἰσιν δηλοῦσιν τὴν ποιητικὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἕξιν διὰ τὸ καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις τὸν ὁρατὸν δημιουργῆσαι κόσμον. Ὁ δὲ ἀρχιτρίκλινος ὁ διακριτικός ἐστιν νόμος· διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· «πᾶς ἄνθρωπος πρῶτον τὸν καλὸν οἶνον προτίθησιν καὶ τότε τὸν ἐλάσσω»· ὁ γὰρ ἀκραιφνὴς καὶ διακριτικὸς νόμος διακρίνων «ἔδει», φησίν, «τὸν νοῦν πρῶτον τῇ ἐπιγνώσει εἰς τὸν αἴτιον ἀναδραμεῖν καὶ εἶθ᾽ οὕτως εἰς τὰ μετ᾽ αὐτόν, ὅπερ ὁ Ἀδὰμ οὐκ ἐποίησεν» ἢ καὶ ὅτι «τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου διδασκαλίαν ἔδει πρώτην ποθῆναι τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν».

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 36 Πῶς νοήσωμεν τὸ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ὅτι «μείζων Ἰωάννου ἐν γεννητοῖς οὐκ

ἐγήγερται, ὁ δὲ μικρότερος αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστιν»; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ὅστις ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἰωάννην ταπεινώσει ἑαυτόν τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν τὸ

«μικρότερος» ἐκεῖνος μείζων ἐστὶν τοῦ Ἰωάννου. Ἢ καὶ ἄλλως· ἐπειδὴ ὁ Ἰωάννης τὴν ἐνταῦθα ἐφικτὴν διὰ θεωρίας γνῶσιν κατειληφέναι πιστεύεται, ἡ μικρὰ καὶ τελευταία κατὰ 14Α_064 τὴν μέλλουσαν φανήσεσθαι κατάστασιν γνῶσις μείζων ὑπάρχει τῆς ἐνταῦθα. Ἢ καὶ ὅτι ὁ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἄκρος θεολόγος τοῦ ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἐσχάτου ἐστὶν μικρότερος. Ἢ καὶ ὁ κατὰ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν πολιτείαν τὴν ἐσχάτην ἔχων τάξιν τοῦ κατὰ τὴν νομικὴν δικαιοσύνην ἄκρου μείζων ἐστίν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 37 Τί ἄρα δηλοῦσιν τὰ παρὰ τῷ νόμῳ ἀκάθαρτα ὄρνεά τε καὶ χερσαῖα καὶ ἔνυδρα τῷ

καθολικῷ λόγῳ; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Τὰ μὲν ὄρνεα δηλοῦν ὑπειλήφαμεν τὸ καθόλου τῆς κενοδοξίας καὶ

ὑπερηφανίας πάθος εἰς διαφόρους τρόπους διαιρούμενον κατὰ τὰς τῶν ὀρνέων διαφοράς. Τὰ δὲ καθόλου χερσαῖα ζῷα δηλοῦσιν τὸ πάθος τῆς φιλαργυρίας εἰς διαφορὰς σχιζόμενον κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου ἤθους τῶν ζῴων διαφοράν. Τὰ δὲ καθόλου ἔνυδρα δηλοῦσιν τὸ τῆς γαστριμαργίας πάθος διὰ τὸ γλίσχρον καὶ δυσκίνητον καὶ τῇ γῇ ἐνκυλινδεῖσθαι καὶ φλέγμα εἶναι τοὺς παρὰ τῷ νόμῳ ἀκαθάρτους ἰχθύας· τὰ δὲ ἔχοντα πτερύγια καὶ λεπίδας καθαρὰ ὁ νόμος ὁρίζεται, σημαίνων διὰ μὲν τοῦ ἔχοντος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ πτερύγια τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ἡδονῇ ἔχοντα ἐπηρτημένον ὑψηλὸν λόγον μὴ συγχωροῦντα ἐπὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύεσθαι, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἐπάνω τοῦ νώτου ἔχοντος πτερύγια τὸν τῇ ὑπομονῇ τῶν ἐπερχομένων ἀνδρικῶς διανηχόμενον τοῦ βίου τὴν