an all-wise construction, made intricate with many passages and continuous entrances and exits, yet wishing to exit, he would no longer be able, having been caught inside by what seemed to him a wise construction. And no labyrinth is so hard to escape and varied, nor a dense and varied forest, nor a plain thus or a shallow, as terrible to hold those who have approached it as discourse, if it should be one against these certain philosophers. Therefore, in order that we might not suffer the same thing as the many, he did not lead us to any one of the philosophical discourses, nor did he think it right to go according to them, but he led us to all, wishing us to be unacquainted with no Greek doctrine. And he himself entered with us, going before and leading by the hand as on a journey, if anywhere we should encounter anything crooked and treacherous and sophistical; like a craftsman indeed, from his long association with discourses being unfamiliar with nothing nor inexperienced, he himself might remain aloof in safety, and extending a hand to others might bring them through safely, drawing them up as if they were being submerged; everything, that was useful and true of each of the philosophers, selecting and setting before us; but whatever was false, rejecting, both other things and especially whatever was peculiar to human piety.

15 advising to pay no attention to these, not even if someone were attested as all-wise by all men, but to attend only to God and to his prophets; himself interpreting and clarifying whatever might be obscure and enigmatic, such as are many in the sacred utterances (whether it is thus pleasing to God to converse with men, so that the divine word might not enter a soul that is unworthy, such as are the many, naked and uncovered, or whether in fact, though every divine oracle is by nature most clear and simple, it appears unclear and obscure to us who have fallen away from God and have unlearned how to listen, because of time and antiquity, I cannot say); nevertheless clarifying and bringing to light, whether they happen to be enigmas, being a skillful and most intelligent hearer of God; or whether having by nature nothing crooked nor unintelligible to him, being so disposed alone of the men of today whom I myself have known and of whom I have heard others speak concerning certain ones, having practiced to receive the pure and luminous things of the oracles in his soul and to teach others; because the author of them all, He who sounds in the ears of the prophets, the friends of God, and suggests all prophecy and mystical and divine discourse, so honored him as to appoint him a friendly advocate; of which things he only spoke in riddles through others, making the teaching of these things through this man, and whatever, being most worthy of belief, He either commanded royally or even declared, having granted to this man to search out and to discover the meanings of these things; in order that if anyone should happen to be hard of soul and unbelieving or even fond of learning, having learned from this man he might be compelled in a way to choose both to understand and to believe and to follow God. And he says these things, I think, in no other way than by communion with the divine Spirit; for there is need of the same power for those who prophesy and for those who hear prophets; and one could not hear a prophet, to whom the same Spirit that prophesied did not grant the understanding of his words. Such an oracle is also found in the sacred writings, saying that only he who shuts opens, and no one else at all; and the divine Word opens the things that have been shut, by clarifying the enigmas. This man has received this greatest gift from God and an all-beautiful portion from heaven, to be an interpreter of the words of God to men, to understand the things of God as God speaks, and to explain them to men as men hear. Therefore nothing was unutterable to us, for neither was it hidden and inaccessible; but it was possible to learn every discourse, both barbarian and Greek, both more mystical and more political, both divine and human, with all abundance traversing all things and investigating them, and being filled with all things and enjoying the goods of the soul; whether some ancient lesson of truth, or if one could name something else of such a kind, in it we were having the wonderful vision, full of the most beautiful sights

κατασκεύασμα πάνσοφον πολύπορόν τε καὶ εἰσόδοις καὶ ἐξόδοις συνεχέσι σεσοφισμένον, ἐθέλων μέντοι καὶ ἐξιέναι μηκέθ' οἷός τε εἴη, ἐναποληφθεὶς ἔνδον ὑπὸ σοφοῦ δοκοῦντος αὐτῷ κατασκευάσματος. Οὐδεὶς δὲ οὔτε λαβύρινθος οὕτω δυσεξέλικτος καὶ ποικίλος, οὔτε ὕλη δασεῖα καὶ ποικίλη, οὔτε πεδίον οὕτως ἢ τέναγος, δεινὸν κρατῆσαι τοὺς ἐμπελάσαντας ὡς λόγος, εἴ τις εἴη κατ' αὐτῶν τῶνδέ τινων φιλοσόφων. Ἵνα δὴ οὖν μὴ ταὐτὸν τοῖς πολλοῖς πάθοιμεν, πρὸς μὲν ἕνα τινὰ οὐκ ἦγε τῶν φιλοσόφων λόγων, οὐδὲ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἀπιέναι ἠξίου, πρὸς δὲ πάντας ἦγεν, οὐδενὸς ἀπειράστους εἶναι θέλων δόγματος Ἑλληνικοῦ. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ συνεισῄει προηγούμενος καὶ χειραγωγῶν ὥσπερ ἐν ὁδοιπορίᾳ, εἴ που καὶ ὑπαντήσαι τι σκολιὸν καὶ ὕπουλον καὶ σοφισματῶδες· οἷα δὴ τεχνίτης, ἐκ τῆς ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῖς λόγοις συνδιατριβῆς οὐκ ἀήθης οὐδενὸς οὐδὲ ἄπειρος ὤν, μετέωρος αὐτός τε ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ μένοι, καὶ ἄλλοις ὀρέγων χεῖρα διασώζοιτο ὥσπερ βαπτιζομένους ἀνιμώμενος· πᾶν μέν, ὅ τι χρήσιμον φιλοσόφων ἑκάστων καὶ ἀληθὲς ἦν, ἀναλέγων καὶ παρατιθέμενος ἡμῖν· ὅσα δὲ ψευδῆ, ἐκκρίνων, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ μάλιστα ὅσα ἴδια πρὸς εὐσέβειαν ἦν ἀνθρώπων.

15 Περὶ τούτων μὲν μηδὲν προσέχειν συμβουλεύων, μηδὲ εἰ πάνσοφός τις ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων μαρτυρηθείη, μόνῳ δὲ προσέχειν θεῷ καὶ τοῖς τούτου προφήταις· αὐτὸς ὑποφητεύων καὶ σαφηνίζων ὅ τί ποτε σκοτεινὸν καὶ αἰνιγματῶδες ᾖ, οἷα πολλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς ἐστι φωναῖς (ἤτοι οὕτω φίλον ὂν τῷ θεῷ προσομιλεῖν ἀνθρώποις, ὡς μὴ καὶ ἀναξίαν ψυχήν, οἷαι αἱ πολλαί, γυμνὸς καὶ ἀσκεπὴς ὁ θεῖος εἰσίῃ λόγος, ἢ καὶ τῇ φύσει μὲν σαφέστα τον καὶ ἁπλούστατον πᾶν τὸ θεῖον λόγιον ὄν, ἡμῖν δὲ ἀποστᾶσι θεοῦ καὶ ἀπομεμαθηκόσιν ἀκροᾶσθαι ὑπὸ χρόνου καὶ παλαιότητος ἀσαφὲς καὶ σκοτεινὸν καταφαινόμε νον, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν)· πλὴν σαφηνίζων καὶ εἰς φῶς προάγων, εἴτε αἰνίγματα ὄντα τυγχάνοι, δεινὸς ὢν ἀκροατὴς θεοῦ καὶ συνετώτατος· εἴτε καὶ οὐδὲν σκολιὸν ἔχοντα τῇ φύσει οὐδ' ἀσύνετον αὐτῷ, οὕτως ἔχοντι μόνῳ τῶν νῦν ἀνθρώπων, ὧν αὐτός τε ἔγνων καὶ ἑτέρων ἤκουσα περί τινων λεγόντων, μεμελετηκότι τὰ καθαρὰ τῶν λογίων φωτεινά τε παραδέχεσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ διδάσκεσθαι ἑτέρους· ὅτι αὐτῶν ὁ πάντων ἀρχηγός, ὁ τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ φίλοις προφήταις ὑπηχῶν καὶ ὑποβάλλων πᾶσαν προφητείαν καὶ λόγον μυστικὸν καὶ θεῖον, οὕτως αὐτὸν τιμήσας ὡς φίλον προήγορον κατεστήσατο· ὧν δι' ἑτέρων ᾐνίξατο μόνον, τούτων διὰ τούτου τὴν διδασκαλίαν ποιούμενος, ὅσα τε ἀξιοπιστότατος ὢν ἢ προσέταξε βασιλικῶς ἢ καὶ ἀπεφῄνατο, τούτων τοὺς λόγους διερευνᾶσθαί τε καὶ ἐξευρίσκειν τούτῳ δωρησάμενος· ἵν' εἴ τις σκληρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ἄπιστος ἢ καὶ φιλομαθὴς ὢν τύχοι, παρὰ τούτου μαθὼν καὶ συνεῖναι καὶ πιστεύειν ἑλέσθαι ἀναγκάζοιτο τρόπον τινὰ καὶ ἕπεσθαι θεῷ. Λέγει τε ταῦτα οὐκ ἄλλως οἶμαι ἢ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ θείου πνεύματος· τῆς γὰρ αὐτῆς δυνάμεως δεῖ προφητεύουσί τε καὶ ἀκροωμένοις προφητῶν· καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀκούσαι προφήτου, ᾧ μὴ αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ προφητεῦσαν τὴν σύνεσιν τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων ἐδωρήσατο. Τοιοῦτον ἔγκειται λόγιον καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς γράμμασι, τὸν κλείοντα ἀνοιγνύναι μόνον λέγον, ἄλλον δὲ μηδ' ὁντινοῦν· ἀνοίγει δὲ τὰ κεκλει σμένα σαφηνίζων τὰ αἰνίγματα ὁ θεῖος λόγος. ∆ῶρον τὸ μέγιστον οὗτος τοῦτο θεόθεν ἔχει λαβὼν καὶ μοῖραν παγκάλην οὐρανόθεν, ἑρμηνεὺς εἶναι τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ λόγων πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, συνιέναι τὰ θεοῦ ὡς θεοῦ λαλοῦντος, καὶ διηγεῖσθαι ἀνθρώποις ὡς ἀκούουσιν ἄνθρωποι. Τοι γαροῦν οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ἄρρητον, οὐδὲ γὰρ κεκρυμμένον καὶ ἄβατον ἦν· ἐξῆν δὲ μανθάνειν πάντα λόγον, καὶ βάρβαρον καὶ Ἕλληνα, καὶ μυστικώτερον καὶ πολιτικώτερον, καὶ θεῖον καὶ ἀνθρώπινον, σὺν πάσῃ περιουσίᾳ ἐκπεριϊοῦσι πάντα καὶ διερευνωμένοις, καὶ πάντων ἐμφορουμένοις καὶ ἀ πολαύουσι τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθῶν· εἴτε τι παλαιὸν ἀληθείας μάθημα, εἴτε καὶ ἄλλο τις ὀνομάσαι τοιοῦτον ἔχοι, ἐν αὐτῷ ᾖμεν ἔχοντες τὴν θαυμαστὴν καὶ πλήρη τῶν καλλίστων θεαμάτων