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some are indicated by these things; for first it becomes dawn, then as a chosen moon, meaning full and complete according to its fullness, —for even if it is the same, being halved and crescent-shaped and gibbous, but its perfect state is that according to its fullness, to which he compares the bride—, after which she is also as the sun, an object of wonder because of her great progress and union. Those who thus become light are not such by constitution, but by participation in the true light. Who also separate "between the day" and "between the darkness", dividing vice and virtue, and thus they illuminate those on earth, who are not yet heavenly through their actions. And they signify fitting seasons and days and months and years, making known the measure of each 40 and how this one is disposed toward instruction, just as we say a physician speaks of a time for nourishment, considering how the one being nourished is; for sometimes the one practicing medicine nourishes at night. Therefore the sun of righteousness and the moon mentioned with it and the stars signify such a season, as a season for learning, a season for progress, a season for introduction, and they signify the things themselves, —for when someone is enlightened, the underlying things are pure—, not that the sun of righteousness came into being then when it also signifies, but being eternal, it signifies when those who approach need guidance. For which reason they are said to have come into being on the fourth day, with 'to have come into being' indicating allegorically the relationship to rational beings. For as has been said before, being in the potentiality of virtue, we need those things that lead into the very activity of the virtues, which comes from a tetrad to a decad. For the tetrad is potentially a decad, as has already been shown; for according to the composition of the tetrad, the decad is completed. And the firmament, in which the luminaries are, must be understood as faith and perfect virtue, which the psalmist possessed when he said: "And the Lord became my support." And concerning the church it is said: "Who is this coming up, leaning upon her kinsman?" For without the Word it is not possible for the church to be; for he is its support and foundation. And these luminaries themselves are for signs, according to the literal sense often signifying either a kingdom or droughts 41 or rainfalls or some of the other great and useful things, but according to the spiritual sense, as has been said, progress, and often also the desolation of the soul; for the luminaries show this too allegorically. And these also illumine those on the earth; for as many as are not able to partake of the unmixed, perfect light are illumined through the [saints]. And Moses, teaching this, says: "And I stood between the Lord and you", offering your supplications to God, and ministering His graces to you. Thus also the Savior, having become man, is a mediator between God and men; for being God He joins us to the Father, and having become man, in a certain way, as a lover of mankind, the things He heard from the Father, these He also speaks to us. Among the lesser lights than the sun would be also the law, about which the psalmist said: "Your law is a lamp to my feet", indicating that the law illumines the progress and passages of the soul. Thus enlightened, Paul also says: "Let us walk honestly, as in the day"; for being in Christ, such persons are His, each saying: "I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me", and: "I know a man in Christ." For thus they become light from light, so as to enlighten others through their teaching. But one must take 'he set' as signifying 'to show,' as if it were said concerning the Savior that the Father 'set' him heir of all things instead of 'showed'; for He did not make him heir later, but revealed him as being so. "And God saw that it was good." For it is good to be illumined by perceptible light, and much more by intelligible light. 10, 20-23. And God said: Let the waters bring forth creeping things with living souls

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τινες διὰ τούτων δηλοῦνται· πρῶτον γὰρ ὄρθ<ρ>ος γίνεται, ἔπειτα ὡς σελήνη ἐκλεκτὴ ἀντὶ τοῦ πλήρης καὶ ἀνελλιπὴς κατὰ τὴν πλησιφαῆ, -εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἡ αὐτή ἐστιν, διχότομός τε οὖσα καὶ μηνοειδὴς καὶ ἀμφίκυρτος, ἀλλ' ἡ τελεία αὐτῆς κατάστασις ἡ κατὰ τὸ πλησιφαές ἐστιν, ᾧ τὴν νύμφην εἰκάζει-, μεθ' ἃ καὶ ὡς ἥλιός ἐστιν αὕτη, θάμβος διὰ τὴν πολλὴν προκοπὴν καὶ ἕνωσιν. Οἱ οὕτως γινόμενοι φῶς οὐκ ἐκ κατασκευῆς εἰσιν τοιοῦτοι, ἀλλ' ἐκ μετουσίας τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτός. Οἳ καὶ χωρίζουσι "6ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς ἡμέρας"6 καὶ "6ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σκότους"6, τὴν κακίαν καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν διαιροῦντες, καὶ οὕτω καταλάμποντες τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς, οἵτινες οὔπω διὰ πράξεως οὐράνιοί εἰσιν. Σημαίνουσίν τε καιροὺς καὶ ἡμέρας καὶ μῆνας καὶ ἐνιαυτοὺς καταλλήλους, τὸ μέτρον ἑκάστου 40 γνωρίζοντες καὶ πῶς ἔχει ὅδε πρὸς παίδευσιν, καθὰ καὶ τὸν ἰατρόν φαμεν λέγειν εἶναι καιρὸν τροφῆς πρὸς τὸ πῶς ἔχει ὁ τρεφόμενος σκοποῦντα· καὶ γὰρ ἐσθότε νυκτὸς τρέφει ὁ τῇ ἰατρικῇ χρώμενος. Σημαίνει οὖν ὁ ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἡ σὺν αὐτῷ λεχθεῖσα σελήνη καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες καιρὸν τοιοῦτον οἷον καιρὸν μαθημάτων, καιρὸν προκοπῆς, καιρὸν εἰσαγωγῆς, σημαίνουσιν δ[ὲ καὶ] αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα, -ὅταν γὰρ φωτισθῇ τις, καθαρὰ [αὐτ]ὰ τὰ ὑποκείμενα πράγματα-, οὐ τότε τοῦ ἡλίου τῆ[ς δι]καιοσύνης ὑποστάντος ὅτε καὶ σημαίνει, ἀλλ' ὄντος ἀϊδίως, σημαίνοντος δὲ ὅτε οἱ προ- σίοντες χειραγωγίας δέονται. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐν τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ γεγενῆσθαι λέγονται, τοῦ γεγενῆσθαι κατ' ἀλληγορίαν τὴν πρὸς τὰ λογικὰ σχέσιν δηλοῦντος. Ὡς γὰρ προείρηται, ἐν δυνάμει ὄντες ἀρετῆς, χρῄζομεν τῶν ἐναγόντων εἰς αὐτὴν ἐνέργειαν τῶν ἀρετῶν, ἥτις ἐκ τετράδος εἰς δεκάδα ἔρχεται. ∆υνάμει γὰρ δεκὰς ἡ τετράς, ὡς ἤδη δέδεικται· κατὰ γὰρ τὴν τῆς τετράδος σύνθεσιν ἡ δεκὰς ἀπαρτίζεται. Στερέωμα δέ, ἐν ᾧ οἱ φωστῆρες γίνονται, τὴν πίστιν ἐκδεκτέον καὶ τελείαν ἀρετήν, ἣν ἔχων ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς ἔλεγεν· "6Καὶ ἐγένετο Κύριος ἀντιστήριγμά μου."6 Καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας λέγεται· "6Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα, ἐπι- στηριζομένη ἐπὶ τὸν ἀδελφιδὸν αὐτῆς;"6 Ἄνευ γὰρ τοῦ Λόγου οὐχ οἷόν τε εἶναι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν· οὗτος γὰρ ταύτης στήριγμα καὶ θεμέλιος ὑπάρχει. Οὗτοι δὲ αὐτοὶ οἱ φωστῆρες εἰς σημεῖά εἰσιν, κατὰ μὲν τὸ ῥητὸν πολλάκις ἢ βασιλείαν σημαίνοντες ἢ αὐχμοὺς 41 ἢ ἐπομβρίας ἤ τι τῶν ἄλλων κατὰ τὸ χρήσιμον μεγάλων, κατὰ δὲ ἀναγωγήν, ὡς εἴρηται, τὰς προκοπάς, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρημίαν· καὶ τοῦτο γὰρ ὑποδει- κνύουσιν οἱ φωστῆρες κατ' ἀλληγορίαν. Οὗτοι δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς φωτίζουσιν· ὅσοι γὰρ μὴ δύνανται ἀκράτου τοῦ τελείου φωτὸς μετασχεῖν διὰ τοῦ τῶν ἁγί[ων] φω[τ]ίζονται. Καὶ Μωσῆς τοῦτο διδάσκων φησίν· "6Κἀγὼ ἔστην [ἀ]νὰ μέσον Κυρίου καὶ ὑμῶν"6, τὰς ὑμῶν ἱκεσίας τῷ Θεῷ ἀναφ[έρ]ων, τὰς δὲ παρ' αὐτοῦ χάριτας διακονῶν ὑμῖν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος μεσίτης ἐστὶν Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων· Θεὸς γὰρ ὢν τῷ Πατρὶ ἡμᾶς συνάπτει, ἄνθρωπος δὲ γενόμενος τρόπον τινὰ ὡς φιλάνθρωπος ἅπερ ἤκουσεν παρὰ Πατρὸς ταῦτα καὶ λαλεῖ ἡμῖν. Τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων τοῦ ἡλίου φώτων εἴη ἂν καὶ ὁ νόμος, περὶ οὗ εἶπεν ὁ ψαλμῳδός· "6Λύχνος τοῖς ποσίν μου ὁ νόμος σου"6, δηλῶν ὅτι φωτίζει ὁ νόμος τὰς προκοπὰς καὶ διαβάσεις τῆς ψυχῆς. Οὕτω φωτισθεὶς καὶ Παῦλός φησιν· "6Ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὐσχημόνως περιπατήσωμεν"6· ἐν Χριστῷ γὰρ ὄντες οἱ τοιοῦτοι αὐτοῦ εἰσιν λέγοντες ἕκαστος· "6Ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός"6, καί· "6Οἶδα ἄνθρωπον ἐν Χριστῷ."6 Οὕτω γὰρ φῶς ἐκ φωτὸς γίνονται, ὥστε διὰ τῆς διδα- σκαλίας φωτίζειν τοὺς ἄλλους. ∆εῖ δὲ τὸ ἔθετο ὡς σημαῖνον τὸ "3ἀποδείξαι"3 ἐκλαβεῖν ὡς ἐὰν λέγηται περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὅτι ὁ Πατὴρ αὐτὸν ἔθετο κληρόνομον πάντων ἀντὶ τοῦ "3ἀπέδειξεν"3· οὐ γὰρ ὕστερον πεποίηκεν αὐτὸν κληρόνομον, ἀλλ' ὄντα ἐφανέρωσεν. "6Καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι καλόν."6 Καλὸν γὰρ καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ αἰσθητοῦ φωτίζεσθαι φωτός, καὶ πολλῷ πλέον ὑπὸ νοητοῦ. ι, 20-23. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν