of bread, smelling the sweet fragrance of Christ's myrrh, the oil of gladness, touching the living word; which, being despised by those who judge the things of the spirit to be foolishness and vanity, are not forgotten before God. However, the manifest saying, that not even the least sparrow is forgotten before God, compare with the manifest sayings, that God forgets some on account of their sin. Literally, therefore, the detail of Providence, and the knowledge even of the minute things, is declared in these; but intellectually, the prudent one falls to the earth, like sparrows. When you are carried upward, it seeks the things below for those held by the evils of the flesh, having been given over to a passion of dishonor, and having lost its freedom along with its honor. Such is the one who is raised up by the word, and has thought earthly things. But according to the saying again, this: "It will not fall to the earth without your Father," does not show the will, but the foreknowledge. For of the things that happen, some happen by will, some by good pleasure, and some by permission. CHAP. 13. V. 20. Again therefore He said: "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?" V. 21. It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened. It is to be understood differently, the woman as the Church, and the leaven as the Holy Spirit. And the three measures, body, spirit, soul. And these are sanctified by the leaven of the Holy Spirit, so as to become one lump with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Savior calls the Holy Spirit the leaven, the power perfected from the seed, hinting at this manner. The word of the heavenly kingdom, then, having grown after the first sowing among men, yielding perfect fruit, provides the supply of the Holy Spirit to those who are benefited through the first ones, like leaven leavening a lump. And a woman, the wisdom of God, hides this in three measures of flour. Therefore, to those who have procured from much diligence and the farming of the seed three measures of flour, doctrines, the divine knowledge concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of God supplies the Holy Spirit. And the same, according to another thought, every man of God, being composed of body and soul and spirit, by the supply of divine inspiration, hiding the leaven, the benefit from it, in the three measures of flour that have been understood, until the whole is leavened. This one, then, being qualitied and leavened by the participation of the heavenly leaven, will be called a heavenly and spiritual man, and a new lump, as being of one mixture made from the three given flours, and of the inspiration of the Holy 17.360 Spirit in them. And indeed, having become a new and spiritual bread according to the Apostle, who says: "We, being many, are one bread and one body," we shall take up the image and likeness of the life-giving bread of all, who came down from heaven, having made us also like Himself. And well I will compare the wisdom of God to a woman in these things; for Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God, suitably to the example of the leaven. For just as in the parable of the seed, he introduced the person of a farmer and a sower, a woman not being reasonably mentioned in those things, so neither here, when leaven is brought to three measures of flour, is the parable appropriated, to represent the sower named from that by a woman making bread. V. 29. And they shall come from the east and the west and the north and the south, and shall recline in the kingdom of God. But in Matthew a parable is also woven, through which various workers are called as into a vineyard for the commandments at various ages, as in the morning, and about the third, and sixth and ninth and eleventh hour. Perhaps, then, the whole life of men is the day according to the parable. And those called from childhood and their first age are those hired by the master at dawn; those after boyhood are from the third hour; those elders led to piety after the heat and burden in youth are about the ninth; and those who are already old men at the very departure are signified by
ἄρτου, ὀσφραινόμεναι Χριστοῦ μύρων εὐωδίας, ἐλαίου ἀγαλ λιάσεως, ἁπτόμεναι λόγου ζῶντος· αἵτινες, ἐξευτελι ζόμεναι ὑπὸ τῶν τὰ πνεύματος μωρίαν καὶ εὔω κρινόντων, οὔκ εἰσιν ἐπιλελησμέναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τὸ μέντοι ἐμφαῖνον ῥητὸν, μηδὲ τὸ ἐλάχιστον στρουθίον ἐπιλελησμένον εἶναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, συνεξέτασον τοῖς ἐμφαίνουσι ῥητοῖς, ἐπιλανθάνεσθαί τινων τὸν Θεὸν δι' ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν. Ῥητῶς μὲν οὖν τὸ λεπτομερὲς τῆς Προνοίας, καὶ ἡ μέχρι τῶν λεπτῶν γνῶσις, ἐν τούτοις δηλοῦται· νοητῶς δὲ πίπτει ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οἷα στρουθία, τὸ φρόνιμον. Ἐπὰν δὲ ἄνω φέρεσθε, τὰ κάτω ζητεῖ τοῖς τῆς σαρκὸς ἐνεχο μένοις κακοῖς, παραδοθὲν εἰς πάθος ἀτιμίας, καὶ τὸ ἐλεύθερον μετὰ τοῦ τιμίου ἀπολελωκός. Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὁ ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου μετεωρισθεὶς, καὶ τὰ γήϊνα φρονή σας. Κατὰ δὲ τὸ ῥητὸν πάλιν, τό· Οὐ πεσεῖται ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἄνευ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑμῶν, οὐ τὴν βούλησιν δείκνυσιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν πρόγνωσιν. Τῶν γὰρ γινομένων, ἃ μὲν κατὰ βούλησιν γίνεται, ἃ δὲ κατ' εὐδοκίαν, ἃ δὲ κατὰ συγχώρησιν. ΚΕΦ. ΙΓʹ. Στίχ. κʹ. Πάλιν οὖν εἶπε· Τίνι ὁμοιώσω τὴν βα σιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Στίχ. καʹ. Ὁμοία ἐστὶ ζύμῃ, ἣν λαβοῦσα γυνὴ ἔκρυψεν εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία, ἕως οὗ ἐζυμώθη ὅλον. Ἑτέρως ἐστὶ λαβεῖν, τὴν μὲν γυναῖκα εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, τὴν δὲ ζύμην εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Σάτα δὲ τρία, σῶμα, πνεῦμα, ψυχήν. Ἁγιάζεται δὲ ταῦτα τῇ ζύμῃ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ὥστε γενέσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἓν φύραμα. Ἔτι ζύμην τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σπόρου τελεσιουργηθεῖσαν δύναμιν ὁ Σωτὴρ ὀνομάζει τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τοῦτον αἰνιξάμενος τὸν τρόπον. Ὁ γοῦν τῆς οὐρανίου βασιλείας λόγος, μετὰ τὴν πρώτην ἐν ἀνθρώποις σπορὰν αὐξηθεὶς, καρπὸν ἀποδοὺς ἐντελῆ, τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τὴν ἐπιχορη γίαν τοῖς διὰ τῶν πρώτων ὠφελουμένοις παρέχει, ζύμης δίκην φύραμα ζυμούσης. Γυνὴ δὲ ταύτην, ἡ σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία ἐγκρύπτει. Τοῖς γοῦν πορισαμένοις ἐκ πολλῆς ἐπιμελείας καὶ τῆς τοῦ σπόρου γεωργίας ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία, δόγματα, θείαν γνῶσιν τὴν περὶ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα χο ρηγεῖ. Ἡ δ' αὐτὴ, καθ' ἑτέραν διάνοιαν, πάντα τὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον ἐκ σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύ ματος συνεστῶτα, τῇ ἐπιχορηγίᾳ τῆς θείας ἐμπνεύ σεως, ζύμην ἐγκρύπτουσα, τὴν ἐξ αὐτῆς ὠφέλειαν, εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία τὰ νενοημένα, ἕως οὗ ζυμωθῇ ὅλον. Οὗτος γοῦν, τῇ μετοχῇ τῆς οὐρανίου ζύμης ποιωθεὶς καὶ ζυμωθεὶς, οὐράνιος καὶ πνευματικὸς χρηματίσεται ἄνθρωπος, καὶ νέον φύραμα, ὡς ὂν μιᾶς κράσεως γενομένης τῶν τριῶν ἀλεύρων ἀποδε δομένων, καὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐμπνεύσεως τοῦ ἁγίου 17.360 Πνεύματος. Καὶ δὴ νέος ἄρτος καὶ πνευματικὸς γε νόμενοι κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, ὅς φησιν· Εἷς ἄρτος καὶ ἓν σῶμά ἐσμεν οἱ πολλοὶ, εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἀναληψόμεθα τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ τῶν ὄλων ἄρτου, ὃς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβέβηκεν, ἑαυτῷ παραπλησίους καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀπεργασάμενος. Εὖ δὲ γυναικὶ ἀφομοιώσω τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τούτοις· Χριστὸς δέ ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμις, καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία, καταλλήλως τῷ τῆς ζύμης ὑποδείγματι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς παραβολῆς τοῦ σπόρου, γεωργοῦ πρόσωπον καὶ σπορέως εἰσῆγεν, οὐκ ἂν εὐλόγως ἐν ἐκείνοις μνημονευθείσης γυναικὸς, οὔτε κἀνταῦθα ἐπὶ ζύμης φερομένης εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία, οἰκειοῦται ἡ παραβολὴ, γυναικὶ ἀρτοποιου μένῃ τὸν ἐξ ἐκείνης ὠνομασμένον σπορέα ἀπεικάσαι. Στίχ. κθʹ. Καὶ ἥξουσιν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυ σμῶν καὶ βοῤῥᾶ καὶ νότου, καὶ ἀνακλιθήσον ται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Παρὰ δὲ τῷ Ματθαίῳ καὶ παραβολὴ πλέκεται, δι' ἧς καλοῦνται ὡς εἰς ἀμπελῶνα εἰς τὰς ἐντολὰς ἐρ γάται διάφοροι ἐν διαφόροις ἡλικίαις, ὡς ἐν πρωΐᾳ, καὶ περὶ τρίτην, καὶ ἕκτην καὶ ἐνάτην καὶ ἑνδεκάτην ὥραν. Τάχα μὲν οὖν ἅπας ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίος ἐστὶν ἡ κατὰ τὴν παραβολὴν ἡμέρα. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐκ παίδων καὶ πρώτης ἡλικίας κληθέντες οἱ ἅμα τῇ ἕῳ μισθω θέντες εἰσὶ παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου· οἱ δὲ μετὰ τὸ μειρά κιον οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς τρίτης ὥρας· οἱ δὲ μετὰ τὸν ἐν νεό τητι καύσωνα καὶ τὸ βάρος ἐπὶ τὴν θεοσέβειαν ἀγό μενοι πρεσβύται οἱ περὶ τὴν ἐνάτην· οἱ δὲ πρὸς αὐτῇ τῇ ἐξόδῳ γέροντες ἤδη δηλοῦνται διὰ