you did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” 4.2.4 The way, therefore, that appears to us for how one ought to approach the scriptures and apprehend their meaning is of such a kind, traced out from the oracles themselves. In Solomon, in the Proverbs, we find something like this commanded concerning the written divine doctrines: “And do you portray them threefold in counsel and knowledge, that you may answer words of truth to those who question you.” Therefore, one ought to inscribe the meanings of the holy writings threefold in one's own soul; so that the simpler person might be built up from what is, as it were, the flesh of the scripture, this being our name for the obvious interpretation, the one who has advanced to some degree, from what is like its soul, and the one who is perfect and like those spoken of by the apostle: “But we speak wisdom among the perfect; but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away. But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God foreordained before the ages for our glory,” from “the spiritual law,” which contains “a shadow of the good things to come.” For just as man is composed of body and soul and spirit, in the same way also is the scripture, which was provided by God's economy for the salvation of men. For this reason, we also interpret in this way the passage in the book despised by some, the Shepherd, concerning Hermas being commanded to “write two little books,” and after this to “report to the elders of the church” what he learned from the spirit. The text is this: “You will write two little books, and you will give one to Clement and one to Grapte. And Grapte will instruct the widows and the orphans, but Clement will send it to the foreign cities, and you will report to the elders of the church.” For Grapte, who “instructs the widows and the orphans,” is the bare letter itself, instructing those who are children in soul and not yet able to claim God as father and for this reason are called “orphans,” and also instructing those who no longer consort with the lawless bridegroom, but are “widowed” because they have not yet become worthy of the <heavenly> “bridegroom”. But Clement, who is already departing from the letter, is said to send what is spoken “to the foreign cities,” as if we were to say to the souls who are outside of bodily and lower thoughts. And no longer through letters, but through living words the disciple of the spirit himself is commanded “to report to the elders of the whole church of God,” who have been made gray by wisdom. 4.2.5 But since there are some scriptures that in no way have the somatic sense, as we will show in what follows, there are places where one must seek only, as it were, the soul and the spirit of the scripture. And perhaps for this reason the “water jars set for the purification of the Jews,” as we have read in the Gospel according to John, “contain two or three measures each”; the word hinting about those who according to the apostle are “Jews in secret,” that these are purified through the word of the scriptures, in some places containing “two measures,” that is, the psychical and the spiritual word, so to speak, but in other places “three,” since some have, in addition to the aforementioned, also the somatic sense which is able to build up. “Six” “water jars” are reasonably for those being purified in the world, which was created in six days, a perfect number. 4.2.6 Now, that the first interpretation is beneficial in this respect, that it is possible to profit from it, the multitude of those who have believed genuinely and more simply bears witness; but of the narrative that is, as it were, referred to the soul, an example is what is found in Paul in the first letter to the Corinthians. “For it is written,” he says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing.” Then, expounding this law, he adds: “Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Or does he say it entirely for our sake? For our sake it was written, because the one who plows ought to plow in hope, and the one who threshes, in hope of sharing in the crop.” And very many interpretations which are current, suiting the multitudes and edifying those who are unable to hear higher things, are in some way of the same kind

οὐκ εἰσήλθετε, καὶ τοὺς εἰσερχομένους ἐκωλύσατε». 4.2.4 Ἡ τοίνυν φαινομένη ἡμῖν ὁδὸς τοῦ πῶς δεῖ ἐντυγχάνειν ταῖς γραφαῖς καὶ τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν ἐκλαμβάνειν ἐστὶ τοιαύτη, ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν λογίων ἐξιχνευομένη. παρὰ τῷ Σολομῶντι ἐν ταῖς Παρ οιμίαις εὑρίσκομεν τοιοῦτόν τι προστασσόμενον περὶ τῶν γεγραμμέ νων θείων δογμάτων· «καὶ σὺ δὲ ἀπόγραψαι αὐτὰ τρισσῶς ἐν βουλῇ καὶ γνώσει, τοῦ ἀποκρίνασθαι λόγους ἀληθείας τοῖς προβαλλομένοις σοι». οὐκοῦν τριχῶς ἀπογράφεσθαι δεῖ εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν τὰ τῶν ἁγίων γραμμάτων νοήματα· ἵνα ὁ μὲν ἁπλούστερος οἰκοδομῆται ἀπὸ τῆς οἱονεὶ σαρκὸς τῆς γραφῆς, οὕτως ὀνομαζόντων ἡμῶν τὴν πρό χειρον ἐκδοχήν, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ ποσὸν ἀναβεβηκὼς ἀπὸ τῆς ὡσπερεὶ ψυχῆς αὐτῆς, ὁ δὲ τέλειος καὶ ὅμοιος τοῖς παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ λεγομένοις· «σοφίαν δὲ λαλοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις, σοφίαν δὲ οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τού του οὐδὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τῶν καταργουμένων, ἀλλὰ λαλοῦμεν θεοῦ σοφίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην, ἣν προώρισεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς δόξαν ἡμῶν», ἀπὸ «τοῦ πνευ ματικοῦ νόμου», «σκιὰν περιέχοντος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν». ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος συνέστηκεν ἐκ σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἡ οἰκονομηθεῖσα ὑπὸ θεοῦ εἰς ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίαν δοθῆναι γραφή. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἡμεῖς καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ ὑπό τινων καταφρονουμένῳ βιβλίῳ, τῷ Ποιμένι, περὶ τοῦ προστάσσεσθαι τὸν Ἑρμᾶν «δύο γράψαι βιβλία», καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτὸν «ἀναγγέλλειν τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τῆς ἐκκλησίας» ἃ μεμάθηκεν ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος, οὕτω διηγούμεθα. ἔστι δὲ ἡ λέξις αὕτη· «γράψεις δύο βιβλία, καὶ δώσεις ἓν Κλήμεντι καὶ ἓν Γραπτῇ. καὶ Γραπτὴ μὲν νουθετήσει τὰς χήρας καὶ τοὺς ὀρφανούς, Κλήμης δὲ πέμψει εἰς τὰς ἔξω πόλεις, σὺ δὲ ἀναγγελεῖς τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τῆς ἐκκλησίας». Γραπτὴ μὲν γάρ, ἡ «νουθετοῦσα τὰς χήρας καὶ τοὺς ὀρφανούς», αὐτὸ ψιλόν ἐστι τὸ γράμμα, νουθετοῦν τοὺς παῖδας τὰς ψυχὰς καὶ μηδέπω πατέρα θεὸν ἐπιγράψασθαι δυναμένους καὶ διὰ τοῦτο «ὀρφανοὺς» καλουμένους, νουθετοῦν δὲ καὶ τὰς μηκέτι μὲν τῷ παρανόμῳ νυμφίῳ χρωμένας, «χηρευούσας» δὲ τῷ μηδέπω ἀξίας αὐτὰς τοῦ <οὐρανίου> «νυμφίου» γεγονέναι. Κλήμης δέ, ὁ ἤδη τοῦ γράμματος ἐξιστάμενος, «εἰς τὰς ἔξω πόλεις» λέγεται πέμπειν τὰ λεγόμενα, ὡς εἰ λέγοιμεν τὰς ἔξω τῶν σωματικῶν καὶ τῶν κάτω νοημάτων τυγχανούσας ψυχάς. οὐκέτι δὲ διὰ γραμμάτων, ἀλλὰ διὰ ζώντων λόγων αὐτὸς ὁ μαθητὴς τοῦ πνεύματος προστάσσεται «ἀναγγέλλειν τοῖς τῆς πάσης ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ πρεσβυτέροις» πεπολιωμένοις ὑπὸ φρονήσεως. 4.2.5 Ἀλλ' ἐπεί εἰσί τινες γραφαὶ τὸ σωματικὸν οὐδαμῶς ἔχου σαι, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς δείξομεν, ἔστιν ὅπου οἱονεὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς γραφῆς μόνα χρὴ ζητεῖν. καὶ τάχα διὰ τοῦτο αἱ «ἐπὶ καθαρισμῷ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὑδρίαι κεῖσθαι» λεγόμεναι, ὡς ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγελίῳ ἀνέγνωμεν, «χωροῦσιν ἀνὰ μετρητὰς δύο ἢ τρεῖς»· αἰνισσομένου τοῦ λόγου περὶ τῶν παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ «ἐν κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαίων», ὡς ἄρα οὗτοι καθαρίζονται διὰ τοῦ λόγου τῶν γραφῶν, ὅπου μὲν «δύο μετρητάς», τὸν ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω ψυχικὸν καὶ τὸν πνευ ματικὸν λόγον, χωρούντων, ὅπου δὲ «τρεῖς», ἐπεί τινες ἔχουσι πρὸς τοῖς προειρημένοις καὶ τὸ σωματικὸν οἰκοδομῆσαι δυνάμενον. «ἓξ» δὲ «ὑδρίαι» εὐλόγως εἰσὶ τοῖς ἐν κόσμῳ καθαριζομένοις, γεγενημένῳ ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις, ἀριθμῷ τελείῳ. 4.2.6 Ἀπὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς πρώτης ἐκδοχῆς καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ὠφε λούσης ὅτι ἔστιν ὄνασθαι, μαρτυρεῖ τὰ πλήθη τῶν γνησίως καὶ ἁπλούστερον πεπιστευκότων· τῆς δὲ ὡς ἂν εἰς ψυχὴν ἀναγομένης διηγήσεως παράδειγμα τὸ παρὰ τῷ Παύλῳ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ πρὸς Κοριν θίους κείμενον. «γέγραπται γάρ·» φησιν «οὐ φιμώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα». ἔπειτα διηγούμενος τοῦτον τὸν νόμον ἐπιφέρει· «μὴ τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ θεῷ; ἢ δι' ἡμᾶς πάντως λέγει; δι' ἡμᾶς γὰρ ἐγράφη, ὅτι ὀφείλει ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριᾶν καὶ ὁ ἀλοῶν ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τοῦ μετέχειν». καὶ πλεῖσται δὲ περιφερόμεναι τοῖς πλήθεσιν ἁρμόζουσαι ἑρμηνεῖαι καὶ οἰκοδομοῦσαι τοὺς ὑψηλοτέρων ἀκούειν μὴ δυναμένους τὸν αὐτόν πως ἔχουσι