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evil powers and makes them manifest, so that they might not, being hidden, harm immoderately and so that those who have the struggle against them may know them; for thus it also happens that they despise them. And God wills these things to be outside the waters, wanting them for a little while, as in an introduction to virtue, to stand away from evil, - for one who is in evil, and so much of it, does not receive a sudden transition to perfection, but according to progress and a certain increase always acquiring something more of virtue, - so that thus from standing upon the earth they may also become birds of heaven according to those who hear: "If you sleep among the lots, the wings of a dove covered with silver and her back in the pale green of gold", calling the passages of the waters 'lots' as in "Issachar desired what is good, resting between the lots", which would be both the old and new covenant, giving wings to the one who rests between them and compares the aforementioned things with their outcome so as to have the wings of a dove, in the likeness of which the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus. These wings are thoughts, having a chariot and heavenly magnitude, and from this are also called doves, just as the one who betrothed her names the bride, saying: "My dove, my perfect one." And concerning the saints it is said: "Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with their young?" calling the ones discipled under the perfect ones 'the young of doves', such as Paul being a dove and having Timothy as a young one, and Peter, Mark the evangelist. And among the ancients, some were recorded as sons of the prophets, whom you would not be wrong to call the young of the doves which are the prophets. But the same ones are called young birds and clouds in different respects; for inasmuch as they bear divine and spiritual rain, passing this on to others for their benefit, they are clouds, but inasmuch as they are formed according to the participation in the Holy Spirit, they are doves, which are covered with silver, adorned with the divine word, educated from the divine scriptures. For that silver signifies the word is clear from "the tongue of the righteous is refined silver". For it is not perceptible silver, but since the tongue is an instrument of the word, it has been taken as its symbol. And this has been refined by fire, seeing that it deals not with ordinary things but with the heavenly light, which Jesus came to earth wishing to cast, wanting it to be kindled already. But also the tongues as if of fire that appeared to the apostles, which also sat upon each one of them, signify the divine and teaching word. And the backs of these, or of the doves, are adorned in the pale green of gold, the mind being indicated through the gold, and through the pale green, that which is life-giving and unfading. "As many, therefore, as are adorned with wisdom, by which God wishes to take away the creeping things from the waters, these are doves, having a different mind, being lifted up on the wings of truth and always having the life-giving Spirit in themselves. And these same things God also blesses, so that they may receive an increase of multitude and of growth; of multitude, so that they might show others to be imitators; and of growth, so that they themselves may always, in their progress, have a love for the perfect good. And "and fill the waters" would mean that you no longer happen to be submerged, being choked by the bonds of sin, but you, being in control of yourselves, continue moving above yourselves; or perhaps, since water has its own proper fulfillment and use—both cleansing and giving drink, and choking and holding fast—he exhorts that, having departed from the things that happen by it contrary to intention and contrary to purpose, I mean being held fast and being choked, being bound tight by the chains of sins, you should proceed to those things, both being given drink from water that is pure and does not choke, and being cleansed, being delivered from all filth, filling

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π[ο]νηρὰς δυνάμεις καὶ φανεροῖ ταύτας, ἵνα μὴ λανθάνοντες ἀμέτρως βλάπ- τωσιν καὶ ἵνα οἱ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔχοντες τὴν πάλην γινώσκωσιν αὐτούς· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ καταφρονῆσαι αὐτῶν συμβαίνει. Ταῦτα δὲ ἔξω τῶν ὑδάτων βούλεται εἶναι Θεὸς ὀλίγον αὐτὰ τέως ὡς ἐν εἰσαγωγῇ ἀρετῆς ἀποστῆναι κακίας θέλων, -οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ τοσαύτῃ γε ἀθρόαν δέχεται τὴν μετάστασιν ἐπὶ τὸ τέλειον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ προκοπὴν καὶ ἐπίδοσίν τινα προσλαμβάνων ἀεί τι τῆς ἀρετῆς, - ἵν' οὕτω ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ γῆς ἵστασθαι καὶ πετεινὰ οὐρανοῦ γένωνται κατὰ τοὺς ἀκούοντας· "6Ἐὰν κοιμηθῆτε ἀνὰ 46 μέσον τῶν κλήρων πτέρυγες περιστερᾶς περιηργυ<ρω>μέναι καὶ μετάφρενα αὐτῆς ἐν χλωρότητι χρυσίου"6, κλήρους λέγων τὰς διόδους τῶν ὑδάτων ὡς ἐν τῷ "6Ἰσαὰκ τὸ καλὸν ἐπεθύμησεν ἀναπαυόμενος ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν κλήρων"6, οἵτινες εἶεν ἥ τε παλαιὰ καὶ καινὴ διαθήκη πτεροῦσαι τὸν ἀνὰ μέσον αὐτῶν διαναπαυόμενον καὶ συμβάλλοντα τὰ προειρημένα τῇ τούτω[ν ἐ]κβάσει ὡς πτέρυγας ἔχειν περιστερᾶς, ᾗ εἰκασθὲν τὸ ἅγιον [Π]νεῦμα ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν κατελήλυθεν. Αὕται αἱ πτέρυγες νοήσεις [εἰ]σὶν δίαρμα καὶ μέγεθος οὐράνιον ἔχουσαι, ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ περιστεραὶ καλούμεναι, καθὰ καὶ τὴν νύμφην οὕτως ὀνομάζ[ει] ὁ μνηστευσάμενος αὐτὴν λέγων· "6Περιστερά μου τελεία μου."6 Καὶ περὶ τῶν ἁγίων δὲ εἴρηται· "6Τίνες οἵδε ὡς νεφέλαι πέτονται καὶ ὡς περιστεραὶ σὺν νεοσσοῖς;"6 νεοσσοὺς λέγ̣ων περιστερῶν τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῖς τελείοις μαθη- τευομένους, οἷος Παῦλος περιστερὰ τυγχάνων καὶ ἔχων νεοττὸν Τιμόθεον καὶ Πέτρος τὸν εὐαγγελιστὴν Μάρκον. Καὶ ἐπὶ τ[ῶ]ν̣ παλαιῶν δὲ ἀνεγρά[φ]η[σά]ν τινες υἱοὶ προφη̣τ̣ῶν, οὕστινας νεοσσοὺς περιστερῶν τῶν προφητῶν λέγω̣ν ο̣υ᾿̣κ ἂν ἁμάρτοις. Οἱ αὐτοὶ δὲ κατ' ἄλλο καὶ ἄλλο νεοττοὶ λέγονται καὶ νεφέλαι· ᾗ γὰρ φέρουσιν ὑετὸν θεῖον καὶ πνευμα̣τικόν, τοῦτον τοῖς ἄλλοις παρα- πέμποντες εἰς ὠφέλιαν, νεφέλαι τυγχάνουσιν, ᾗ δὲ τυποῦνται κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος μετουσίαν, περιστεραὶ ὑπάρχουσιν, αἵτινες περιηργυ<ρω>μέναι εἰ[σί]ν, λόγῳ θείῳ κεκοσμημέναι, ἐκ τῶν θειῶν πεπαιδευμέναι γραφῶν. Ὅτι γὰρ ὁ ἄργυρος σημαίνει τὸν λόγον, δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ "6ἄργυρος πεπυρωμένος γλῶσσα δικαίου"6. Οὐ γὰρ ἡ αἰσθητὴ ἄργυρος, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ὄργανον λόγου ἐστὶν ἡ γλῶσσα, αὐτοῦ καὶ σύμβολον εἴλημπται. Οὗτος δὲ πεπύρωσται ἅτε 47 οὐ περὶ τῶν τυχόντων ἀλλὰ τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ οὐρανίου διαλαμβάνων, οὗ ἦλθεν Ἰησοῦς ἐπὶ γῆς βαλε[ῖ]ν θέλων ἤδη αὐτὸ ἐξαφθῆναι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις φανεῖσαι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, αἳ καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐφ' ἕνα ἑκαστὸν αὐτῶν, τὸν θεῖον λόγον καὶ διδακτικὸν σημ̣[αί]- νο[υ]σιν. Καὶ τὰ μετάφρενα δὲ τούτων ἢ τῶν περιστερῶν ἐν χ[λωρότη]τι χρυσίου διακεκόσμηνται, δηλουμένου διὰ μὲν τοῦ χ[ρυσίο]υ τοῦ νοῦ, διὰ δὲ τῆς χλωρότητος τοῦ ζωτικοῦ καὶ ἀμαρα´̣[ντου]. "6Ὅσοι οὖν σοφίᾳ κεκόσμηνται, καθ' ἣν βούλεται Θεὸς τ[ὰ ἑρπ]όμενα ἀπὸ τῶν ὑδάτων ἀφελέσθαι, οὗτοι περιστερ[αί εἰσι]ν ἕτερον νοῦν ἔχοντες, πτεροῖς τῆς ἀληθείας ὑψούμενοι καὶ ἀεὶ τὸ ζωοποιὸν Πνεῦμα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοντες. Ταῦτα δ' αὐτὰ καὶ εὐλογεῖ Θεός, ὅπως ἐπίδοσιν πλήθους καὶ αὐξήσεως δέχωνται, πλήθους μὲν ἵνα μιμητὰς ἄλλους ἀποδείξωσιν, αὐξή[σε]ως δὲ ὅπως ἀεὶ αὐτοὶ τῇ προκο̣π̣ῃ῀̣ τοῦ τελείου ἀγαθοῦ ἔρωτα ἔχωσιν. Τὸ δὲ "6καὶ πληρώσατε τ[ὰ ὕ]δα[τα]"6 σημαίνοι ἂν ὅτι μη̣κέ[τι] ὑμεῖς βύθιοι τυγχάνετε [συμ]πν[ιγ]όμενοι τοῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεσμοῖς, ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ κρατο[ῦν]τες αὑτῶν ὑπεράνω αὑτῶ<ν> χωροῦντες διατελεῖτε· ἢ τάχα, ἐπεὶ τὸ ὕδωρ οἰκεῖαν ἔχει πλήρωσιν καὶ χρῆσιν τήν τε κάθαρσιν καὶ τὸ ποτίζειν συμπνίγειν τε καὶ συνέχειν, παραινεῖ ὅτι τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ παρὰ πρόθεσιν κα̣ι`̣ παρὰ σκοπὸν συμβαινόντων ἀποστάντες, τοῦ συνέχεσθαι λέγω καὶ συμπνίγεσθαι, ταῖς σειραῖς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν συσφιγγο[μέ]ν̣ους, πρὸς ἐκεῖνα χωρεῖτε, τό τε ποτίζεσθαι ἀπὸ ὕδατος κ̣[α]θαροῦ καὶ μὴ συμπνίγοντος καὶ τὸ καθαίρεσθ̣αι παντὸς ἀπαλλαττόμενοι ῥύπου, πληροῦντες