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the origin of birds. And they are seen around the throne of God, as having been deemed worthy of the care and providence signified by the living creatures, that is, those on earth. And their being many-eyed shows God's oversight of all things concerning them. and they have no rest day and 74 night; This does not mean that they live some painful and wretched life, unable to rest from toil and from the pressing necessity, but that they never cease from glorifying God, and delighting in melody to him. And saying "holy" seven times alludes to often and unceasingly. For seven is handed down by the divine scripture as meaning "many"; as in "the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become weak," and "the seven eyes of the Lord which look upon all the earth," and "the righteous man delivered seven times from necessities." He who is, he says, and who was and who is to come. The holy and venerable Trinity is signified through these, as has been said before. But it is no worse to say it now, for the divine apostle declared, "to write the same things to you is not tedious for me, but for those who encounter it, it is safe." The Father is named "He who is" by Moses. For he says to him, "I am who I am." And "was," concerning the Son, was said by the evangelist himself, saying, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And he says the Holy Spirit is "coming," for it always visits the souls worthy to receive it. And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before him who is seated on the throne, and will worship him who lives for ever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne saying: "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." 75 With the holy living creatures, he says, the elders give glory to God; and the casting of the crowns before God signifies this: the crown is a symbol of victory and kingship. Therefore, casting them before the throne of God, they attribute the true and real kingship and the victory over all things to the God over all, saying: "To you, Master, is glory owed over all things; for you brought all things from non-being into being, and by your will you established them when they were not before." And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice: "Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to loose its seals?" And no one was able in heaven, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, to open the scroll or to look at it. And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the scroll, or to look at it; and one of the elders says to me: "Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, to open its seven seals." And I saw both in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And he came, and has taken it from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. The divine scripture tells us of a certain book of God, in which all men happen to be written, perhaps calling our memory before God a book tropically, except that 76 the prophet names it a scroll, saying "your eyes saw my unformed substance; and in your book all shall be written." And Moses the most wise, making propitiation for the sinning Israel, and weeping before God, and crying out: "And now if you will forgive their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written." The divine evangelist sees this book written within and on the back. And on the inside might be those from Israel, written as God-fearers by the guidance of the law; but on the back, and in the worse portion, those from the nations as idolaters

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πτηνοῖς ἡ γένεσις. περὶ δὲ τὸν θρόνον ὁρῶνται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς φροντίδος καὶ προνοίας ἠξιωμένων τῶν διὰ τῶν ζώων σημαινομένων, τουτέστι, τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς. τὸ δέ γε πολυόμματον αὐτῶν τὴν περὶ πάντα ἐποψίαν ἐπ' αὐτὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ παραδείκνυσι. καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καὶ 74 νυκτός· οὐ τοῦτό φησιν ὅτι ὀδυνηρόν τινα καὶ μοχθηρὸν διαζῶσι βίον, οὐ δυνάμενα ἐκ τοῦ μόχθου καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐπικειμένης ἀνάγκης ἀναπαύσασθαι, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐ διαστέλλουσί ποτε δοξολογοῦντα τὸν Θεόν, καὶ ἐντρυφῶντα τῇ εἰς αὐτὸν μελωδίᾳ. τὸ δὲ ἑπτάκις λέγειν τὸ ἅγιος, τὸ πολλάκις καὶ ἀκαταπαύστως αἰνίττεται. ἑπτὰ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ παρὰ τῆς θείας γραφῆς παραδέδοται· ὡς τὸ στεῖρα ἔτεκεν ἑπτὰ καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐν τέκνοις ἠσθένησε, καὶ ἑπτὰ ὀφθαλμοὶ Κυρίου οἱ ἐπιβλέποντες ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἑπτάκις ὁ δίκαιος ἐξ ἀναγκῶν ῥυόμενος. ὁ ὤν φησι καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος. ἡ ἁγία διὰ τούτων καὶ σεβασμία δηλοῦται τριὰς καθὼς πρόσθεν εἴρηται. οὐδὲν δὲ χεῖρον καὶ νῦν εἰπεῖν, τὰ γὰρ αὐτὰ γράφειν ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐκ ὀκνηρόν, τοῖς δὲ ἐντυγχάνουσιν ἀσφαλὲς ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος ἀπεφήνατο. ὢν ὁ Πατὴρ ὠνόμασται παρὰ τῷ Μωϋσῇ. φησὶ γὰρ πρὸς αὐτόν, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν. ἦν δέ, περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ εἴρηται αὐτῷ τῷ εὐαγγελιστῇ λέγοντι ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. ἐρχόμενον δέ φησι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, ἀεὶ γὰρ ἐπιφοιτᾷ ταῖς ἀξίαις τοῦ δέξασθαι αὐτὸ ψυχαῖς. καὶ ὅταν δώσει τὰ ζῶα δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν καὶ εὐχαριστίαν τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου, τῷ ζῶντι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώ νων, πεσοῦνται οἱ εἰκοσιτέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἐνώπιον τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου, καὶ προσκυνήσουσι τῷ ζῶντι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ βάλλουσι τοὺς στεφάνους αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου λέγοντες· ἄξιος εἶ, ὁ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, λαβεῖν τὴν δόξαν καὶ τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν· ὅτι σὺ ἔκτισας τὰ πάντα, καὶ διὰ τὸ θέλημα σου ἦσαν καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν. 75 μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων ζώων οἱ πρεσβύτεροι διδόασίν φησιν δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ· τὸ δέ γε βαλεῖν τοὺς στεφάνους ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦτο δηλοῖ· ὁ στέφανος νίκης καὶ βασιλείας ὑπάρχει σύμβολον. βάλλοντες οὖν αὐτοὺς πρὸ τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὴν ὄντως καὶ ἀληθῆ βασιλείαν καὶ τὴν κατὰ πάντων νίκην τῷ ἐπὶ πάντας ἀνατιθέασι Θεῷ, λέγοντες· Σοὶ, δέσποτα, κατὰ πάντων ὀφείλεται δόξα· ὅτι Σὺ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι τὰ πάντα παρήγαγες, καὶ τῷ θελήματί σου ὑπέστησας οὐκ ὄντα πρότερον. καὶ εἶδον ἐπὶ τὴν δεξιὰν τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου βι βλίον γεγραμμένον ἔσωθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν, κατεσφραγισμένον σφραγίσιν ἑπτά. καὶ εἶδον ἄγγελον ἰσχυρὸν κηρύσσοντα ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· τίς ἄξιος ἀνοῖξαι τὸ βιβλίον, καὶ λῦσαι τὰς σφραγίδας αὐτοῦ; καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὐδὲ ὑποκάτω τῆς γῆς, ἀνοῖξαι τὸ βιβλίον οὔτε βλέπειν αὐτό. καὶ ἔκλαιον πολὺ ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἄξιος εὑρέθη ἀνοῖξαι τὸ βιβλίον, οὔτε βλέψαι αὐτό· καὶ εἷς ἐκ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων λέγει μοι· μὴ κλαῖε· ἰδού, ἐνίκησεν ὁ λέων ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Ἰούδα, ἡ ῥίζα ∆αυίδ, ἀνοῖξαι τὰς ἑπτὰ σφραγίδας αὐτοῦ. καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ τῶν τεσσάρων ζώων, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, ἀρνίον ἑστηκὸς ὡς ἐσφαγμένον, ἔχον κέρατα ἑπτὰ καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἑπτὰ, οἵ εἰσι τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀπεσταλμένοι εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. καὶ ἦλθε, καὶ εἴληφεν ἐκ τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου. βίβλον ἡμῖν τινὰ Θεοῦ ἡ θεῖα διηγεῖται γραφή, ἐν ᾗ πάντες ἄνθρωποι τυγχάνουσιν γεγραμμένοι, ἴσως τὴν παρὰ Θεῷ μνήμην ἡμῶν τροπικῶς βίβλον καλοῦσα, πλὴν ὅτι 76 βιβλίον αὐτὴν ὀνομάζει ὁ μὲν προφήτης λέγων τὸ ἀκατέργαστον μου εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου· καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον σου πάντες γραφήσονται. Μωϋσῆς δὲ ὁ σοφώτατος ἐξιλεούμενος ἡμαρτηκότα τὸν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ πρὸς Θεὸν ἀποκλαιόμενος, καὶ βοῶν· καὶ νῦν εἰ μὲν ἀφεὶς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν, ἄφες· εἰ δὲ μὴ, ἐξάλειψόν με ἐκ τῆς βίβλου σου ἧς ἔγραψας. ταύτην ὁ θεῖος εὐαγγελιστὴς ὁρᾷ τὴν βίβλον γεγραμμένην ἔσωθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν. καὶ ἔσωθεν μὲν ἂν εἴησαν, οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραήλ, γεγραμμένοι ὡς θεοσεβεῖς τῇ ὁδηγίᾳ τοῦ νόμου· ὄπισθεν δέ, καὶ ἐν τῇ χείρονι μοίρᾳ, οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ὡς εἰδωλολάτραι