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this very thing having happened. "There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John." "and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." Each of these can say these words: "Upon you I was cast from the womb," the words: "from my mother's womb you have been my God." But if it is said concerning Samuel: "And Samuel, before he knew God," it seems to conflict with what has been said. Therefore, let us look at it more prudently, as the Word of God wills. Job says: "if I have eaten my morsel alone and have not shared it with the orphan, if not as a father I guided them from my mother's womb"; for how was he able from his mother's womb to provide for orphans and care for orphans? Thus, then, I understand it: he recounts a praiseworthy action; but the action takes its beginning when the reason is fulfilled. I am able then to say this: he says that: I did good things not after bad things, but my reason, being fulfilled, began from praiseworthy things; so that for now we may leave aside those things, that from somewhere else he has brought such a state "pleasing to God." Since, therefore, there is another birth besides the obvious one, and that birth is in a way a mother, one is drawn out from a womb, from this womb; for no one can bring a person to light from this womb except God alone. And from the breasts appropriate to the milk which those who are just beginning to worship God receive, from those breasts they have their hope in God. But milk often signifies something else as well; "those who are weaned from milk? They expected hope upon affliction." Surely one who has just ceased from milk and been weaned from his mother's breasts cannot expect hope upon affliction. Often the infant is spoken of in relation to the perfect man, with the ages in between being passed over in silence; "when I was a child,... when I became a man." But he became a man not through a first and single change, but through many changes. The one, therefore, who is in the state of an infant and has a weaker disposition is fed with milk. But when one is able to become great, then he is weaned from milk and then he is prepared for athletic strength, to pursue and achieve "affliction upon affliction and hope upon hope." "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again..., and you have come to need milk and not solid food." You see that he passed over the middle things in silence, but took the extremes. Therefore, such things are often said with the middle things passed over in silence. 11 From my mother's womb you have been my God. As from his mother's womb, according to the previous interpretation, from his mother's womb Job guided orphans; that is, from my mother's womb, that is, from when I began to have knowledge, I served no other god, not my belly, not mammon. But if the other, that thus I came down having God as my God. But we do not say this about all, but about those acclaimed in scripture that they have almost never been in sin, such as John, Jeremiah. "For you are he who took me from the womb." I have spoken of the 'taking out' also according to a previous plausible thought, that: since the member of Mary, in which she gives birth, had no exit, she gave birth by the cooperation of God. "my hope from my mother's breasts." Not after perfection did I begin to hope, but from my mother's breasts I had you as my hope. If it is understood concerning the holy one, we say that: the mother of the saints is the Jerusalem above. From her breasts those who hope receive hope, from those who have discipled them; for often the breast signifies not the member, but the milk itself. "Upon you I was cast from the womb, from my mother's womb you have been my God." Upon you I was cast; not upon another was I cast, then after him upon you. This has been explained, that from when I began to know piety, I revered you, I served you. But according to the deeper meaning, that I came thus having you as God, like John. The "he will yet be filled": For "yet" is not said concerning that which not at all

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αὐτὸ τοῦτο γενομένου. "ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος, ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης". "καὶ πνεύματος ἁ γίου πλησθήσεται ἔτι ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ". ἕκαστος τούτων δύναται τὰς φωνὰς ταύτας εἰπεῖν τό· "ἐπὶ σὲ ἐπερίφην ἐκ μήτρας", τό· "ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου θεός μου εἶ σύ". ἐὰν δὲ περὶ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ λέγηται· "καὶ Σαμουὴλ πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι θεόν", δοκεῖ μάχεσθαι τοῖς εἰρημένοις. λοιπὸν ἴδωμεν αὐτὸ φρονιμώτερον, ὡς ὁ θεὸς βούλεται λόγος. ὁ Ἰὼβ λέγει· "εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν ψωμόν μου ἔφαγον μόνος καὶ ὀρφανῷ οὐ μετέδωκα, εἰ μὴ ὡς πατὴρ ὡδήγουν αὐτοὺς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου"· πῶς γὰρ ἠδύνατο ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ὀρφανῶν προνοεῖσθαι καὶ φροντίζειν ὀρφανῶν; οὕτω τοίνυν λαμβάνω· πρᾶξιν ἐπαινετὴν διέξεισιν· τότε δὲ ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει ἡ πρᾶξις, ὅταν συνπληρωθῇ ὁ λόγος. δύναμαι οὖν τοῦτο· λέγει ὅτι· τὰ καλὰ ἔπραξα οὐ μετὰ τὰ κακά, ἀλλὰ ὁ λόγος μοι συνπληρωθεὶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπαινετῶν ἤρξατο· ἵνα ἐκεῖνα τέως ἐάσωμεν τὸ ἄλλοθέν ποθεν κεκομικέναι τὴν τοιαύτην κατάστασιν τὴν "εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ". ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἔστιν ἄλλη γένεσις παρὰ τὴν πρόχειρον, κἀκείνη μὲν ἡ γένεσις τρόπον τινὰ μήτηρ ἐστίν, ἐκσπᾶταί τις ἐκ μήτρας, ἐκ ταύτης τῆς μήτρας· οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται ἐκ ταύτης τῆς μήτρας ἄνθρωπος ἀγαγεῖν εἰς φῶς ἢ θεὸς μόνος. καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν μαστῶν τῶν καταλλήλων τῷ γάλακτι ᾧν δέχονται οἱ ἄρτι θεοσεβεῖν ἀρχόμενοι, ἐκ μαστῶν ἐκείνων τὴν ἐλπίδα πρ̣ὸς θεὸν ἔχουσιν. σημαίνει δὲ πολλάκις τὸ γάλα καὶ ἕτερόν τι· "οἱ ἀπεσπασμένοι ἀπὸ γάλακτος; ἐλπίδα ἐπὶ θλῖψιν προσεδέχου". μὴ ὁ ἄρτι τοῦ γάλακτος παυσάμενος καὶ ἀποσπασθεὶς τῶν μαστῶν τῆς μητρὸς δύναται ἐλπίδα ἐπὶ θλῖψιν προσδέχεσθαι. πολλάκις πρὸς τὸν τέλειον ἄνδρα ὁ νήπιος λέγεται παρασιωπωμένων τῶν μεταξὺ ἡλικιῶν· "ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ". γέγονεν δὲ ἀνὴρ οὐ κατὰ πρώτην καὶ μίαν μεταβολήν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πολ31 λῶν μεταβολήν. ὁ τοίνυν νηπίου κατάστασιν φέρων καὶ ἀσθενεστέραν διάθεσιν ἔχων γαλακτοδοτεῖται. ὅταν δὲ δυνηθῇ μέγας τις γενέσθαι, τότε ἀποσπᾶται ἀπὸ τοῦ γάλακτος καὶ τότε παρασκευάζεται εἰς ἀθλητικὴν δύναμιν, τὴν "θλῖψιν ἐπὶ θλίψει καὶ ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι" μεταδιώκειν καὶ κατορθοῖν. "καὶ γὰρ ὀφείλοντες εἶναι διδάσκαλοι διὰ τὸν χρόνον, πάλιν χρείαν ἔχετε τοῦ διδάσκεσθαι ὑμᾶς, καὶ γεγόνατε χρείαν ἔχοντες γάλακτος, οὐ στερεᾶς τροφῆς". ὁρᾷς, ὅτι τὰ μέσα παρεσιώπησεν, τὰ δὲ ἄκρα ἔλαβεν. πολλάκις οὖν λέγεται τὰ τοιαῦτα παρασιωπωμένων τῶν μέσων. 11 ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου θεός μου εἶ σύ. ὡς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς κατὰ τὴν κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀπόδοσιν ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ὡδήγει Ἰὼβ ὀρφανούς· τουτέστιν ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός, τουτέστιν ἀφ' οὗ ἠρξάμην γνῶσιν ἔχειν, οὐκ ἄλλῳ θεῷ ἐλάτρευσα, οὐ τῇ κοιλία μου, οὐ τῷ μαμωνᾷ. ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἄλλο, ὅτι οὕτω κατῆλθον θεὸν ἔχων τὸν θεόν. οὐ περὶ πάντων δὲ τοῦτο λέγομεν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν βεβοημένων ἐν τῇ γραφῇ ὅτι οὐδέποτε σχεδὸν ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ γεγένηνται, οἷον Ἰωάννου, Ἰηρεμίου. "ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐκσπάσας με ἐκ γαστρός". εἶπον τὸ ἐκσπάσαι καὶ κατὰ προτέραν πιθανὴν διάνοιαν ὅτι· ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν διέξοδον ἔχον τὸ μέλος τῆς Μαρίας, ἐν ᾧ τίκτει, θεοῦ συνεργείᾳ τέτοκεν. "ἡ ἐλπίς μου ἀπὸ μαστῶν τῆς μητρός μου". οὐ μετὰ τὴν τελείωσιν ἠρξάμην ἐλπίζειν, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τῶν μαστῶν τῆς μητρός μου σὲ ἐλπίδα ἔσχον. ἐὰν περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου ἐκλαμβάνηται, λέγομεν ὅτι· μήτηρ τῶν ἁγίων ἐστὶν ἡ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλήμ. ἀπὸ τῶν μαστῶν ταύτης ἐλπίδα λαμβάνουσιν οἱ ἐλπίζοντες, ἀπὸ τῶν μαθητευσαμένων αὐτούς· πολλάκις γὰρ ὁ μαστὸς οὐ τὸ μέλος σημαίνει, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ τὸ γάλα. "ἐπὶ σὲ ἐπερίφην ἐκ μήτρας, ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου θεός μου εἶ σύ". ἐπὶ σὲ ἐπερίφην· οὐ πρὸς ἄλλον ἐπερίφην, εἶτα μετ' ἐκεῖνον ἐπὶ σέ. ἀποδέδοται τοῦτο, ὅτι ἀφ' οὗ ἠρξάμην εἰδέναι θεοσέβειαν, σὲ ἔσεψα, σοὶ ἐλάτρευσα. κατὰ δὲ τὸν βαθύτερον λόγον, ὅτι οὕτως ἦλθον μετὰ τοῦ θεὸν σὲ ἔχειν ὡς ὁ Ἰωάννης. τὸ "ἔτι πλησθήσεται"· οὐ λέγεται γὰρ τὸ "ἔτι" περὶ τοῦ μηδ' ὅλως