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wickedness is that which in many ways, with deceitful wrestlings, overcomes those who wrestle with it, for this reason the good trainer of souls shows you beforehand the end of the sweats and the adornment from the crowns and the proclamation upon victory; so that looking to that end you might lean yourself upon the one who makes victory and prepare the victory proclamation for yourself. And as many thoughts of the teaching for virtue as follow from these would surely be clear to those who from this beginning look to what follows. For it is clear that as many passions of the soul as there are, so many are the masteries of the enemies over us and their wrestlings, by which, like some limb of the soul, reason is often dislocated and put out of joint, unless someone, prepared through practice, might achieve for himself what is safe and unfallen in such contests through lawful discipline, as the apostle says, acquiring for himself the victory, which is the end of the contests; And the things inscribed alongside the phrase "For the end" are certain instructions and counsels for victory, by which the thing striven for might be achieved. For the phrase "of those who shall be changed" 5.74 suggests the remaking of the soul toward the better. and the interpretation of "Mahalath" rouses the athlete to greater eagerness, signifying the company of dancers that awaits us after the end of our labors; for this word has been clarified by the others, interpreting "Mahalath" through "dancing." And to look "To the hidden things" and to make the song "For the beloved" and to sing "For the morning help" and to have "the eighth" before one's eyes and to look "to her who inherits" and how we might become outside the kinship of Korah, and that great saying of David, "Do not destroy," which he made to his armor-bearer who was rushing to the murder of Saul, the word helps to be inscribed in each soul as an example of long-suffering. And one might find, by examining accurately, all such things to be certain athletic encouragements made by the trainer to the athletes, so that one might reach the end of victory. Likewise also, if anything from history is written alongside the phrase "For the end," it looks to this very thing, so that through the historical examples we might be more strengthened for the contests. This, then, is the meaning of "For the end."

CHAPTER 3

A psalm and a song and a praise and a hymn and a prayer have such a

difference with one another: for a psalm is a melody through a musical instrument, and a song is the utterance through the mouth of the melody with 5.75 the words, and prayer is a supplication offered to God for something beneficial, and a hymn is the praise offered to God for the good things we have, and praise or a laudation (for the meaning is the same for both) contains the commendation of the divine wonders. For commendation is nothing other than an intensification of praise. But often these are interwoven with one another in the inscriptions by a certain pairing, so that the two become one through the interweaving. For either it is a psalm of a song or a song of a psalm or a psalm in hymns or, as we have learned in Habakkuk, also a prayer with a song. And the meaning, according to which we are guided to virtue by these inscriptions, is this: the psaltery is a musical instrument that produces its sound from the upper parts of its construction, and the music of such an instrument is called a psalm. Therefore, from the shape of its construction the exhortation to virtue has its meaning. For it commands that your life be a psalm, not resounding with earthly tones; and by tones I mean thoughts; but making its sound pure and distinct from the things above and heavenly. And a song

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ἐστιν ἡ κακία πολυτρόπως τοῖς δολεροῖς παλαίσμασι καταγωνιζομένη τοὺς προσπαλαίον τας, διὰ τοῦτο ὁ ἀγαθὸς τῶν ψυχῶν παιδοτρίβης προδείκνυσί σοι τῶν ἱδρώτων τὸ τέλος καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῶν στεφάνων κόσμον καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ ἀνάρρησιν· ἵνα πρὸς ἐκεῖνο βλέπων τὸ τέλος τῷ νικοποιῷ σεαυτὸν ἐπερείδῃς καὶ τὸ ἐπινίκιον κήρυγμα σεαυτῷ παρασκευάζῃς. ὅσα δὲ τούτοις κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον ὕπεστιν τῆς εἰς ἀρετὴν διδασκαλίας νοήματα, φανερὰ πάντως ἂν εἴη τοῖς διὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς ταύτης πρὸς τὸ ἀκόλουθον βλέπουσι. δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ὅσα τῆς ψυχῆς πάθη ἐστίν, τοσαῦτα κρατήματα τῶν ἐχθρῶν γίνεται καθ' ἡμῶν καὶ παλαίσματα, δι' ὧν καθάπερ τι μέλος τῆς ψυχῆς ὁ λογισμὸς ἐξαρθροῦται πολλάκις καὶ ἐξαρμόζεται, εἰ μή τις παρεσκευασμένος διὰ μελέτης τὸ ἀσφαλές τε καὶ ἀκατάπτωτον ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀγῶσιν ἑαυτῷ κατορθώσειε διὰ τῆς νομίμου ἀθλήσεως, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, τὴν νίκην ἑαυτῷ κατακτώμενος, ἥτις ἐστὶν τῶν ἀγώνων τὸ τέλος· Τὰ δὲ συμπαραγραφόμενα τῇ Εἰς τέλος φωνῇ ὑποθῆκαί τινές εἰσι καὶ συμβουλαὶ πρὸς τὴν νίκην, δι' ὧν ἂν κατορθω θείη τὸ σπουδαζόμενον. ἥ τε γὰρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων λέξις 5.74 τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταποίησιν τῆς ψυχῆς ὑποτίθεται. καὶ ἡ τοῦ Μαελὲθ ἑρμηνεία πρὸς μείζονα προθυμίαν ἐπεγεί ρει τὸν ἀθλητήν, τὴν μετὰ τὸ πέρας τῶν πόνων ἐκδεχομένην ἡμᾶς χοροστασίαν σημαίνουσα· οὕτω γὰρ ἡ λέξις αὕτη παρὰ τῶν λοιπῶν σεσαφήνισται διὰ χορείας τὸ Μαελὲθ ἑρμη νεύουσα. τό τε Πρὸς τὰ κρύφια βλέπειν καὶ Ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ τὴν ᾠδὴν ποιεῖσθαι καὶ Ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑωθινῆς ἀντιλήψεως ᾄδειν καὶ τὴν ὀγδόην πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχειν καὶ πρὸς τὴν κληρονομοῦσαν ὁρᾶν καὶ ὅπως ἂν ἔξω τῆς πρὸς τὸν Κορὲ συγγενείας γενοίμεθα, τήν τε μεγάλην ἐκείνην τοῦ ∆αβὶδ φωνὴν τὴν Μὴ διαφθείρῃς, ἣν πρὸς τὸν ὑπασπιστὴν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὸν τοῦ Σαοὺλ φόνον ὁρμήσαντα ἐνστηλογραφηθῆναι ἐν τῇ ἑκάστου ψυχῇ πρὸς ὑπόδειγμα μακροθυμίας συμβάλλει ὁ λόγος. καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα εὕροι τις ἂν δι' ἀκριβείας σκοπούμενος, ὅτι ἀθλη τικαί τινές εἰσιν ὑποφωνήσεις παρὰ τοῦ παιδοτρίβου πρὸς τοὺς ἀθλητὰς γινόμεναι, ὅπως ἄν τις πρὸς τὸ τῆς νίκης φθάσειε τέλος. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ εἴ τι τῆς ἱστορίας συμπαρα γέγραπται τῇ Εἰς τέλος φωνῇ, πρὸς αὐτὸ τοῦτο βλέπει, ὡς ἂν διὰ τῶν ἱστορικῶν ὑποδειγμάτων μᾶλλον πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἐπιρρωσθείημεν. αὕτη μὲν ἡ Εἰς τὸ τέλος διάνοια.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Γʹ

Ψαλμὸς δὲ καὶ ᾠδὴ καὶ αἴνεσις καὶ ὕμνος καὶ προσευχὴ τοιαύτην πρὸς

ἄλληλα τὴν διαφορὰν ἔχει· ψαλμὸς μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ διὰ τοῦ ὀργάνου τοῦ μουσικοῦ μελῳδία, ᾠδὴ δὲ ἡ διὰ στόματος γινομένη τοῦ μέλους μετὰ τῶν 5.75 ῥημάτων ἐκφώνησις, ἡ δὲ προσευχὴ ἱκετηρία ἐστὶ περί τινος τῶν συμφερόντων προσαγομένη τῷ θεῷ, ὕμνος δὲ ἡ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν ἡμῖν ἀγαθοῖς ἀνατιθεμένη τῷ θεῷ εὐ φημία αἶνος δὲ ἤτοι αἴνεσις (ταὐτὸν γὰρ ἐπ' ἀμφοτέρων τὸ σημαινόμενον) τῶν θείων θαυμάτων περιέχει τὸν ἔπαινον. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τί ἐστιν ἔπαινος, εἰ μὴ τοῦ αἴνου ἐπίτασις. πολλάκις δὲ ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις ἐν ταῖς ἐπιγραφαῖς διά τινος συζυγίας συμπλέκεται, ὥστε ἓν τὰ δύο διὰ τῆς συμπλοκῆς γενέσθαι. ἢ γὰρ ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς ἢ ᾠδὴ ψαλμοῦ ἢ ἐν ὕμνοις ψαλμὸς ἢ καθὼς ἐν τῷ Ἀμβακοὺμ μεμαθήκαμεν, καὶ προ σευχὴ μετ' ᾠδῆς. ἡ δὲ διάνοια, καθ' ἣν πρὸς ἀρετὴν ὁδηγού μεθα ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιγραφῶν τούτων, ἐστὶ τοιαύτη· τὸ ψαλτήριον ὄργανόν ἐστι μουσικὸν ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν μερῶν τῆς κατα σκευῆς ἀποτελοῦν τὸν ἦχον, ἡ δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου ὀργάνου μουσουργία ψαλμὸς λέγεται. οὐκοῦν ἐκ τοῦ σχήματος τῆς κατασκευῆς ὁ προτρεπτικὸς εἰς ἀρετὴν λόγος ἔμφασιν ἔχει. τὸν γὰρ σὸν βίον ψαλμὸν εἶναι διακελεύεται μὴ τοῖς γηΐνοις φθόγγοις περιηχούμενον· φθόγγους δέ φημι τὰ νοήματα· ἀλλὰ καθαρόν τε καὶ ἐξάκουστον ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθέν τε καὶ οὐρανίων τὸν ἦχον ἀπεργαζόμενον. ᾠδὴν δὲ