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having prepared them to be understood spiritually; or rather, having shown that the many things were a type of the mystery concerning him, he brought them to an end.

QUESTION 64 From the Proverbs: “who has ascended into heaven and descended? who has gathered

the winds in his bosom? who has crushed water in a garment? who has established the ends of the earth? what is his name?”

RESPONSE Since in the beginning man was formed for this purpose, that he might to the Cause

ascend through longing, and then in this way descend to the creations after the Cause, and having surveyed these things well with knowledge, to lead them up to their Maker, but this he did not do. But before being raised up to God, he inclined toward matter. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the second Adam, having come, "summed up all things in himself," and showed for what purpose the first man was brought forth. For according to the assumption of human nature, he first ascended, being moved toward the Cause, then he also descended according to his divinity, putting on the "form of a servant," and again he ascended according to both natures conjoined in the 14Α_104 ascension after the resurrection from the dead. Thus we too must first be raised up to God, and sharpening the soul, stretch its whole longing toward him, and then in this way descend to the investigation of beings, and survey each thing according to its nature, and again through them be led up by contemplative knowledge to their Creator.

Such a one gathers "winds in his bosom;" for he gathers the various principles of beings, tropologically called winds, into the bosom of his heart. Since, then, the bosom is the navel in which they say the first offspring takes its beginning, one must understand that by gathering the various principles in the generative and contemplative part of the heart, he brings forth one Word of God; for the many principles of beings are gathered into one. But he also crushes water in a garment; water, as you will find said in many places of Scripture, is temptations; these he crushes with patience, suffering them in his own body or also in the ethical part of philosophy, sending them away ineffective. And he holds the ends of the earth, not allowing even the natural passions of the body to be carried away irrationally.

QUESTION 65 From Isaiah: “and those who are left shall be more than the gold that is

untested by fire.” RESPONSE Those tested through temptations and abandoned for more

trial, like Job, Joseph, and those like them, these are more than "the gold untested by fire," more than Adam who was formed straightway like gold, who was not tried by the fire of temptations and did not endure.

14Α_106 QUESTION 66 What do "the carbuncle and the emerald" in Genesis signify? RESPONSE Both signify the Lord; the carbuncle as illuminating and caustic,

because the Lord is a provider of knowledge, but a consumer of wickedness; and the emerald, since it is a strengthener of the power of sight, also itself signifies the Lord, as the producer of the contemplative tone of the soul.

QUESTION 67 According to contemplation, what does the blinding of Samson signify? RESPONSE

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πνευματικῶς νοεῖσθαι παρασκευάσας· μᾶλλον δὲ τὰς πολλάς, τύπον οὔσας τοῦ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν μυστηρίου δείξας, κατέπαυσεν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 64 Ἐκ τῶν Παροιμιῶν· «τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ κατέβη; τίς συνήγαγεν

ἀνέμους ἐν κόλπῳ; τίς συνέτριψεν ὕδωρ ἐν ἱματίῳ; τίς ἐκράτησεν τῶν ἄκρων τῆς γῆς; τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ»;

ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ἐπειδὴ κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐπλάσθη ὥστε πρὸς τὴν αἰτίαν

ἀναβῆναι τῷ πόθῳ καὶ εἶθ᾽ οὕτως εἰς τὰ μετὰ τὴν αἰτίαν κτίσματα κατελθεῖν καὶ ταῦτα καλῶς τῇ γνώσει ἐπισκοπήσαντα ἀναβιβάσαι πρὸς τὸν ποιητὴν τούτων, τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἐποίησεν, ἀλλὰ πρὶν ὑψωθῆναι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν κατένευσεν πρὸς τὴν ὕλην, ἐλθὼν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ δεύτερος Ἀδὰμ «ἀνακεφαλαιώσατο ἐν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα» καὶ ἔδειξεν εἰς τί παρήχθη ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος. Κατὰ γὰρ τὴν πρόσληψιν τῆς ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως πρῶτον ἀνέβη κινηθεὶς πρὸς τὸν αἴτιον, εἶτα καὶ κατέβη κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, τὴν τοῦ «δούλου μορφὴν» ὑποδύς, καὶ πάλιν δὲ ἀνέβη κατὰ τὸ συναμφότερον ἐν τῇ 14Α_104 μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν ἀναλήψει. Οὕτω δεῖ καὶ ἡμᾶς πρῶτον ὑψοῦσθαι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ στομοῦντας τὴν ψυχὴν τὸν ὅλον αὐτῆς πόθον πρὸς αὐτὸν τείνειν καὶ εἶθ᾽ οὕτως καταβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρευναν τῶν ὄντων καὶ ἕκαστον ὡς ἔχει φύσεως ἐπισκοπεῖν καὶ πάλιν δι᾽ αὐτῶν ἀναβιβάζεσθαι τῇ θεωρητικῇ γνώσει εἰς τὸν τούτων δημιουργόν.

Ὁ τοιοῦτος συνάγει «ἀνέμους ἐν κόλπῳ»· τοὺς γὰρ διαφόρους λόγους τῶν ὄντων τροπικῶς ἀνέμους ὀνομασθέντας συνάγει εἰς τὸν κόλπον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ καρδίας. Ἐπεὶ οὖν κόλπος ἐστὶν ὁ ὀμφαλὸς ἐν ᾧ φασιν τὸν πρῶτον γόνον τὴν ἀρχὴν λαμβάνειν, χρὴ νοεῖν ὅτι ἐν τῷ γονίμῳ καὶ θεωρητικῷ μέρει τῆς καρδίας συνάγων τοὺς διαφόρους λόγους ἀποτίκτει ἕνα λόγον Θεοῦ· οἱ γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν ὄντων λόγοι εἰς ἓν συνάγονται. Ἀλλὰ καὶ συντρίβει ὕδωρ ἐν ἱματίῳ· ὕδωρ εἰσίν, ὡς πολλαχοῦ τῆς Γραφῆς εὑρήσεις λεγούσης, οἱ πειρασμοί· τούτους ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ σώματι ἢ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἠθικῷ μέρει τῆς φιλοσοφίας πάσχων μεθ᾽ ὑπομονῆς συντρίβει, ἀπράκτους αὐτοὺς ἀποπέμπων. Κρατεῖ δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄκρων τῆς γῆς, μὴ δὲ τὰ φυσικὰ τοῦ σώματος πάθη συγχωρῶν ἀλόγως ἐκφέρεσθαι.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 65 Ἐκ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου· «καὶ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελειμμένοι ὑπὲρ τὸ χρυσίον τὸ

ἄπυρον». ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Οἱ δοκιμασθέντες διὰ τῶν πειρασμῶν καὶ ἐγκαταλειφθέντες πρὸς πλείονα

πεῖραν ὡς Ἰώβ, ὁ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ οἱ κατ᾽ αὐτούς, οὗτοι ὑπὲρ «τὸ χρυσίον τὸ ἄπυρόν» εἰσιν, ὑπὲρ τὸν δίκην χρυσοῦ εὐθῆ πλασθέντα Ἀδάμ, τὸν μὴ πυρωθέντα διὰ πειρασμῶν καὶ βαστάσαντα.

14Α_106 ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 66 Τί σημαίνει ὁ ἐν τῇ Γενέσει «ἄνθραξ καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πράσινος»; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ἐκάτεροι τὸν Κύριον δηλοῦσιν· ὁ μὲν ἄνθραξ ὡς φωτιστικὸς καὶ καυστικός,

διὰ τὸ παρεκτικὸν εἶναι τὸν Κύριον γνώσεως, δαπανητικὸν δὲ τῆς μοχθηρίας· ὁ δὲ πράσινος λίθος ἐπειδὴ τονωτικός ἐστιν τῆς ὁρατικῆς δυνάμεως, δηλοῖ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν Κύριον, ὡς τοῦ θεωρητικοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς τόνου ποιητικόν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 67 Τί σημαίνει κατὰ θεωρίαν ἡ τύφλωσις τοῦ Σαμψών; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ