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the gifts are signed for, and He who made it takes our soul as a bride for Himself, according to Paul who writes: "I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." And why do I not briefly say the greater thing in it? Whom those in heaven do not dare to call Father, we learn to call on earth, fearing no one. And this is it, which is sung in the 26th psalm: "My father and my mother have forsaken me;" for, it says, Adam and Eve did not remain immortal; "but the Lord took me up." And He gave me, it says, the font as a mother, the Most High as a father, the Savior baptized for us as a brother. Now therefore I know that I have been truly born and saved at the same time, when I no longer hear: "Weep for the dead, for the light has failed;" but the welcome voice: "Come, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," having anointed, washed, clothed each one inseparably with my whole self, and nourished with my body and my blood. CHAPTER 14. Concerning how the waters were sanctified by the Holy Spirit from the foundation of the world, and how salvation by baptism was preordained for us. And concerning how the Israelites obtained salvation from what was once a figure of baptism; but much more those now being baptized, and justified freely, and blessed. And indeed the time has come for the discourse, collecting in part the proofs proper to the divine Spirit and to immortal baptism and from the older testament, to write as best I can. But I shall begin a little from the beginning. The indivisible and ineffable Trinity, foreseeing from eternity the frailties of human life, at the same time as bringing forth the liquid substance from non-existence, prepared for humans the healing in the waters. Therefore by his own visitation the Holy Spirit, having sanctified them from that time, is seen to have also made them life-giving. For it is clear to everyone, that what is placed above imparts its own quality, 39.693 so to speak, to what is placed beneath, and all underlying matter tends somehow to seize the property of what is placed upon it. Hence without distinction in any water, and indeed in the sea, when necessity requires, baptism takes place, since the nature of waters is one and all of it has been sanctified. But how sea water is found to be salty, though it is of the one genus of waters, another treatise will, with God's help, show. But it is sufficient for the present topic to recall both the cosmographer Moses, explaining literally thus: "And the Spirit of the Lord was moving over the waters;" and the Spirit-bearer David, singing: "The Lord is over many waters." And this is shown not insignificantly, by the Holy Spirit having also been over the streams of the Jordan, when the Master was being baptized, and having remained upon Him. And at that time it was seen in the form of a dove. Since this creature is both innocent and deprived of gall. "For be," it says, "innocent as doves." And if from the numerical value derived from the name of the mentioned bird some support must be furnished to this argument, it too signifies somehow the indescribable nature of the Holy Spirit. 39.696 For "peristera" (dove) has a numerical value of eight hundred and one, which are signified by alpha and omega; and these letters stand as the beginning and end of all the letters. And the flood, therefore, which cleansed the ancient injustice of the world, prophesied as it were in a hidden way the cleansing of sins by the divine font; and the ark itself, which saved those who entered into it, was a figure of the revered Church and of the good hope which is ours from it; and the dove, bringing an olive branch to the ark, and announcing the reappearance of the earth, signified the visitation of the Holy Spirit and the reconciliation from above; for the olive is a symbol of peace. But also the Red Sea, having received the Israelites, neither clothing them, nor they having believed in an uncertain thing, and of the

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αἱ δωρεαὶ ὑπογράφονται, καὶ νύμφην ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἡμετέραν ψυχὴν λαμβάνει ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὴν, κατὰ Παῦλον ἐπιστέλλοντα· "Ἡρμοσάμην ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ." Καὶ τί δὲ συντόμως τὸ μεῖζον οὐ λέγω ἐν αὐτῇ; Ὃν οὐ τολμῶσιν οἱ ἐν οὐρανοῖς Πατέρα καλεῖν, ἡμεῖς μανθάνομεν ἐπὶ γῆς καλεῖν, μηδένα φοβούμενοι. Καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὃ ἐν κ ϛʹ ᾄδεται ψαλμῷ· "Ὁ πατήρ μου καὶ ἡ μήτηρ μου ἐγκατέλιπόν με·" οὐ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἔμειναν ἀθάνατοι Ἀδὰμ καὶ Εὔα· "ὁ δὲ Κύριος προσελάβετό με." Καὶ ἔδωκέ μοι, φησὶ, μητέρα τὴν κολυμβήθραν, πατέρα τὸν Ὕψιστον, ἀδελφὸν τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς βαπτισθέντα Σωτῆρα. Νῦν οὖν οἶδα ἀληθῶς γεννηθεὶς ὁμοῦ καὶ σωθεὶς, ὅτε μηκέτι ἀκούω· "Κλαύσατε τεθνηκότα, ὅτι ἐξέλιπε φῶς·" ἀλλὰ τὴν εὐκταίαν φωνήν· "∆εῦτε, πάντες οἱ κεκοπιακότες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς," ἀλείψας, λούσας, ἐνδύσας ἕκαστον ἀδιασπάστως ὅλον ἐμαυτὸν, καὶ θρέψας τῷ σώματί μου καὶ τῷ αἵματι. ΚΕΦ. Ι∆ʹ. Περὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου τὰ ὕδατα ἡγιά σθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, καὶ προοικο νομεῖσθαι ἡμῖν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος σω τηρίαν. Καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ἰσραηλίτας σωτηρίας τετυχηκέναι ἀπὸ τῆς οὔσης ποτὲ εἰκόνος τοῦ βαπτίσματος· πολλῷ δὲ πλέον τοὺς νῦν βα πτιζομένους, καὶ προῖκα δικαιουμένους, καὶ μακαριζομένους. Καὶ δὴ καιρὸς ἥκει τῷ λόγῳ, τὰς τῷ θεϊκῷ Πνεύματι καὶ τῷ ἀθανάτῳ βαπτίσματι οἰκείας ἀποδείξεις ἀναλεγόμενον ἐκ μέρους καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πρεσβυτέρας διαθήκης, ὡς ἂν δύνωμαι, γράφειν. Ἄρξομαι δὲ μικρὸν ἄνωθεν. Ἡ ἀδιαίρετος καὶ ἄῤῥητος Τριὰς, προορῶσα ἐξ αἰῶνος τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου βίου τὰ ὀλισθηρὰ, ἅμα τῷ παραγαγεῖν ἐκ μὴ ὄντων τὴν ὑγρὰν οὐσίαν, ηὐτρέπισεν ἀνθρώποις τὴν ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν ἴασιν. Τοιγάρτοι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιφορᾷ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἐκ τότε ἁγιάσαν αὐτὰ, καὶ ζωογόνον ἀποτελέσαν φαίνεται. Παντὶ γὰρ πρόδηλον ὑπάρχει, ὡς καὶ τὸ ὑπερκείμενον τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ τῆς οἰκείας με 39.693 ταδίδωσιν, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, ποιότητος, καὶ πᾶσα ὑποκειμένη ὕλη, τῆς τοῦ ἐπικειμένου φιλεῖ πως ἁρπάζειν ἰδιότητος. Ὅθεν ἀδιακρίτως παντὶ ὕδατι, καὶ ἐν θαλάττῃ δὲ, ἀνάγκης καταλαβούσης βάπτισμα γίνεται, ὡς μιᾶς τε οὔσης φύσεως ὑδάτων καὶ πάσης ἁγιασθείσης. Ὅπως δὲ τὸ θαλάττιον ὕδωρ ἁλμυρὸν εὑρίσκεται, τοῦ ἑνὸς γένους τῶν ὑδάτων ὑπάρχον, ἑτέρα ἐπιδείξει σὺν Θεῷ φάναι πραγματεία. Αὔταρκες δὲ, εἰς τὸ κινούμενον νυνὶ κεφάλαιον, μνημονεῦσαι τοῦ τε κοσμογράφου Μωϋσέως, ἐξηγουμένου κατὰ λέξιν οὕτως· "Καὶ Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπεφέρετο ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων·" τοῦ τε πνευματοφόρου ∆αυῒδ, ψάλλοντος· "Κύριος ἐπὶ ὑδάτων πολλῶν." Τοῦτο δὲ συνενδείκνυται οὐ μικρῶς, καὶ τὸ ὕπερθεν τῶν Ἰορδανείων ῥείθρων γεγενῆσθαι τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, τοῦ ∆εσπότου βαπτιζομένου, καὶ μεμενηκέναι ἐπ' αὐτόν. Ὤφθη δὲ τὸ τηνικαῦτα ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς. Ἐπειδὴ τὸ ζῶον τοῦτο ἀκέραιόν τέ ἐστι καὶ χολῆς ἐστέρηται. "Γίνεσθε" γὰρ, φησὶν, "ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί." Εἴπερ δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς συναγομένης ψήφου ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ μνημονευθέντος πτηνοῦ ἐπικουρίαν τινὰ δεῖ τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ πορίζεσθαι, καὶ αὐτὴ ὑποσημαίνει πως τὸ ἀπερίγραπτον τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύμα 39.696 τος. Ἔστι γὰρ περιστερὰ μιᾶς καὶ ὀκτακοσίων ψήφου, αἵτινες δηλοῦνται διὰ τοῦ ἄλφα καὶ ω· τὰ δὲ στοιχεῖα ταῦτα ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος ὅλων καθέστηκε τῶν στοιχείων. Καὶ ὁ κατακλυσμὸς τοίνυν, ὁ τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἀδικίαν ἐκκαθάρας τοῦ κόσμου, προεφήτευεν οἱονεί πως ἐπικεκρυμμένως τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς θείας κολυμβήθρας τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν καθαρισμόν· καὶ ἡ κιβωτὸς αὐτὴ, σώσασα τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ εἰσφρήσαντας, εἰκὼν τῆς σεπτῆς ἐτύγχανεν Ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ὑπαρχούσης ἡμῖν ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος· καὶ ἡ περιστερὰ, κλάδον ἐλαίας κομίσασα ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ, καὶ τῆς γῆς τὴν ἀνάδειξιν μηνύσασα, ἐσήμαινε τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τὴν ἐπιφοίτησιν καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν διαλλαγήν· σύμβολον γὰρ ἡ ἐλαία τῆς εἰρήνης. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ ἐρυθρὰ θάλαττα εἰσδεξαμένη Ἰσραηλίτας, οὔτ' ἐνδυάσαντας, οὔτ' ἐπ' ἀδήλῳ πιστεύσαντας, καὶ τῶν