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of a riddle. For it bids us recognize plainly this life, that we sojourn but for a time in the present life, from our very birth being driven toward the exodus by the necessity of things, for which we must be prepared with hands and feet and the remaining security for the journey. 2.107 For so that we may not be harmed by the thorns of this life (and sins would be the thorns) with feet bare and unprotected, let us put forth the firmness of sandals for our feet; and these are the continent and hardened life, which shatters by itself and breaks off the points of the thorn and prevents sin from a small and unseen beginning from creeping within. 2.108 And the tunic poured around the feet and let down to the heels would be an impediment to one traversing this road with zeal according to God. And the tunic could be understood by us accordingly as the self-indulgent breadth of things pursued in this life, which sober reason draws into a small space, becoming the belt of the traveler. And that the belt is self-control is testified by the place around which it is fastened. And again, the staff that wards off wild beasts is the word of hope, by which we both support the weary part of the soul and defend ourselves against what barks. 2.109 And the food set before us from the fire, I mean this warm and fiery faith, which we accept without delay, having eaten of which as much as is readily available to the one eating, we leave the word hidden in the harder and more indigestible thoughts unexamined and uninvestigated, offering such food to the fire. 2.110 And that the riddles concerning these things may be made clear, we say this: that of the divine commands, as many as have a ready understanding, it is fitting to pursue them not sluggishly nor under compulsion, but, as if hungry and with appetite, to be filled with what is set before us, so that the food may become for us a provision for good health, but as for the hidden thoughts, such as seeking what is the substance of God? What was before creation? What is outside the visible world? What is the necessity of things that happen? And whatever such things are investigated by the overly curious, to concede that these things are known by the Holy Spirit alone, who searches the depths of God, as the Apostle says.

2.111 For that fire is in many places mentioned and named by Scripture instead of the Spirit, no one educated in the Scripture would be ignorant. And the command of Wisdom also leads us to such a thought, that: "Do not search for things too mighty for you," that is, "do not break the bones of the word; for you have no need of hidden things." 2.112 Thus Moses leads the people out of Egypt. And everyone who follows in the footsteps of Moses in this way frees all whom the word may lead from the Egyptian tyranny. But it is necessary, I think, that those who follow the one who leads to virtue should not be poor in Egyptian wealth, nor be without the treasures of foreigners, but having taken all that belongs to the adversaries, they should have it for their own use, which the people were then commanded by Moses to do. 2.113 But one who understands this superficially would not accept the lawgiver's intention, if he commands them to defraud those who lent and becomes a teacher of injustice. But neither could one truthfully say that the lawgiver commands these things, looking at the subsequent laws, which in every way forbid injustice against one's neighbor, even if it seems reasonable to some that through this device the Israelites were collecting the wages for their labors from the Egyptians. 2.114 For such a command is no less a crime for not being free of falsehood and deceit. For one who has received something for use and does not give it back to the lender, if it were another's, has done wrong by defrauding, but if he should keep his own, by deceiving the one who lent in the hope of getting it back, he is by all means called a deceiver. 2.115 Therefore the higher meaning is more suitable than the superficial thought, which commands those the free life

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αἰνίγματος. Κελεύει γὰρ ἄντικρυς ἐπιγνῶναι τὸν τῇδε βίον ὅτι παροδικῶς ἐπιφοιτῶμεν τῇ παρούσῃ ζωῇ, ἅμα τῇ γενέσει πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀνάγκης τῶν πραγμάτων συνελαυνόμενοι, πρὸς ἣν παρεσκευάσθαι χρὴ χερσί τε καὶ ποσὶ καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ τῇ πρὸς τὴν ὁδὸν ἀσφαλείᾳ. 2.107 Ὡς γὰρ ἂν μὴ ταῖς ἀκάνθαις τοῦ βίου τούτου (ἄκανθαι δ' ἂν εἶεν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι) γυμνοῖς τε καὶ ἀφυλάκτοις τοῖς ποσὶ βλαβείημεν, τὴν τῶν ὑποδημάτων στερρότητα τῶν ποδῶν προβαλλώμεθα· ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἐγκρατής τε καὶ κατεσκληκὼς βίος, ὁ θραύων δι' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ περικατακλῶν τὰς τῆς ἀκάνθης ἀκμὰς καὶ κωλύων ἐκ λεπτῆς τε καὶ ἀφανοῦς ἀρχῆς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπὶ τὸ ἐντὸς παραδύεσθαι. 2.108 Ὅ τε τοῖς ποσὶ περικεχυμένος χιτὼν καὶ μεχρὶ τῶν βάσεων καθειμένος ἐμπόδιον ἂν εἴη τῷ τὴν ὀδὸν ταύτην διὰ σπουδῆς κατὰ Θεὸν διανύοντι. Χιτὼν δ' ἂν ἡμῖν κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον νοηθείη ἡ ἀπολαυστικὴ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίω τούτῳ σπουδαζομένων πλατύτης, ἣν εἰς ὀλίγον ὁ σώφρων λογισμὸς συστέλλει, ζώνη τοῦ ὁδοιποροῦντος γινόμενος. Τὸ δὲ σωφροσύνην εἶναι τὴν ζώνην μαρτυρεῖται τῷ τόπῳ περὶ ὃν ἐνείρεται. Ἥ τε αὖ τῶν θηρίων ἀμυντικὴ βακτηρία, ὁ τῆς ἐλπίδος λόγος ἐστίν, ᾧ καὶ τὸ κάμνον τῆς ψυχῆς ὑπερείδομεν καὶ τὸ ὑλακτοῦν ἀμυνόμεθα. 2.109 Ἐκ πυρὸς δὲ προτεθεῖσαν ἡμῖν τὴν ἐδωδήν, τὴν θερμὴν ταυτὴν λέγω καὶ ἔκπυρον πίστιν, ἣν ἀμελλητὶ προσδεχόμεθα, ἧς ἐμφαγόντες ὅσον ἐκ προχείρου γίνεται ληπτὸν τῷ ἐσθίοντι, τὸν ἐγκεκρυμμένον τοῖς στερροτέροις τε καὶ δυστρίπτοις νοήμασι λόγον ἀπεριέργαστόν τε καὶ ἀπολυπραγμόνητον καταλιμπάνομεν, τῷ πυρὶ προτιθέντες τὴν τοιαύτην τροφήν. 2.110 Ὡς δ' ἂν σαφηνισθείη τὰ περὶ τούτων αἰνίγματα, ταῦτά φαμεν ὅτι τῶν θείων παραγγελ μάτων ὅσα μὲν πρόχειρον τὴν κατανόησιν ἔχει, οὐ νωθρῶς οὐδὲ κατηναγκασμένως μετιέναι προσήκει, ἀλλ' οἷον πεινῶν τας καὶ μετ' ὀρέξεως ἐμφορεῖσθαι τῶν προκειμένων, ὥστε γενέσθαι τὴν τροφὴν ἡμῖν εἰς εὐεξίας ἐφόδιον, ὅσα δὲ κέκρυπ τῶν νοημάτων, οἷον τὸ ζητεῖν τίς ἡ οὐσία τοῦ θεοῦ; τί πρὸ τῆς κτίσεως ἦν; τί τὸ ἔξω τῶν φαινομένων; τίς ἡ ἀνάγκη τῶν γινομένων; καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα ὑπὸ τῶν περιέργων ἀνερευνᾶται, ταῦτα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι συγχωρεῖν μόνῳ γινώσκειν, τῷ τὰ βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ διερευνῶντι, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος.

2.111 Τὸ γὰρ ἀντὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος ὑπὸ τῆς Γραφῆς πολλαχῆ τὸ πῦρ μνημονεύεσθαί τε καὶ ὀνομάζεσθαι, οὐκ ἄν τις τῶν πεπαιδευμένων τὴν Γραφὴν ἀγνοήσειε. Προσάγει δὲ τῇ τοιαύτῃ διανοίᾳ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸ τῆς Σοφίας παράγγελμα, ὅτι· ἰσχυρότερά σου μὴ ἐρεύνα, τουτέστι τὰ ὀστᾶ τοῦ λόγου μὴ σύντριβε· οὐ γάρ σοι χρεία τῶν κρυπτῶν. 2.112 Οὕτως ἐκβάλλει τῆς Αἰγύπτου ὁ Μωϋσῆς τὸν λαόν. Καὶ πᾶς ὁ τῷ Μωϋσεῖ κατ' ἴχνος ἑπόμενος τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας τυραννίδος ἐλευθεροῖ παντὰς ὧν ἂν ὁ λόγος καθηγῆται. ∆εῖ δέ, οἶμαι, τοὺς ἑπομένους τῷ πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἡγουμένῳ μὴ πένητας εἶναι τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου πλούτου, μήτε τῶν ἀλλοφύλων κειμηλίων ἀκτήμονας, ἀλλὰ τὰ προσόντα τοῖς ἐναντίοις πάντα λαβόντας ἐν χρήσει παρ' ἑαυτοῖς ἔχειν, ὅπερ τότε ποιῆσαι παρὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ὁ λαὸς παραγγέλλεται. 2.113 Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἄν τις ἐκ προχείρου νοήσας ἀποδέξαιτο τοῦ νομοθέτου τὴν γνώμην, εἰ ἀποστερεῖν τοὺς χρήσαντας ἐγκελεύεται καὶ ὑφηγητὴς ἀδικίας γίνεται. Ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἂν κατ' ἀλήθειάν τις εἴποι ταῦτα διατάσσειν τὸν νομοθέτην, πρὸς τοὺς ἐφεξῆς βλέπων νόμους, τοὺς ἄνω καὶ κάτω τὴν κατὰ τοῦ πέλας ἀδικίαν κωλύοντας, κἄν τισι δοκῇ εὔλογον εἶναι τῶν ἔργων τὰ μισθώματα παρὰ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας διὰ τῆς ἐπινοίας ταύτης εἰσπράττεσθαι. 2.114 Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἧττον ἐν ἐγκλήματί ἐστι τὸ μὴ καθαρεύειν ψεύδους τε καὶ ἀπάτης τὸ τοιοῦτον παράγγελμα. Ὁ γὰρ ἐν χρήσει λαβών τι καὶ μὴ ἀποδοὺς πάλιν τῷ χρήσαντι, εἰ μὲν ἀλλότριον εἴη, ὡς ἀποστερήσας ἠδίκησεν, εἰ δὲ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ κρατοίη, ὡς παραλογισάμενος τὸν ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τοῦ ἀπολαύειν χρήσαντα πάντως ἀπατεὼν ὀνομάζεται. 2.115 Οὐκοῦν ὁ ὑψηλότερος λόγος τῆς προχείρου διανοίας ἁρμοδιώτερος, ὁ κελεύων τοὺς τὸν ἐλεύθερον βίον