23. Now since these things, spoken as they are with a mystical meaning, may seem to some hard to understand, we shall keep back nothing fitted to impart an intelligent apprehension of them to those who are possessed of a sound mind. He said, then, that a “lioness came up from the sea,” and by that he meant the kingdom of the Babylonians in the world, which also was the head of gold on the image. In saying that “it had wings as of an eagle,” he meant that Nebuchadnezzar the king was lifted up and was exalted against God. Then he says, “the wings thereof were plucked,” that is to say, his glory was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, “a man’s heart was given to it, and it was made stand upon the feet as a man,” refer to the fact that he repented and recognised himself to be only a man, and gave the glory to God.

[23] ἐπεὶ οὖν δυσνόητά τισι δοκεῖ εἶναι ταῦτα μυστικῶς εἰρημένα, οὐδὲν τούτων ἀποκρύψομεν πρὸς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῖς ὑγιῆ νοῦν κεκτημένοις. „λέαιναν„ δὲ εἰπὼν ”ἀναβαίνουσαν ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης” τὴν τῶν Βαβυλωνίων βασιλείαν γεγενημένην ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐσήμανεν, ταύτην οὖσαν τῆς εἰκόνος τὴν χρυσῆν κεφαλήν: τὸ δὲ λέγειν „πτερὰ αὐτῆς ὡσεὶ ἀετοῦ„, ὅτι ὑψώθη ὁ βασιλεὺς Ναβουχοδονόσορ καὶ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπήρθη. εἶτα, φησίν, ”ἐξετίλη τὰ πτερὰ αὐτῆς”, ὅτι καθῃρέθη αὐτοῦ ἡ δόξα: ἐξεδιώχθη γὰρ ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ. τὸ δὲ εἰπεῖν „καρδία ἀνθρώπου ἐδόθη αὐτῇ καὶ ἐπὶ ποδῶν ἀνθρώπου ἐστάθη„, ὅτι μετενόησεν, ἐπιγνοὺς ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν, καὶ ἔδωκε δόξαν τῷ θεῷ.