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of my enemies,” signifying through the wrath the retributive power of the just judge, and through what follows, the annihilation of wickedness. For by nature, the only enemy is that which is seen as contrary to the good, which is wickedness, whose end is annihilation and a departure into non-being. Therefore, the one who said, "Be exalted at the boundaries of my enemies" foretells, through the enemies' wickedness being brought to an end, that the course toward wickedness no longer remains for life. For just as health is the end of sickness and wakefulness is the end of sleep (for neither does the sleeping person, as long as he is asleep, have an end of sleep, nor is the sick person [of health] at the end of his illness; but when health has succeeded the sick person, and wakefulness 5.114 the sleeping person, we say they have reached the end of the state in which each one was, the one of sleep, the other of sickness); so also here he has named the transformation of human nature into the blessed state the "end of the enemies." We have observed only one altered form of "diapsalma" in the entire book of Psalms, in the ninth psalm. For it does not say simply "Diapsalma," but "Song of a diapsalma." Perhaps, then, the phrase has been inverted by some scribal error, so that it ought to say rather, "Diapsalma of a song," and not "Song of a diapsalma." Nevertheless, since it is fitting to keep before our eyes the judgment found in the Apocalypse of John against those who alter the divine words by addition or subtraction, preserving the sequence handed down to us in this part of scripture, we shall try to seek out the reason for "the song of the diapsalma," whatever it is. We reckon, therefore, that from this point until the next diapsalma was one diapsalma, with the Holy Spirit placing the thoughts of prophecy in David. But it did not happen here as in the other cases. For in the other cases, the instruction occurring secretly in the soul from the Spirit, and the utterance of the knowledge implanted in him, were not active at the same time; but while the heart was being taught from within, the speech was silent. Here, however, the two are active together and at the same time, and the teaching of the higher thoughts from the Spirit comes to him while he is prophesying, and the continuity of the melody is not interrupted; but the Holy Spirit, being implanted in the instrument of the prophet, itself according to its own will moves the vocal senses, so that neither does the song cease nor is the teaching 5.115 hindered by the sound; for this teaching of the Spirit was the melody, as Symmachus calls it. And since such a distinction is found in many parts of the psalter, it should be sufficient, having provided through what has been said a common approach for the understanding of the diapsalma, to no longer go through all the diapsalmas in detail. For it is both superfluous and redundant to linger on what is known through agreed-upon points and so lengthen the discourse.

CHAPTER 11

But one might also reasonably inquire into this: why is it that to the sequence of the

history, the order of the psalmody is discordant. For if one were to pay attention to the time period in which the life of David occurred and to the sequence of events, one would not find the placement of the psalms to be consistent with the order of the history. We say, therefore, returning to our first purpose of the discourse, that none of these things is a concern to our teacher. For I think we must call the Holy Spirit "teacher," as the Lord says: for "He will teach you all things." To this guide of our souls and teacher, therefore, all other things seem secondary, but the earnest concern is to save those who are wandering in the vanity of life and to draw them to the true life. For to everything accomplished according to some purpose, a certain order follows

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ἐχθρῶν μου, σημαίνων διὰ μὲν τῆς ὀργῆς τὴν ἀνταποδοτικὴν δύναμιν τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ διὰ δὲ τῶν ἐφεξῆς τὸν ἀφανισμὸν τῆς κακίας. ἐχθρὸν γὰρ τῇ φύσει μόνον τὸ ἐξ ἐναντίου τῷ ἀγαθῷ θεωρούμενον, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἡ κακία, ἧς τὸ πέρας ἀφανισμός ἐστι καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν μεταχώρησις. ὁ τοίνυν εἰπὼν ὅτι Ὑψώθητι ἐν τοῖς πέρασι τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου προμηνύει διὰ τοῦ περατωθῆναι τῶν ἐχθρῶν τὴν κακίαν τὸ μηκέτι τὸν εἰς κακίαν δρόμον τῇ ζωῇ ὑπολείπεσθαι. ὡς γὰρ πέρας νόσου ἡ ὑγίεια καὶ πέρας ὕπνου ἡ ἐγρήγορσις γίνεται (οὔτε δὲ ὁ καθεύδων, ἕως ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ ἐστί, πέρας τοῦ ὕπνου ἔχει οὔτε ὁ νοσῶν [τῆς ὑγιείας] ἐν πέρατι τοῦ ἀρρωστήματος γίνεται· ἀλλὰ διαδεξαμένης τὸν μὲν ἄρρωστον τῆς ὑγιείας, τὸν δὲ καθεύδοντα τῆς ἐγρηγόρ 5.114 σεως, λέγομεν αὐτοὺς ἐν πέρατι γεγενῆσθαι τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἑκάτερος ἦν, τὸν μὲν τοῦ ὕπνου, τὸν δὲ τῆς νόσου)· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὴν εἰς τὸ μακάριον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως μεταβολὴν πέρας τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατωνόμασεν. ἕνα δὲ μόνον ἐξηλλαγμένον τρόπον διαψάλματος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν ψαλμῶν κατὰ τὸν ἔνατον ψαλμὸν παρετηρήσαμεν. οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ∆ιάψαλμά φησιν, ἀλλ' Ὠιδὴ διαψάλματος. τάχα μὲν οὖν ἀνέστραπται κατά τι σφάλμα γραφικὸν ὁ λόγος, ὥστε δεῖν λέγεσθαι μᾶλλον, Ὠιδῆς διάψαλμα, καὶ οὐκ Ὠιδὴν διαψάλματος. Πλὴν ἐπειδὴ προσήκει πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχειν τὸ ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει τοῦ Ἰωάννου κείμενον κρῖμα κατὰ τῶν μεταποιούντων τὰ θεῖα ἐκ προσθήκης ἢ ὑφαιρέσεως, φυλάσσοντες τὴν παραδοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ τῆς γραφῆς ἀκολουθίαν ἀναζητῆσαι πειρασόμεθα τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ τῆς ᾠδῆς διαψάλματος, ἥτις ἐστίν. λογιζόμεθα τοίνυν ὅτι ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ μέχρις τοῦ ἐφεξῆς διαψάλματος ἓν διάψαλμα ἦν, τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐντιθέντος τῷ ∆αβὶδ τὰ τῆς προφητείας νοήματα. ἀλλ' οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἐγένετο. ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐνηργεῖτο ἥ τε κατήχησις ἡ κατὰ τὸ ἀπόρρητον τῇ ψυχῇ παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ἐγγινομένη, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἐντεθείσης αὐτῷ γνώσεως ἐξαγόρευσις· ἀλλὰ τῆς καρδίας ἔνδοθεν διδασκομένης ὁ λόγος ἡσύχαζεν. ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὁμοῦ τὰ δύο καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐνεργεῖται, καὶ παραγίνεται αὐτῷ μεταξὺ προφητεύοντι ἡ τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων νοημάτων διδασκαλία παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ τὸ συνεχὲς τῆς μελῳδίας οὐ δια κόπτεται· ἀλλ' ἐμφυὲν τῷ ὀργάνῳ τοῦ προφήτου τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, αὐτὸ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν γνώμην κινεῖ τὰ φωνητικὰ αἰσθητήρια, ὡς μήτε τὴν ᾠδὴν διαλιπεῖν μήτε ἐμποδισθῆναι 5.115 τὴν διδασκαλίαν τῷ φθόγγῳ· αὕτη γὰρ ἡ διδασκαλία τοῦ πνεύματος τὸ μέλος ἦν, καθὼς ὀνομάζει ὁ Σύμμαχος. ἐν πολλοῖς δὲ μέρεσιν τῆς ψαλμῳδίας εὑρισκομένης τῆς τοιαύτης διαστολῆς, ἀρκοῦν ἂν εἴη διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ἔφοδον κοινὴν τῆς τοῦ διαψάλματος κατανοήσεως παρασχομένους μηκέτι πᾶσιν δι' ἀκριβείας ἐπεξιέναι τοῖς διαψάλμασι. παρέλκον γὰρ ἅμα καὶ περιττὸν ἐμφιλοχωροῦντα τοῖς ἐγνωσμένοις διὰ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων μηκύνειν τὸν λόγον.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΑʹ

Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο ἄν τις εἰκότως ἐπιζητήσειε, τί δήποτε τῇ ἀκολουθίᾳ τῆς

ἱστορίας ἀσύμφωνός ἐστιν ἡ τάξις τῆς ψαλμῳδίας. εἰ γάρ τις προσέχοι τῷ τε χρονικῷ διαστήματι, ἐν ᾧ γέγονεν ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ καὶ τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀκολουθίᾳ, οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τὴν τῶν ψαλμῶν θέσιν τῇ τάξει τῆς ἱστορίας συμβαίνουσαν. φαμὲν τοίνυν ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον ἡμῶν τοῦ λόγου σκοπὸν ἀνατρέχοντες, ὅτι οὐδενὸς τούτων μέλει τῷ διδασκάλῳ ἡμῶν. διδάσκαλον γάρ, οἶμαι, ὀνομάζειν δεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καθώς φησιν ὁ κύριος· ὅτι Ἐκεῖνος διδάξει ὑμᾶς πάντα. τούτῳ τοίνυν τῷ καθηγητῇ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν καὶ διδασκάλῳ πάρεργα τὰ ἄλλα πάντα δοκεῖ, σπουδὴ δὲ τὸ περισώσασθαι τοὺς ἐν τῇ ματαιότητι τῆς ζωῆς πλανω μένους καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀληθῆ ζωὴν ἐφελκύσασθαι. παντὶ γὰρ τῷ κατά τινα σκοπὸν κατορθουμένῳ τάξις τις ἔπεστι