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him, then having led him up, says he had ascended, then had descended; since after the 102 resurrection from the dead, having said to Mary, “Do not touch me, 102 for I have not yet ascended to my Father;” after this he was seen by the disciples for forty days, eating with them; having clearly ascended to the Father, and again having descended on account of the economy he was fulfilling. On account of which it has also been said: “Having ascended on high, he took captivity captive, he gave gifts to men.” And what are these but the gifts through the Holy Spirit, which he brought down from heaven? On account of which it is also said here in Aquila: “who ascended into heaven and brought it down?” And he himself also took hold of the ends of the earth, so that his word went out into all the earth, and his sayings to the ends of the inhabited world. And to whom is given the word of knowledge, this one will know how also the rest of the things concerning this passage might be understood; and he exhorts us to seek what is his name and the name of his children; and to this we will be obedient, having received it from its effect, that to him belongs the name Jesus, which is interpreted “Salvation of God”; which his relatives according to the flesh also gave him according to the oracle of Gabriel, with the angel also suggesting the cause of such an appellation, “for he himself,” he says, “will save his people from their sins.” But the name of his children, to whom he said, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you,” and of those after them in all the churches, his sons and grandsons and descendants, what else would it be but the blessed name of Christian? 103 Ps. From Ecclesiastes. 4. A poor and wise youth is better than an old and foolish king, who no longer knew to pay attention. Because he will come forth from the house of prisoners to be king, because even in his kingdom he became poor. I saw all the living who walk under the sun with the second youth, who will rise up in his place. There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; and yet the last ones will not rejoice in him, because this too is vanity and a striving after wind. Since Christ, being the wisdom of God, for our sake became poor though he was rich, I think it is said of him, “a poor and wise youth is better than an old and foolish king”; whom I consider to be the devil, grown old in evil days; who is king of those ruled by the sin which is at work by him, yet foolish because he is deprived of virtuous and godly prudence; but the aforementioned good and wise youth, having come forth from the house of prisoners, that is, of the earthly place, or of the regions in Hades, at the resurrection from the dead, was established as king by the Father upon Zion, the heavenly mountain of God, and in his very kingdom he became poor, not considering equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbling himself and descending from the highest glory for the sake of those who could not contain the wealth of his wisdom; and the second youth said to rise up in his place, I suppose to be the antichrist, 104 with whom the word says it has seen all who are living and walking under the sun; and who would these be, but all who are concerned with what is called under the sun, “vanity of vanities”? Ps. From Ecclesiastes 5. And this wisdom I have seen under the sun, and it is great to me. A small city and few men in it, and a great king came against it, and surrounded it, and built great siegeworks against it; and found in it a poor and wise man, and he saved the city by his wisdom, yet no one remembered that poor man. And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength;” yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard. Since also here the one working the things of war is said to be a king, but the one saving the city besieged by him is a poor and wise man; and since 'a good, poor man' was also mentioned in the preceding chapter

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αὐτὸν, εἶτ' ἐπαναγαγὼν τὸ ἀνεληλυθέναι φησὶν, ἔπειτα κατεληλυθέναι· ἐπείπερ μετὰ τὴν 102 ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν εἰπὼν τῇ Μαριὰμ, Μή μου ἅπτου, 102 οὔπω γὰρ ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου· μετὰ ταῦτα ὤφθη τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐπὶ ἡμέραις τεσσαράκοντα συναλιζόμενος αὐτοῖς· ἀνεληλυθὼς δηλαδὴ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ αὖθις δι' ἣν ἐπετέλει οἰκονομίαν κατεληλυθώς. ∆ι' ὃ καὶ εἴρηται· Ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκε δόματα ἐν ἀνθρώποις. Τίνα δὲ ταῦτα ἢ τὰ διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χαρίσματα, ἅπερ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κατεβίβασε; ∆ι' ὃ καὶ ἐνταῦθα παρὰ τῷ Ἀκύλᾳ εἴρηται· τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ κατεβίβασεν; Αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ ἐκράτησε τῶν ἄκρων τῆς γῆς, ὥστε εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξελθεῖν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτοῦ. Ὧι δὲ δέδοται λόγος γνώσεως, οὗτος εἴσεται ὅπως ἂν νοηθείη καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν κατὰ τὸν τόπον· προτρέπει δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὸ ζητῆσαι τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτοῦ· πρὸς τοῦτο δ' ὑπακουσόμεθα ἐκ τῆς ἐνεργείας παρειληφότες, αὐτῷ μὲν ὑπάρχειν ὄνομα Ἰησοῦς, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται Θεοῦ σωτηρία· ὃ καὶ οἱ κατὰ σάρκα προσήκοντες κατὰ τὸν τοῦ Γαβριὴλ χρηματισμὸν ἐπιτεθείκασιν αὐτῷ, ὑποθεμένου καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῆς τοιαύτης προσηγορίας, αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει φησὶ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν. Τὸ δὲ τῶν τέκνων αὐτοῦ ὄνομα, οἷς ἔλεγε, Τεκνία, ἔτι μικρὸν χρόνον μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι, καὶ τῶν μετ' ἐκείνους ἐν ἁπάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις υἱῶν τε αὐτοῦ καὶ υἱώνων καὶ ἀπογόνων, τί ἂν ἄλλο εἴη ἢ τὸ εὐλογημένον Χριστιανὸν ὄνομα; 103 Ψ. Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστοῦ. ∆ʹ. Ἀγαθὸς παῖς πένης καὶ σοφὸς ὑπὲρ βασιλέα πρεσβύτερον καὶ ἄφρονα, ὃς οὐκ ἔγνω τοῦ προσέχειν ἔτι. Ὅτι ἐξ οἴκου δεσμίων ἐξελεύσεται τοῦ βασιλεῦσαι, ὅτι καί γε ἐν βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐγενήθη πένης. Εἶδον σύμπαντας τοὺς ζῶντας τοὺς περιπατοῦντας ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον μετὰ τοῦ νεανίσκου τοῦ δευτέρου, ὃς ἀναστήσεται ἀντ' αὐτοῦ. Οὐκ ἔστι περασμὸς τῷ παντὶ λαῷ τοῖς πᾶσιν, ὅσοι ἐγένοντο ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν· καί γε οἱ ἔσχατοι οὐκ εὐφρανθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ, ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος. Ἐπεὶ Χριστὸς σοφία Θεοῦ ὢν δι' ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσε πλούσιος ὢν, οἶμαι περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγεσθαι τὸ, ἀγαθὸς παῖς πένης καὶ σοφὸς ὑπὲρ βασιλέα πρεσβύτερον καὶ ἄφρονα· ὃν νομίζω εἶναι τὸν πεπαλαιωμένον ἡμερῶν κακῶν διάβολον· ὃς βασιλεὺς μέν ἐστιν τῶν βασιλευομένων ὑπὸ τῆς ἐνεργουμένης ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτίας, ἄφρων γε μὴν διὰ τὸ ἐστερῆσθαι τῆς ἐναρέτου καὶ κατὰ Θεὸν φρονήσεως· ὁ δὲ προειρημένος ἀγαθὸς καὶ σοφὸς παῖς, ἐξ οἴκου δεσμίων, ἤτοι τοῦ περιγείου τόπου, ἤτοι τῶν ἐν Ἅιδῃ χωρίων, κατὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν προελθὼν βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐπὶ Σιὼν τὸ ἐπουράνιον ὄρος τοῦ Θεοῦ κατέστη, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐγενήθη πένης, οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγούμενος τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ταπεινῶν καὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω δοξῆς ὑποκαταβαίνων διὰ τοὺς μὴ χωροῦντας αὐτοῦ τὸν τῆς σοφίας πλοῦτον· τὸν δ' ἀντὶ τούτου λεγόμενον ἀναστήσεσθαι δεύτερον νεανίσκον, τὸν ἀντίχριστον εἶναι 104 ὑπολαμβάνω, μεθ' οὗ σύμπαντας τοὺς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ζῶντας καὶ περιπατοῦντας ἑορακέναι φησὶν ὁ λόγος· τίνες δ' ἂν εἶεν οὗτοι, ἢ πάντες οἱ περιέποντες τὴν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον λεγομένην ματαιότητα ματαιοτήτων; Ψ. Ἐκ τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστοῦ Εʹ. Καί γε τοῦτο εἶδον σοφίαν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ μεγάλη ἐστὶ πρὸς μέ. Πόλις μικρὰ καὶ ἄνδρες ἐν αὐτῇ ὀλίγοι, καὶ ἔλθῃ εἰς αὐτὴν βασιλεὺς μέγας, καὶ κυκλώσει αὐτὴν, καὶ οἰκοδομήσει ἐπ' αὐτὴν χάρακας μεγάλους· καὶ εὕρῃ ἐν αὐτῇ ἄνδρα πένητα καὶ σοφὸν, καὶ διασώσει αὐτὸς τὴν πόλιν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἐμνήσθη τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τοῦ πένητος ἐκείνου. Καὶ εἶπα ἐγὼ, Ἀγαθὴ σοφία ὑπὲρ δύναμιν· καὶ σοφία τοῦ πένητος ἐξουδενωμένη, καὶ λόγοι αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰσὶν ἀκουόμενοι. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ μὲν τὰ τοῦ πολέμου ἐνεργῶν βασιλεὺς εἶναι λέγεται, ὁ δὲ διασώζων τὴν ὑπὸ τούτου πολιορκουμένην πόλιν ἀνὴρ πένης καὶ σοφός· λεγομένου δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου κεφαλαίῳ τοῦ, ἀγαθὸς πένης