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he calls the evil structure stubble and hay, because such structures become fire at the time of judgment, and the voice of the Gospel says that the chaff is prepared for fire, and declared the fruitless vine branch fit only for the fire, it would be clear that the vain pursuits of life are wood gathered for the preparation of fire, and this is the one who is stoned in season, which, if one understands it as the thought that inclines toward evil, he would not miss the mark. But one must surely understand that the thoughts that destroy evil are these stones, well-aimed and slung by the Preacher, which must always be both sent out and gathered; sent out for the destruction of that which is exalted against our life, and gathered so that the bosom of the soul may always be full of such preparations, so that the cast against the enemy may be at hand, should he ever devise a plot against us. From where then shall we gather stones, with which we shall stone the enemy? I have heard the prophecy saying: Holy stones are rolled upon the earth. These would be the words coming down to us 5.397 from the divinely inspired scripture, which one must gather in the bosom of the soul, that in season we may use them against those who grieve us, whose cast both destroys the enemy and is not separated from the right hand of the one who casts. For he who with the stone of self-control casts down the intemperate thought, which through pleasures kindles the fuel of fire, has both contended against that one with the cast and always carries the weapon in his hand. Thus also righteousness becomes a stone against injustice and destroys it and is kept in the bosom of the one who has sent it forth. In the same way all things conceived for the better become destructive of the worse and are not separated from the one who practices virtue. Thus it is, according to our word, a time to cast stones and a time to gather stones, so that we may both always send good casts for stoning the worse things and never lack an abundance of such weapons. The saying that follows next in order defines a time and an untimeliness of a certain embrace; and the text is as follows: A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. But these meanings would not otherwise become clear to us unless the text is first understood through scripture, 5.398 so that it becomes clear to us, in what context the divinely inspired word knows to use the term "embracing." The great David then cries out to us through a psalm, saying: Go round about Sion and embrace her, and Solomon himself, when he was making the inner union of one lovingly disposed toward Wisdom, says both the other things through which our connection to virtue comes to be, and adds this: Honor her, that she may embrace you. If then David commands us to embrace Sion, and Solomon said that those who have honored Wisdom are embraced by her, perhaps we do not miss the proper meaning by learning the matter for which embracing is timely. For Sion is the mountain appearing above the heights of Jerusalem. He, therefore, who urges you to embrace it, commands you to be united with the lofty way of life, so as to reach the acropolis of the virtues, which he signifies enigmatically by the name Sion; and he who makes you dwell with wisdom 5.399 proclaims to you the embrace that will be from her. Therefore, it is time to embrace Sion and to be embraced by Wisdom, the name Sion indicating the loftiness of the way of life, and Wisdom signifying through herself every virtue in part. If, therefore, we have known through what has been said the timeliness of embracing, through the same we have been taught from what things separation of union is more profitable. For it is a time, he says, to refrain from embracing. He who has been made familiar with virtue has been estranged from the relationship with evil. For what fellowship has light with darkness, or Christ with Belial? Or how is it possible for one serving two opposing masters to be well-disposed to both? For the

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καλάμην καὶ χόρτον τὴν πονηρὰν οἰκοδομὴν ὀνομάζει, διότι τὰ τοιαῦτα οἰκοδομήματα ἐν τῷ τῆς κρίσεως καιρῷ πῦρ γίνεται, καὶ τὸ ἄχυρόν φησιν ἡ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου φωνὴ πυρὶ ἑτοιμάζεσθαι, καὶ τὴν ἄκαρπον κλημα τίδα μόνῳ εὔθετον τῷ πυρὶ ἀπεφήνατο, δῆλον ἂν εἴη, ὅτι ξύλα ἐστὶν εἰς πυρὸς παρασκευὴν συναγόμενα τὰ μάταια τοῦ βίου ἐπιτηδεύματα, καὶ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐν καιρῷ τοῖς λίθοις βαλλόμενος, ὅνπερ τὸν εἰς τὰ κακὰ ῥέποντα λογισμόν τις νοήσας οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τοῦ δέοντος. χρὴ δὲ πάντως νοεῖν, ὅτι οἱ ἀναιρετικοὶ τῆς κακίας λογισμοὶ οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ λίθοι οἱ εὐστόχως ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστοῦ σφενδονώμενοι, οὓς ἀεὶ καὶ πέμπεσθαι χρὴ καὶ συνάγεσθαι· πέμπεσθαι μὲν εἰς καθαίρεσιν τοῦ κατὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας ζωῆς ὑψουμένου, συνάγε σθαι δὲ εἰς τὸ ἀεὶ πλήρη τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς εἶναι κόλπον τῶν τοιούτων παρασκευῶν, ὥστε πρόχειρον εἶναι κατὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τὴν βολήν, εἴποτε ἄλλως τὴν καθ' ἡμῶν ἐπιβουλὴν ἐννοήσειεν. πόθεν οὖν συναγάγωμεν λίθους, οἷς τὸν ἐχθρὸν καταλεύσομεν; ἤκουσα τῆς προφητείας εἰπούσης· Λίθοι ἅγιοι κυλίονται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. οὗτοι δ' ἂν εἶεν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς εἰς 5.397 ἡμᾶς κατιόντες λόγοι, οὓς χρὴ συνάγειν ἐν τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς κόλπῳ, ἵν' ἐν καιρῷ κατὰ τῶν λυπούντων χρησώμεθα, ὧν ἡ βολὴ καὶ ἀναιρεῖ τὸν πολέμιον καὶ τῆς τοῦ βάλλοντος δεξιᾶς οὐ χωρίζεται. ὁ γὰρ τῷ λίθῳ τῆς σωφροσύνης κατα βαλὼν τὸν ἀκόλαστον λογισμὸν τὸν διὰ τῶν ἡδονῶν τὰς τοῦ πυρὸς ὕλας φρυγανιζόμενον κἀκεῖνον τῇ βολῇ κατηγωνίσατο καὶ διὰ χειρὸς ἀεὶ φέρει τὸ ὅπλον. οὕτως καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη λίθος κατὰ τῆς ἀδικίας γίνεται κἀκείνην ἀναιρεῖ καὶ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ προεμένου φυλάσσεται. κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον πάντα τὰ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον νοούμενα ἀναιρετικὰ τῶν χειρόνων γίνεται καὶ τοῦ κατορθοῦντος τὴν ἀρετὴν οὐ χωρίζεται. οὕτως ἔστιν, κατά γε τὸν ἡμέτερον λόγον, ἐν καιρῷ βαλεῖν τοὺς λίθους καὶ ἐν καιρῷ συναγαγεῖν λίθους, ὥστε καὶ ἀεὶ πέμπειν τὰς ἀγαθὰς βολὰς ἐπὶ τὸ καταλεύειν τὰ χείρονα καὶ μηδέποτε ἡμᾶς ἐπιλείπειν τῶν τοιούτων ὅπλων τὴν ἀφθονίαν. Ἡ δὲ ἐφεξῆς κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον ἐγκειμένη ῥῆσις περιλήψεώς τινος καιρὸν καὶ ἀκαιρίαν ὁρίζεται· ἔχει δὲ ἡ λέξις οὕτως· Καιρὸς τοῦ περιλαβεῖν καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ μακρυνθῆναι ἀπὸ περιλήψεως. ταῦτα δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἄλλως γένοιτο ἡμῖν καταφανῆ τὰ νοήματα μὴ τῆς λέξεως πρότερον διὰ τῆς γραφῆς νοηθείσης, 5.398 ὥστε γενέσθαι δῆλον ἡμῖν, ἐπὶ τίνος οἶδεν ὁ θεόπνευστος λόγος τῇ φωνῇ κεχρῆσθαι τῆς περιλήψεως. ὁ μὲν οὖν μέγας ∆αβὶδ διὰ ψαλμῳδίας ἡμῖν ἐμβοᾷ λέγων· Κυκλώσατε Σιὼν καὶ περιλάβετε αὐτήν, αὐτὸς δὲ οὗτος ὁ Σολομών, ὅτε τὴν ἐνδιάθετον ἐποίει συζυγίαν τοῦ ἐρωτικῶς πρὸς τὴν Σοφίαν διατεθέντος, τά τε ἄλλα φησί, δι' ὧν γίνεται ἡμῖν ἡ πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν συνάφεια, καὶ τοῦτο ἐπάγει· Τίμησον αὐτήν, ἵνα σε περιλάβῃ. εἰ οὖν ∆αβὶδ μὲν τὴν Σιὼν ἡμᾶς περιλαμβάνειν διακελεύεται, Σολομὼν δὲ τοὺς τετιμηκότας τὴν Σοφίαν παρ' αὐτῆς εἶπε περιλαμβάνεσθαι, τάχα τῆς προσηκούσης ἐννοίας οὐχ ἁμαρτάνομεν μαθόντες τὸ πρᾶγμα, οὗ εὔκαιρός ἐστιν ἡ περίληψις. τὸ γὰρ Σιὼν ὄρος ἐστὶ τῆς Ἱεροσολύμων Ἄκρας ὑπερφαινόμενον. ὁ οὖν ταύτην σε περιλαμβάνειν προτρεπό μενος τῇ ὑψηλῇ πολιτείᾳ συμφυῆναι παρακελεύεται, ὥστε εἰς αὐτὴν φθάσαι τῶν ἀρετῶν τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, ἣν τῷ ὀνόματι Σιὼν παραδηλοῖ δι' αἰνίγματος· ὁ δὲ τῇ σοφίᾳ σε συνοικίζων 5.399 τὴν παρ' ἐκείνης ἐσομένην περίληψίν σοι εὐαγγελίζεται. οὐκοῦν καιρός ἐστι τὴν Σιὼν περιλαμβάνειν καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς Σοφίας περιλαμβάνεσθαι, τοῦ μὲν ὀνόματος Σιὼν τὸ ὑψηλὸν τῆς πολιτείας ἐνδεικνυμένου, τῆς δὲ Σοφίας πᾶσαν ἀπὸ μέρους τὴν ἀρετὴν δι' ἑαυτῆς σημαινούσης. εἰ τοίνυν ἐγνώκα μεν διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων τὸ τῆς περιλήψεως εὔκαιρον, διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐδιδάχθημεν, τίνων ὁ χωρισμὸς τῆς συμφυΐας ἐστὶ λυσιτελέστερος. Καιρὸς γάρ, φησί, τοῦ μακρυνθῆναι ἀπὸ περιλήψεως. ὁ πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν οἰκειωθεὶς τῆς πρὸς τὴν κακίαν σχέσεως ἠλλοτρίωται. τίς γὰρ κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος ἢ Χριστῷ πρὸς Βελιάρ; ἢ πῶς δυνατόν ἐστι δυσὶ κυρίοις ἐναντίοις δουλεύοντα εὔνουν ἀμφοτέροις γενέσθαι; ἡ γὰρ