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having been trained in victories to sing "For the hidden things of the son" through well-ordered and melodious contemplation. and again having conquered the beast that lies in wait against us in secret places, so that the enemy's boast against us should no longer remain (For that man may no longer add to his boasting upon the earth) then through the victory that consequently comes to you, having a more perfect confidence in God you say, "In the Lord I have put my trust." in the next victory, you will again remember the Eighth, in which the boastful tongue and the deceitful lips and the madness against God are destroyed; 5.124 but those will be kept from this generation and for ever who do not walk about in the circle of impiety, but hold to the straight path, which God has inaugurated for us, a new and living way. And why must one go through each particular, since this approach sufficiently shows you beforehand the progress toward better things through the order and inscription of the psalms? the interpretation of the inscriptions set forth in the preceding discussions contributing not a little for us to such an understanding.

CHAPTER 12

But because the first section of the ascent through the psalms was completed, in

the fortieth the repetition of the beatitude occurs again, the word defining for us what is blessed differently than at the beginning. for in the first ones to depart from evil was blessed; but here to know the good is called blessed. And the nature of the good, or if it is possible to find any word or thought even beyond this, this is the only-begotten God, who for our sakes became poor, though he was rich. the word here foretells whose poverty in the flesh, which was shown to us through the gospel history, calling blessed the one who with understanding recognized that poverty; who is poor according to the form of a servant, but blessed according to the nature of the Godhead. For having named him needy and poor in the introductions of the psalmody, the word says at the end of the section: Blessed is the Lord God 5.125 of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting, so be it, so be it. He therefore who has reached this height begins another ascent. For having left his father Korah, who through arrogance rose up against the priesthood and for this reason was consumed by fire and buried in the chasm and became subterranean out of sin, he adopts himself to the true father through faith, understanding how great is the difference to become a child of God than to be called a son of the apostate Korah. Having therefore obtained the end of victory and having known how great is the difference between this and the wicked father, and having eaten up and consumed in himself every bestial and venomous thought according to the nature of deer, for whom there is an innate power destructive of reptiles, he also imitates the deer in its thirst and has a thirst for the divine springs, and this would be the divine nature, which is both one and contemplated in a trinity. For as, it says, the deer longs for the springs of waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. Then it consoles 5.125 its thirst, which is constrained by desire, and hastening to obtain what is longed for and considering the short delay in partaking of good things a misfortune, it says both in the middle and at the end of the psalmody "Why are you sorrowful, O my soul?" and "Hope in God"; as divine hope truly guarantees for us the good enjoyment. And so it proceeds to the next, in which through the divine altar he becomes new; and in the following one, it again renders those descending in lineage from Korah victors; showing that esteem with God is not blunted by the ignoble birth of the fathers. And in this psalmody, having ascribed to God the cause of the 5.126 destruction of enemies, in what it says "For you have saved us from those who afflict us"

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νίκαις ἐγγυμνασθεὶς Ὑπὲρ τῶν κρυφίων τοῦ υἱοῦ ψάλλειν διὰ τῆς εὐαρμόστου τε καὶ ἐμμελοῦς θεωρίας. καὶ πάλιν νικήσας τὸν ἐν κρυφίοις ἐνεδρεύοντα καθ' ἡμῶν θῆρα, ὥστε μηκέτι τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τὸ καθ' ἡμῶν καύχημα περιλειφθῆναι (Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ προσθῇ ἔτι τοῦ μεγαλαυχεῖν ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς) τότε διὰ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ ἀκολούθου σοι προσγινομένης νίκης τελειοτέραν τὴν εἰς τὸν θεὸν πεποίθησιν ἔχων λέγεις Ἐπὶ τῷ κυρίῳ πέποιθα. ἐν τῇ ἐφεξῆς νίκῃ, πάλιν τῆς Ὀγδόης μεμνήσῃ, ἐν ᾗ ἐξολοθρεύεται μὲν ἡ μεγαλορρήμων γλῶσσα καὶ τὰ δόλια χείλη καὶ ἡ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ μανία· 5.124 φυλαχθήσονται δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οἱ μὴ ἐν κύκλῳ τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ συμπεριπατοῦντες, ἀλλὰ τῆς εὐθείας ἐχόμενοι, ἣν ἐνεκαίνισεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς ὁδὸν πρόσφατόν τε καὶ ζῶσαν. καὶ τί χρὴ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον διεξιέναι, ἱκανῶς σοι τῆς ἐφόδου ταύτης τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττω πρόοδον διὰ τῆς τῶν ψαλμῶν τάξεώς τε καὶ ἐπιγραφῆς προδεικνυούσης; οὐ μικρῶς ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην συμβαλλομένης διάνοιαν τῆς προβληθείσης τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις τῶν ἐπιγραφῶν ἑρμηνείας.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΒʹ

Ἀλλ' ὅτι συνεπεράνθη τὸ πρῶτον τμῆμα τῆς διὰ τῶν ψαλμῶν ἀναβάσεως, ἐν

τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ πάλιν ἡ τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ ἐπανάληψις γίνεται, ἄλλως τοῦ λόγου παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁριζομένου ἡμῖν τὸ μακάριον. ἐν γὰρ τοῖς πρώτοις τὸ ἀποστῆναι τοῦ κακοῦ μακάριον ἦν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὸ ἐπιγνῶναι τὸ ἀγαθὸν μακαρίζεται. ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φύσις, ἢ εἴ τι καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο δυνατόν ἐστιν ἐξευρεῖν ῥῆμα ἢ νόημα, οὗτος ὁ μονογενής ἐστι θεός, ὃς δι' ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν πλούσιος ὤν. οὗ τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ πτωχείαν τὴν διὰ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς ἱστορίας ἡμῖν ἐπιδειχθεῖσαν ἐνταῦθα προμηνύει ὁ λόγος, μακαρίζων τὸν μετὰ συνέσεως τὴν πτωχείαν ἐκείνην γνωρί σαντα· ὃς πτωχὸς μὲν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ δούλου μορφήν, εὐλογη τὸς δὲ κατὰ τὴν τῆς θεότητος φύσιν. πένητα γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ πτωχὸν ἐν προοιμίοις τῆς ψαλμῳδίας ὀνομάσας ὁ λόγος, ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει τοῦ τμήματός φησιν· Εὐλογητὸς κύριος ὁ θεὸς 5.125 τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, γένοιτο, γένοιτο. ὁ τοίνυν ἐπὶ τοῦτο φθάσας τὸ ὕψος ἑτέρας ἀναβάσεως ἄρχεται. καταλιπὼν γὰρ τὸν πατέρα τὸν Κορὲ τὸν δι' ὑπερηφανίας ἐπαναστάντα τῇ ἱερωσύνῃ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καταπρησθέντα τῷ πυρὶ καὶ καταχωσθέντα τῷ χάσματι καὶ ὑπόγειον ἐξ ἁμαρτίας γενόμενον, τῷ ἀληθινῷ πατρὶ ἑαυτὸν εἰσποιεῖ διὰ τῆς πίστεως, συνεὶς ὅσον ἐστὶ τὸ διάφορον θεοῦ τέκνον γενέσθαι ἢ τοῦ ἀποστάτου Κορὲ υἱὸν χρηματίζειν. τυχὼν τοίνυν τοῦ τέλους τῆς νίκης καὶ γνοὺς ὅσον ἐστὶ μεταξὺ τούτου καὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ πατρὸς τὸ διάφορον, διαφαγών τε καὶ ἐξαναλώσας ἐν ἑαυτῷ πᾶν θηριῶδες καὶ ἰοβόλον νόημα κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἐλάφων φύσιν, αἷς ἀφανιστικὴ τῶν ἑρπετῶν συνουσίω δύναμις, μιμεῖται καὶ τῇ δίψῃ τὴν ἔλαφον καὶ πρὸς τὰς θείας πηγάς, αὕτη δ' ἂν εἴη ἡ θεία φύσις, διψητικῶς ἔχει, ἡ μία τε οὖσα καὶ ἐν τριάδι θεωρουμένη. Ὃν τρόπον γάρ, φησίν, ἐπιποθεῖ ἡ ἔλαφος ἐπὶ τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, οὕτως ἐπιποθεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς σέ, ὁ θεός. εἶτα παραμυθεῖται 5.125 τὴν δίψαν συνεχομένην τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ καὶ σπεύδουσα τοῦ ποθουμένου τυχεῖν καὶ τὴν ἐν ὀλίγῳ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετου σίας ἀναβολὴν ἐν συμφορᾷ ποιουμένη λέγει κατά τε τὸ μέσον καὶ ἐπὶ τέλει τῆς ψαλμῳδίας Ἵνα τί περίλυπος εἶ, ἡ ψυχή μου; καὶ Ἔλπισον ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν· ὡς ἀληθῶς ἡμῖν τὴν ἀγαθὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῆς θείας ἐλπίδος ἐγγυωμένης. καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ ἑξῆς πρόεισιν, ἐν ᾧ διὰ τοῦ θείου θυσιαστηρίου γίνεται νέος· καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἑξῆς πάλιν τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ Κορὲ τὸ γένος κατάγοντας νικητὰς ἀπεργάζεται· δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐκ ἀμβλύνεται τῇ δυσγενείᾳ τῶν πατέρων ἡ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ εὐδοκίμησις. καὶ ἐν τῇ ψαλμῳδίᾳ δὲ ταύτῃ τῷ θεῷ τῆς τῶν 5.126 ἐχθρῶν καθαιρέσεως ἀναθεὶς τὴν αἰτίαν, ἐν οἷς φησιν Ἔσωσας γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν θλιβόντων