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men pass their lives in toils, as if expecting to live forever? How do they not expect the destruction through death, who see those before them dying? And that they are truly foolish and senseless who do not know that after this life they will leave their wealth to others, while they themselves will dwell in tombs forever, they who did not write their names in heaven through the higher life, but desiring to become famous on earth made themselves nameless in the city above. And the cause of all these things is that man does not understand his own honor, but is willingly dragged down to brutish pleasures, having become given over to the throat and belly and to the filth after the belly. This is the part of the first division of the psalm. The remainder has its accusation in other things. But the discourse ends again on the same word, the prophecy, I think, philosophizing for us, that the first cause of the entrance of evils is that man was made like a brute by the more animal passions. But when the cure for such an evil came to us by grace through him who visited humanity in compassion, again abandoning the good shepherd they are shepherded by death, not inclining themselves to the 5.132 heavenly but to the pasture in Hades, becoming sheep of Hades. For he says that, As sheep they are appointed for Hades, death will shepherd them. And so a second time there is again through sin an insensibility to the honor given to us by grace, and a descent to the irrational life. For everything that happens outside the true word is irrationality. And the irrational and senseless is proper to the beast.

CHAPTER 13

To write down precisely, word for word, each of the things in the psalmody

would be superfluous, since there is much ease for one who wishes, through what has been said, to understand also what has been passed over. So I think there is no need to lengthen the discourse through much speaking; or it is necessary only to repeat this from what has been examined before, that through both the great David benefits human nature, both by what he prefigures symbolically concerning our salvation and by what he shows to men concerning the way of repentance, applying a kind of art to this achievement through the fiftieth psalmody, by which another victory against the adversary is prepared for us. For to know how to cleanse ourselves from evils becomes a preparation and a basis for the continual victory against the enemy. For since our struggle in life is unceasing against the ruler of the darkness of this world and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places; 5.133 since we have only one counter-wrestling and defense against every assault of the tempter, which is repentance, he who achieves this in himself becomes a constant victor over the one who is always wrestling against him. After this, even if the history in the inscriptions has its inconsistency, yet the sense is connected to the sequence. For the deed concerning Bathsheba and Uriah is much later than the narrative concerning Doeg the Idumean. For the one happened in the beginning of the tyranny of Saul, while the other occurred a little before the end of the reign of David. But the spiritual word is not concerned with the chronological and carnal order of events. For how does it benefit me so much to learn first about the Idumean and after this to be taught about Bathsheba? What virtue is there in this? What ascent to the better? What instruction for the desire of higher things? But if, having learned the mysteries in the fiftieth psalm, as many as the word contains in its deeper meaning, and with that I should be taught the medicine given to us for the destruction of the adversary, I mean that of repentance, so that through this I am always accustomed and trained in the victory against the enemy, consider how I advance

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διάγουσι κόποις οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ὡς ἀεὶ ζήσεσθαι προσδοκῶντες; πῶς τὴν διὰ τοῦ θανάτου καταφθορὰν οὐκ ἐλπίζουσιν οἱ τοὺς πρὸ αὐτῶν ἀποθνήσκοντας βλέποντες; καὶ ὅτι ἄφρονες ὡς ἀληθῶς εἰσιν καὶ ἀνόητοι οἱ οὐκ εἰδότες, ὅτι μετὰ τὸν τῇδε βίον ἄλλοις καταλείψουσι τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτῶν, αὐτοὶ δὲ τάφοις εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς παροικήσουσιν οἱ τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐν οὐρανοῖς διὰ τῆς ὑψηλοτέρας ζωῆς ἀπογράψαντες, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ γῇ ὀνομαστοὶ γενέσθαι ποθήσαντες ἀνωνύμους ἑαυτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἄνω πόλει ἐποίησαν. τούτων δὲ πάντων αἴτιον τὸ μὴ συνιέναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῆς ἰδίας τιμῆς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς κτηνώδεις ἡδονὰς ἑκουσίως κατασυρῆναι, λαιμῷ καὶ γαστρὶ καὶ τῷ μετὰ γαστέρα ῥύπῳ γενόμενον ἔκδοτον. τοῦτο τῆς πρώτης διαιρέσεως τοῦ ψαλμοῦ τὸ μέρος. τὸ δὲ λειπό μενον ἐν ἄλλοις ἔχει τὴν κατηγορίαν. πάλιν δὲ εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ ῥῆμα περαιοῦται ὁ λόγος, τοῦτο, οἶμαι, φιλοσοφούσης ἡμῖν τῆς προφητείας, ὅτι τὸ πρῶτον αἴτιον τῆς τῶν κακῶν εἰσόδου τὸ ἀποκτηνωθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῖς ζῳωδεστέροις παθήμασιν. γενομένης δὲ ἡμῖν ἐκ χάριτος τῆς θεραπείας τοῦ τοιούτου κακοῦ διὰ τοῦ ἐπισκεψα μένου ἐν οἰκτιρμῷ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, πάλιν ἀφέντες τὸν ἀγαθὸν ποιμένα ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου ποιμαίνονται οὐ πρὸς τὴν 5.132 οὐρανίαν ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ἐν ᾅδου νομὴν ἑαυτοὺς ἐπικλίναντες πρόβατα τοῦ ᾅδου γινόμενοι. φησὶ γὰρ ὅτι Ὡς πρόβατα ἐν ᾅδῃ ἔθεντο, θάνατος ποιμανεῖ αὐτούς. καὶ οὕτως ἐκ δευτέρου γίνεται πάλιν διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡ τῆς τιμῆς τῆς κατὰ χάριν γενομένης ἡμῖν ἀναισθησία καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄλογον βίον κατα φορά. πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἔξω τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ λόγου γινόμενον ἀλογία ἐστίν. ἴδιον δὲ τοῦ κτήνους τὸ ἄλογόν τε καὶ ἀνόητον.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΓʹ

Τὰ δὲ καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν ἐν τῇ ψαλμῳδίᾳ δι' ἀκριβείας ἐπὶ λέξεως ἀναγράφειν

περιττὸν ἂν εἴη, πολλῆς εὐκολίας οὔσης τῷ βουλομένῳ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ τὰ παρεθέντα κατανοῆσαι. ὥστε οὐδὲν οἶμαι δεῖν μηκύνειν διὰ πολυλογίας τὸν λόγον· ἢ τοῦτο μόνον ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἐπαναλαβεῖν ἐκ τῶν προεξητασμένων, ὅτι δι' ἀμφοτέρων εὐεργετεῖ τὴν ἀνθρω πίνην φύσιν ὁ μέγας ∆αβίδ, δι' ὧν τε προτυποῖ συμβολικῶς τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν καὶ δι' ὧν ὑποδείκνυσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τῆς μετανοίας τὸν τρόπον, οἷόν τινα τέχνην ἐπιβάλλων τούτῳ τῷ κατορθώματι διὰ τῆς πεντηκοστῆς ψαλμῳδίας, δι' ἧς ἄλλη νίκη κατὰ τοῦ ἀντιπάλου ἡμῖν ἑτοιμάζεται. τὸ γὰρ εἰδέναι τῶν κακῶν ἑαυτοὺς ἐκκαθαίρειν τῆς διηνεκοῦς κατὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ νίκης παρασκευὴ γίνεται καὶ ὑπόθεσις. ἀδιαλείπτου γὰρ ἡμῖν οὔσης ἐν τῷ βίῳ τῆς πάλης τῆς γενομένης πρὸς τὸν κοσμοκράτορα τοῦ σκότους τούτου καὶ πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις· 5.133 ἐπειδὴ ἓν μόνον ἀντιπάλαισμα καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν πειρατηρίου προσβολὴν ἔχομεν τὴν μετάνοιαν, ὁ τοῦτο ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατορθώ σας διὰ παντὸς νικητὴς γίνεται τοῦ ἀεὶ προσπαλαίοντος. μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ κἂν ἡ ἱστορία ἐν ταῖς ἐπιγραφαῖς τὸ ἀνακόλου θον ἔχῃ, ἀλλ' ὁ νοῦς πρὸς τὴν ἀκολουθίαν συνήρτηται. πολὺ γὰρ μεταγενέστερον τὸ κατὰ τὴν Βηρσαβεὲ καὶ τὸν Οὐρίαν ἔργον τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Ἰδουμαῖον τὸν ∆ωήκ ἐστιν διηγήματος. τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ἐν ἀρχαῖς τῆς τοῦ Σαοὺλ τυραννί δος ἐγένετο, ἐκεῖνο δὲ μικρὸν πρὸ τοῦ τέλους τῆς τοῦ ∆αβὶδ βασιλείας συνέβη. ἀλλ' οὐ μέλει τῷ πνευματικῷ λόγῳ τῆς χρονικῆς τε καὶ σαρκίνης τῶν πραγμάτων τάξεως. τί γάρ με τοσοῦτον ὀνίνησιν ἐν πρώτοις τὸ κατὰ τὸν Ἰδουμαῖον μαθεῖν καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸ κατὰ τὴν Βηρσαβεὲ διδαχθῆναι; τίς ἀρετὴ διὰ τούτου; ποία πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀνάβασις; τίς πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐπιθυμίαν διδασκαλία; εἰ δὲ μαθὼν τὰ ἐν τῷ πεντηκοστῷ μυστήρια, ὅσα κατὰ τὸ βαθύτερον περιέχει ὁ λόγος, καὶ μετ' ἐκείνου τὸ πρὸς τὴν κατάλυσιν τοῦ ἀντιπάλου δοθὲν ἡμῖν φάρμακον διδαχθείην, τὸ τῆς μετανοίας λέγω, ὥστε διὰ τούτου με πάντοτε νίκῃ τῇ κατὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ συνεθίζεσθαί τε καὶ ἐγγυμνάζεσθαι, σκόπησον ὅπως προσβαίνω