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according to what follows in the ascent that comes next, receiving victory from victory. But I will read to you the sequence of the historical inscription, which is as follows: To the end, for understanding, for David, when Doeg the Idumean came and 5.134 announced to Saul and said to him, 'David has come to the house of Ahimelech'. Through which I am taught that this indeed leads to the end of victory, whenever understanding guides one's life in the likeness of the great David. And then especially do I grieve Doeg, the tyrant of my salvation, when I am in the house of the priest and when the servant of mules, no longer having the power to contend with me face to face, secretly prepares the plot against me for the one who seeks my life, by reporting my sojourn with the priest. And it would be clear who the mules are, over which this Idumean presides, he who herds the barren nature, in which the blessing of God found no place, which says from the beginning, placing increase in creation, that 'Increase and multiply'. For the increase of wickedness is not from God; just as the succession of the race of mules is not from one another, but nature always innovates the animal, devising by itself and introducing what does not exist in creation. And it is entirely clear from what has been said to what end the discourse looks. For if all that the Lord made was very good, but the mule is outside the catalogue of the things that have come to be in creation, it would be clear that this name has been taken up by the history for the indication of wickedness. Therefore it neither has its existence from God, nor, having come into being as it does, does it persist in its substance in its own way. For just as the nature of mules does not preserve itself through itself, so also wickedness does not remain the same, preserved perpetually, but another is always being brought to life by another, whenever the noble and proud, and swift and high-necked part of the nature within us slips into the desire for the asinine and irrational union. Therefore, 5.135 that foreigner Doeg, who became a messenger to Saul against David, the herdsman of the barren herd of mules, would be none other than the evil angel who, through the various passions of sin, draws the human soul toward evil; which, when he sees that it is in the house of the true priest, being unable to strike it with the kicks of the mules, then he reports it to the ruler of wickedness, of the spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience. But he who is rooted like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God makes those speeches against the tyrant which we have heard in the psalm, saying, 'Why do you boast in wickedness, O mighty one, in lawlessness?', whose tongue is like a sharpened razor, stripping the beauty of the hair from whomever it is brought against, and cutting off the seven locks of hair in which our strength is. And you surely understand from the sevenfold group of spiritual locks the meaning, just as Isaiah enumerated the sevenfold grace of the spirit; and when these are cut off, as happened in the case of Samson, the loss of the eyes follows, and being an object of ridicule to the foreigners when they are drunk. And he adds after saying these things, through which the characteristics of the one mighty in wickedness are described, that God will destroy this one completely; but for now he will pluck him up and make him depart from the divine tabernacle, and from the land of the living he will dig up the roots of his wickedness and bitterness, and whatever things the psalm contains in sequence to these, looking to the same meaning; through which is established the steadfastness 5.136 of those who are, as the divine apostle said, rooted in the faith. For I, he says, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of my God, have hoped in the mercy of God forever and for that interval beyond it, whose measure is infinity, which he calls the age of ages. in this he also promises to offer thanksgiving to God for eternity, saying: I will give thanks to you forever, for you have done for me things worthy of thanksgiving. And I will wait, he says, on your name, for patience is a good thing for your holy ones. and just as the multi-colored gleam in the various colors of the dye

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κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον τῇ ἐφεξῆς ἀνόδῳ, νίκην ἐκ νίκης μεταλαμβάνων. ἀναγνώσομαι δέ σοι τῆς ἱστορικῆς ἐπιγραφῆς τὴν ἀκολουθίαν ἔχουσαν οὕτως· Εἰς τὸ τέλος συνέσεως τῷ ∆αβὶδ ἐν τῷ ἐλθεῖν ∆ωὴκ τὸν Ἰδουμαῖον καὶ 5.134 ἀναγγεῖλαι τῷ Σαοὺλ καὶ εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ Ἦλθεν ∆αβὶδ εἰς τὸν οἶκον Ἀβιμέλεχ. δι' ὧν διδάσκομαι ὅτι τοῦτο μὲν εἰς τὸ τέλος τῆς νίκης ἄγει, ὅταν σύνεσις καθηγῆται τοῦ βίου καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ μεγάλου ∆αβίδ. καὶ τότε μάλιστα λυπῶ τὸν ∆ωὴκ τὸν τῆς ἐμῆς σωτηρίας τύραννον, ὅταν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ ἱερέως γένωμαι καὶ ὅταν ἡμιόνων ὑπηρέτης, μηκέτι μοι κατὰ πρόσωπον συμπλέκεσθαι δύναμιν ἔχων, λάθρα κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν ἐξαρτύηται τῷ κατ' ἐμοῦ φονῶντι τὴν παρὰ τῷ ἱερεῖ διαγωγήν μου καταμηνύων. δῆλον δ' ἂν εἴη τίνες εἰσὶν αἱ ἡμίονοι, ὧν ἐπιστατεῖ οὗτος ὁ Ἰδουμαῖος ὁ τὴν ἄγονον βουκολῶν φύσιν, ἐν ᾗ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ εὐλογία τόπον οὐχ εὗρεν, ἥ φησιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸν πληθυσμὸν ἐντιθεῖσα τῇ κτίσει, ὅτι Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε. οὐ γὰρ ἐκ θεοῦ ὁ πληθυσμὸς τῇ κακίᾳ· ὡς οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀλλήλων ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ γένους τῶν ἡμιόνων διαδοχή, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ καινοτομεῖ τὸ ζῷον ἡ φύσις τὸ μὴ ὂν ἐν τῇ κτίσει δι' ἑαυτῆς παρασοφιζομένη καὶ παρεισά γουσα. δῆλον δὲ πάντως διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ἐστὶ πρὸς τίνα σκοπὸν βλέπει ὁ λόγος. εἰ γὰρ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος καλὰ λίαν, ἡ δὲ ἡμίονος ἔξω τοῦ καταλόγου τῶν ἐν τῇ κτίσει γεγονότων ἐστίν, δῆλον ἂν εἴη ὅτι πρὸς κακίας ἔνδειξιν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο ὑπὸ τῆς ἱστορίας παρείληπται. οὔτε ἐκ θεοῦ οὖν τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχει οὔτε γενομένη ὡς γίνεται διαρκεῖ τῇ ὑποστάσει πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον. ὡς γὰρ οὐ συντηρεῖ δι' ἑαυτῆς ἑαυτὴν ἡ τῶν ἡμιόνων φύσις, οὕτως οὐδὲ ἡ κακία μένει κατὰ τὸ διηνεκὲς ἡ αὐτὴ φυλασσομένη, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε γίνεται ἄλλη ὑπ' ἄλλου ζωογονουμένη, ὅταν τὸ εὐγενὲς καὶ γαῦρον τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν φύσεως καὶ ταχὺ καὶ ὑψαύχενον πρὸς ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς ὀνώδους τε καὶ ἀλόγου συζυγίας κατολισθήσῃ. ὁ τοίνυν 5.135 ἀλλόφυλος ἐκεῖνος ∆ωὴκ ὁ τῷ Σαοὺλ κατὰ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ γενόμενος ἄγγελος, ὁ τῆς ἀγόνου ἀγέλης τῶν ἡμιόνων νομεύς, οὐκ ἄν τις ἕτερος εἴη παρὰ τὸν πονηρὸν ἄγγελον τὸν διὰ τῶν ποικίλων τῆς ἁμαρτίας παθημάτων τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ψυχὴν πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἐφελκόμενον· ἣν ὅταν ἴδῃ ὅτι ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ἱερέως ἐστίν, ἀδυνατῶν πλῆξαι αὐτὴν τοῖς τῶν ἡμιόνων λακτίσμασιν, τότε καταμηνύει πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς πονηρίας τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας. ὁ δὲ ἐρριζωμένος ὡς ἐλαία κατάκαρ πος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκείνους ποιεῖται κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου τοὺς λόγους, οὓς ἐν τῇ ψαλμῳδίᾳ ἠκούσαμεν, λέγων Τί ἐγκαυχᾷ ἐν κακίᾳ ὁ δυνατὸς ἀνομίαν, οὗ ἡ γλῶσσα ὡσεὶ ξυρὸν ἠκονημένον, οἷς ἂν ἐπαχθῇ ἀποσυλῶσα τῶν τριχῶν τὴν εὐπρέπειαν καὶ τὰς ἑπτὰ τῶν βοστρύχων σειρὰς ἐν αἷς ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις ἡμῶν ἀποτέμνουσα. νοεῖς δὲ πάντως ἐκ τῆς ἑβδομάδος τῶν πνευματικῶν βοστρύχων τὴν ἔννοιαν, καθὼς ὁ Ἠσαίας τὴν ἑπταχῇ γινομένην τοῦ πνεύματος χάριν ἀπηριθμήσατο· ὧν ἀποτμηθέντων, καθὼς ἐπὶ τοῦ Σαμψὼν συνέβη, ἕπεται τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἡ ἀπώλεια καὶ τὸ ἐπιγέλαστον εἶναι τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις, ὅταν μεθύωσιν. Ἐπάγει δὲ μετὰ τὸ εἰπεῖν, δι' ὧν ὑπογράφεται τὰ τοῦ ἐν κακίᾳ δυνατοῦ ἰδιώματα, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς τοῦτον μὲν καθαιρήσει εἰς τέλος· τέως δὲ νῦν ἐκτιλεῖ καὶ μεταναστεύσει ἀπὸ τοῦ θείου σκηνώματος, καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ζώντων γῆς ἀνορύξει τὰ τῆς πονηρίας αὐτοῦ καὶ πικρίας ῥιζώματα καὶ ὅσα τούτοις κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον περιέχει ἡ ψαλμῳδία πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν διάνοιαν βλέποντα· δι' ὧν κατορθοῦται τὸ βέβαιον 5.136 τῶν καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος ἐρριζωμένων ἐν τῇ πίστει. Ἐγὼ γάρ, φησίν, ὡσεὶ ἐλαία κατάκαρπος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ θεοῦ μου ἤλπισα ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο διάστημα, οὗ μέτρον ἐστὶν ἡ ἀπειρία, ὅπερ αἰώνων ὀνομάζει αἰῶνα. ἐν τούτῳ καὶ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν κατὰ τὸ ἀΐδιον τῷ θεῷ προσοίσειν κατεπαγγέλλε λέγων· Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. σὺ γάρ μοι τὰ ἄξια τῆς εὐχαριστίας ἐποίησας. Καὶ ὑπομενῶ, φησί, τὸ ὄνομά σου. ἀγαθὸν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονὴ τοῖς ὁσίοις σου. ὥσπερ δὲ ἡ πολύχρωμος αἴγλη ἐν διαφόρῳ τῷ τῆς βαφῆς