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is signified. For as this is the fruit of that ambivalent 5.139 tree, which the word calls good and evil, good because sin has been covered by the lure of pleasure, which the friends of the body pursue instead of the good; and evil again, because what is now striven for as good ends in a bitter conclusion; so it is possible to see the symbols of both natures, that of the horse and of the donkey, in the subject animal; so that the mule is the same thing, both horse and donkey, not each separately, but the two in one, the double nature of the animals having been mixed for the production of this new animal. Therefore, when that foreigner becomes an informant to the tyrant of our way of life with the priest, whom we have understood, then we, he who boasts in wickedness and possesses power in lawlessness, through divine alliance may both depose from power and uproot him from the land of the living, becoming an olive tree exulting and teeming with the multitude of its fruits, and strengthened by hope in God may we dance the victory songs over the defeated one; then accordingly we ascend to higher things, truly according to the voice in the Song, leaping over mountains and skipping over hills. What then is this mountain, to which the discourse now passes from the former mountain of thoughts? Again another victory and other hymns for the victory which are accomplished by David through understanding, but those who stir up the contests are no longer a herd of mules, but the nation of the Ziphites. those who sit by the narrows of the arid passage, when they are unable to prevent our journey through the narrow way, then again they run back to Saul, 5.140 who is grieved at our salvation; For to the end, it says, of understanding in hymns for David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, "Behold, David is hidden among us." But certainly he who is not ignorant of the history knows a certain narrow and arid place is mentioned in this part. And through the straitened passage we understood that evangelical way of the kingdom, which the Ziphites indeed hinder, that is, the foreign nation of demons, the servants of the opposing power; but the few find it, who turn away from the wide way. And the text of the history has it thus: "Is not David hidden in Masera among us in the narrows on the hill?" For truly those living according to God are hidden away in this narrow way. And the new covenant shows us this way, through which it is possible to ascend to the highest peak of the mountain, which the word of the history calls a hill. When, therefore, we have passed unhindered along that narrow way, the Ziphites report our salvation to the tyrant. But we attribute to the name of the one who has saved us the power of our judgment for the good, saying: "O God, in your name save me, and in your power you will judge me." For what has happened has been figured by the word as something expected, the scripture thus disregarding precision concerning time. For often prophecy has related what is to come as past and what has happened as expected, as it is also possible to see in this psalmody towards the end. For he did not say that he will look upon my enemies but "My eye has looked upon"; through which we learn these things: that for God nothing is future nor has anything passed, but all things are in the present. So that even if the words contain some emphasis concerning divine power about the past 5.141 or the future, the meaning has not departed from the present. Therefore, he who has entered upon the arid and narrow way and put to flight the company of the Ziphites says to God, that in your name our salvation has come and in your power the judgment for the good has strength and these things will be forever. And concerning these things he summons the divine hearing to the audition of his thanksgiving, speaking of the insurrection of the strangers and the seeking of his soul by the mighty in wickedness, whom God does not lead, but he who is understood from the opposite. For this reason he says: they did not set before them

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σημαίνεται. ὡς γὰρ αὕτη ἐπαμφοτερίζοντος ἐκείνου τοῦ 5.139 ξύλου ἐστὶ καρπός, ὃν καλὸν καὶ πονηρὸν ὀνομάζει ὁ λόγος, καλὸν μὲν διὰ τὸ κεκαλύφθαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῷ τῆς ἡδονῆς δελεάσματι, ἣν ἀντὶ καλοῦ μετέρχονται οἱ τοῦ σώματος φίλοι· πονηρὸν δὲ πάλιν, ὅτι εἰς πικρὸν καταλήγει πέρας τὸ νῦν ὡς καλὸν σπουδαζόμενον· οὕτως ἔστιν ἑκατέρας φύσεως, ἵππου τε καὶ ὄνου, τὰ σύμβολα περὶ τὸ ὑποκείμενον ζῷον ἰδεῖν· ὡς εἶναι τὴν ἡμίονον τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἵππον καὶ ὄνον οὐ διῃρημένως ἑκάτερον, ἀλλ' ἐν ἑνὶ τὰ δύο, τῆς διπλῆς τῶν ζῴων φύσεως πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καινοῦ τούτου ζῴου ἀπεργα σίαν κατακραθείσης. ὅταν τοίνυν μηνυτὴς γένηται τῷ τυράννῳ τῆς παρὰ τῷ ἱερεῖ διαγωγῆς ἡμῶν ὁ ἀλλόφυλος ἐκεῖνος, ὃν ἐνοήσαμεν, εἶτα ἡμεῖς τὸν ἐν κακίᾳ καυχώμενον καὶ ἐν ἀνομίᾳ κεκτημένον τὴν δύναμιν, διὰ τῆς θείας συμμαχίας καθέλωμέν τε τῆς δυναστείας καὶ προθέλυμνον αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς γῆς τῶν ζώντων ἀναρριζώσωμεν, ἐλαία γενόμενοι τῷ πλήθει τῶν καρπῶν ἀγαλλομένη καὶ βρίθουσα, καὶ διὰ τῆς εἰς θεὸν ἐλπίδος δυναμωθέντες χορεύσωμεν κατὰ τοῦ ἡττηθέντος τὰ ἐπινίκια· τότε κατὰ λόγον τοῖς ὑψηλοτέροις προσβαίνομεν, ὄντως κατὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ Ἄισματι φωνήν, ὄρη διαπηδῶντες καὶ βουνοῖς ἐφαλλόμενοι. Τί οὖν ἐστι τοῦτο τὸ ὄρος, ἐφ' ὃ νῦν ὁ λόγος ἐκ τοῦ προτέρου ὄρους τῶν νοημάτων μεθάλλεται; ἄλλη νίκη πάλιν καὶ ἄλλοι ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ ὕμνοι οἱ διὰ συνέσεως τῷ ∆αβὶδ κατορθούμενοι οἱ δὲ κινοῦντες τοὺς ἀγῶνάς εἰσιν οὐκέτι ἡμιόνων ἀγέλη, ἀλλὰ Ζιφαίων ἔθνος. οἱ τοῖς στενοῖς τῆς αὐχμώδους διαβάσεως προσκαθήμενοι, ὅταν κωλῦσαι τὴν διὰ τοῦ στενοῦ πορείαν ἡμῶν ἀδυνατήσωσιν, τότε πάλιν πρὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ ἀνατρέχουσιν 5.140 τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ σωτηρίᾳ ἡμῶν λυπούμενον· Εἰς τὸ τέλος γάρ, φησίν, συνέσεως ἐν ὕμνοις τῷ ∆αβίδ, ἐν τῷ ἐλθεῖν τοὺς Ζιφαίους καὶ εἰπεῖν τῷ Σαοὺλ Ἰδοὺ ∆αβὶδ κέκρυπται παρ' ἡμῖν. πάντως δὲ ὁ τὴν ἱστορίαν οὐκ ἀγνοῶν οἶδεν στενόν τινα καὶ αὐχμώδη τόπον ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ μνημονευόμενον. διὰ δὲ τῆς ἀπεστενωμένης διόδου τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἐκείνην τῆς βασιλείας ὁδὸν ἐνοήσαμεν, ἣν κωλύουσι μὲν οἱ Ζιφαῖοι, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὸ ἀλλόφυλον τῶν δαιμόνων ἔθνος, οἱ ὑπηρέται τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως· εὑρίσκουσιν δὲ οἱ ὀλίγοι οἱ τὴν πλατεῖαν ἀποστρεφόμενοι. ἔχει δὲ ἡ λέξις τῆς ἱστορίας οὕτως· Οὐκ ἰδοὺ ∆αβὶδ κέκρυπται ἐν Μασερᾶ παρ' ἡμῖν ἐν τοῖς στενοῖς ἐν τῷ βουνῷ; ἀληθῶς γὰρ τῇ στενῇ ταύτῃ οἱ κατὰ θεὸν ζῶντες ἐναποκρύπτονται. δείκνυσι δὲ ταύτην ἡμῖν τὴν ὁδὸν ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη, δι' ἧς ἔστι πρὸς τὴν ἀκροτάτην τοῦ ὄρους κορυφὴν ἀνελθεῖν, ἣν βουνὸν ὀνομάζει ὁ λόγος τῆς ἱστορίας. ὅταν οὖν τὴν στενὴν ἐκείνην ὁδὸν ἀνεμποδίστως παρέλθωμεν, Ζιφαῖοι τῷ τυράννῳ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν καταμηνύουσιν. ἡμεῖς δὲ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ σεσωκότος τὴν δυναστείαν τῆς εἰς τὸ καλὸν κρίσεως ἡμῶν ἀνατίθεμεν λέγοντες· Ὁ θεὸς, ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου σῶσόν με, καὶ ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου κρινεῖς με. τὸ γὰρ γενόμενον ὡς προσδοκώμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου διεσχημάτισται, οὕτω τῆς γραφῆς τῆς κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ἀκριβείας ὑπερορώσης. καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἐσόμενον ἡ προφητεία πολλάκις ὡς παρῳχηκὸς διηγήσατο καὶ τὸ γεγονὸς ὡς προσδοκώμενον, ὡς καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ψαλμῳδίᾳ κατὰ τὸ πέρας ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν ὅτι ἐν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου ἐπόψεται ἀλλ' Ἐπεῖδεν ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου· δι' ὧν ταῦτα μανθάνομεν ὅτι τῷ θεῷ οὔτε τι μέλλει οὔτε τι παρῴχηκεν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ ἐνεστῶτι τὰ πάντα ἐστίν. ὥστε κἂν τοῦ παρῳχηκότος 5.141 κἂν τοῦ μέλλοντος περὶ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως ἔμφασίν τινα περιέχῃ τὰ ῥήματα, τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος οὐκ ἐξῆλθεν ἡ ἔννοια. λέγει τοίνυν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὁ τῆς αὐχμώδους τε καὶ στενῆς ἐπιβὰς καὶ φυγαδεύσας τὸ τῶν Ζιφαίων συγκρότημα, ὅτι ἐν τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι γέγονεν ἡμῖν ἡ σωτηρία καὶ ἐν τῇ δυνα στείᾳ σου ἡ ἐν τῷ καλῷ κρίσις τὴν ἰσχὺν ἔχει καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ ταῦτα γενήσεται. καὶ προσκαλεῖται ὑπὲρ τούτων τὴν θείαν ἀκοὴν πρὸς τὴν τῆς εὐχαριστίας ἀκρόασιν, λέγων τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν ἐπανάστασιν καὶ τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ κραταιῶν τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ζήτησιν, ὧν οὐ προηγεῖται ὁ θεός, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου νοούμενος. διὰ τοῦτο γάρ φησιν· ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὐ προέθεντο