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Then he accordingly relates the cross of the Lord and his death. And the serpent, he says, cast out of his mouth after the woman water like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the river; the divine scripture allegorizes the temptation as a river, in one place saying, through Jonah, you have cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, and the rivers surrounded me; in another place through the Lord: the rain, he says, came down; the rivers were present; the winds came; and they did not cast down the house founded on the rock. Therefore he calls the temptation at the passion of the Lord a river. that through this, he says, he might drown the virgin; and truly, as far as it concerned him and the excess of his pain, the dragon was strong enough to fulfill his purpose. For what does Simeon say to her? And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. But the earth, he says, helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth at the woman. The earth swallowing the river signifies receiving the temptation in itself, that is, the Lord being put to death. But it helped not in this, but in giving back the Lord again; for he rose again on the third day, having trampled on death, since it was not possible for him to be held by it, being the author of life according to the divine Peter. So that the syntax would be, and the earth helped the woman, to be read as a full stop; then as if from a question, but in what way did it help? 148 it swallowed the river, that is, having received the conspired-against Lord in itself, it gave him back again, and in this it helped. Since, therefore, the dragon failed also in his second plot, what does he then do to those who have been named sons and brothers of the Lord, that is, the faithful? He persecuted these for he says they are of the seed of the woman; for the faithful are sons and brothers of the Lord according to what is written, I will declare your name to my brethren, and again, behold, I and the children whom God has given me. Are they therefore also of the kindred of his motherand he made war with them, persecuting and plotting, killing them through the tyrants and rulers of the earth, because they testified that he who was born of the virgin was God. And I stood upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his head names of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority. And one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed. And all the earth was amazed after the beast, and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave authority to the beast. In the vision before this, the divine evangelist saw a sign in heaven, and behold, he says, a fiery dragon. But now he relates to us that he saw a beast like a leopard rising 149 out of the sea. Then in the vision after this he again sees another beast coming up out of the earth having two horns of a lamb. Therefore he saw three beasts in all; the first in heaven, the second out of the sea, and the third out of the earth. But the first and the third are clear to all; for the one is the primevally-evil dragon, Satan, who rebelled and became stiff-necked against God the almighty, and the third is the antichrist. But this middle beast, which is now set before us for contemplation, what is it? I think this happens to be, after the apostate dragon, Satan, the one who excels the rest of the demons; for many slipped along with him. And it is clear from that, that the divine scripture says the ruler of all demons has been condemned to the sea and Tartarus, as was shown before, perhaps tropically so calling the turmoil and confusion with which he is associated, considering from what things to what things he has been brought down, and that he is kept for judgment

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λοιπὸν ἀκολούθως ἀφηγεῖται τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ τὸν θάνατον. καὶ ἔβαλέ φησιν ὁ ὄφις ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ὀπίσω τῆς γυναικὸς ὕδωρ ὡς ποταμὸν, ἵνα αὐτὴν ποταμοφόρητον ποιήσῃ· ποταμὸν τὸν πειρασμὸν ἡ θεία ἀλληγορεῖ γραφή, πῆ μὲν λέγουσα, διὰ τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ ἀπερρίψας με εἰς βάθη καρδίας θαλάσσης, καὶ ποταμοὶ ἐκύκλωσάν με· πῆ δὲ διὰ τοῦ Κυρίου· κατέβη φησὶν ἡ βροχή· παρῆσαν οἱ ποταμοί· ἦλθον οἱ ἄνεμοι· καὶ οὐ κατέβαλον τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν τεθεμελιωμένην ἐν τῇ πέτρᾳ. ποταμὸν οὖν λέγει τὸν ἐπὶ τῷ πάθει τοῦ Κυρίου πειρασμόν. ἵνα διὰ τούτου φησὶν ἀποπνίξῃ τὴν παρθένον· καὶ ἀληθῶς, τό γε ἧκον εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀλγηδόνος ὑπερβολήν, ἴσχυσε πληρῶσαι τὴν πρόθεσιν ὁ δράκων. τί γὰρ λέγει πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ Συμεών; καὶ σοῦ δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία, ὅπως ἂν ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν ἐκ πολλῶν καρδιῶν διαλογισμοί. ἀλλ' ἐβοήθησεν ἡ γῆ φησι τῇ γυναικί, καὶ ἤνοιξεν ἡ γῆ τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς καὶ κατέπιε τὸν ποταμὸν ὃν ἔβαλεν ὁ δράκων τῇ γυναικὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ. τὸ μὲν καταπιεῖν τὴν γῆν τὸν ποταμὸν δηλοῖ τὸ τὸν πειρασμὸν ἐν αὐτῇ δέξασθαι, τουτέστι θανατωθέντα τὸν Κύριον. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ ἐβοήθησεν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ αὐτὴν πάλιν ἀποδοῦναι τὸν Κύριον· ἀνεβίω γὰρ τριήμερος, πατήσας τὸν θάνατον, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν δυνατὸν κρατεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ἀρχηγὸν ζωῆς ὑπάρχοντα κατὰ τὸν θεσπέσιον Πέτρον. ἵνα οὕτως εἴη ἡ σύνταξις, καὶ ἐβοήθησεν ἡ γῆ τῇ γυναικί, τελείαν ἀναγνωστέον· εἶτα ὡς ἐξ ἐρωτήματος, τίνα δὲ τρόπον ἐβοήθησε; 148 κατέπιε τὸν ποταμόν, τουτέστι τὸν ἐπιβουλευθέντα Κύριον ἐν ἑαυτῇ δεξαμένη, πάλιν ἀνέδωκε, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἐβοήθησεν. ὡς οὖν καὶ τῆς δευτέρας ἐπιβουλῆς ἀποτετύχηκεν ὁ δράκων, τί λοιπὸν ποιεῖ τοὺς χρηματίσαντας υἱοὺς καὶ ἀδελφοὺς τοῦ Κυρίου, τουτέστι τοὺς πιστούς; ἐδίωκετούτους γὰρ τοῦ σπέρματος εἶναί φησι τῆς γυναικός· υἱοὶ γὰρ καὶ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ Κυρίου οἱ πιστοὶ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον ἀπαγγελῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, καὶ αὖθις ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεός. ἆρα οὖν καὶ τῆς συγγενείας εἰσὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ μητρόςκαὶ πόλεμον ἐποίει μετ' αὐτῶν, διώκων καὶ ἐπιβουλεύων, ἀποκτιννὺς διὰ τῶν τυράννων καὶ δυναστῶν τῆς γῆς, ἐπειδὴ Θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐκ τῆς παρθένου τεχθέντα ἐμαρτύρουν. καὶ ἐστάθην παρὰ τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης. καὶ εἶδον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης θήριον ἀναβαῖνον, ἔχον κέρατα δέκα καὶ κεφα λὰς ἑπτά, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κεράτων αὐτοῦ δέκα διαδήματα, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ ὀνόματα βλασφημίας. καὶ τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδον ἦν ὅμοιον παρδάλει, καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὡς ἄρκου, καὶ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ὡς στόμα λέοντος. καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ δρά κων τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξουσίαν μεγάλην. καὶ μίαν τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐσφαγμένην εἰς θάνατον, καὶ ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη. καὶ ἐθαμβήθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου, καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ δράκοντι, ὅτι ἔδωκε τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῷ θηρίῳ. ἐν τῇ πρὸ ταύτης θεωρίᾳ εἶδεν ὁ θεσπέσιος εὐαγγελιστὴς σημεῖον ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἰδού φησι δράκων πυρρός. νῦν δὲ ἡμῖν ἀφηγεῖται ἑωρακέναι ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης θηρίον ἀνα 149 βαῖνον ὅμοιον παρδάλει. εἶτα ἐν τῇ μετὰ ταύτην ὀπτασίᾳ πάλιν ὁρᾷ ἄλλο θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἔχον κέρατα δυὸ ἀρνίου. τρία τοιγαροῦν τὰ πάντα εἶδε θηρία· τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ δὲ τρίτον ἐκ τῆς γῆς. ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον καὶ τρίτον δῆλα πᾶσι τυγχάνει· τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἀρχέκακος δράκων, ὁ ἀποστατήσας καὶ τραχηλιάσας κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ παντοκράτορος Σατανᾶς, τὸ δὲ τρίτον ὁ ἀντίχριστος. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ μέσον θηρίον, τὸ νῦν ἡμῖν εἰς θεωρίαν προκείμενον, ἆρα τί ἐστιν; οἶμαι τοῦτο τυγχάνειν μετὰ τὸν ἀποστάτην μὲν δράκοντα, τὸν Σατανᾶν, τῶν λοιπῶν δὲ προὔχοντα δαιμόνων· πολλοὶ γὰρ συνωλίσθησαν. καὶ δῆλον ἐκεῖθεν ὅτι τὸν μὲν πάντων ἄρχοντα δαιμόνων ἡ θεία λέγει γραφὴ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ τὸν τάρταρον καταδεδικᾶσθαι, καθὼς πρόσθεν ἀποδέδεικται, τροπικῶς μὲν ἴσως οὕτω καλοῦσα τὴν ταραχὴν καὶ τὸν κλόνον ᾧ σύνεστιν, ἐννοῶν ἐξ οἵων εἰς οἷα κατῆκται, καὶ ὅτι εἰς κρίσιν τηρεῖται