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perfect, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; to whom God says: "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty." But to those who think what is his, he says: "Eat, drink, and be drunk, my neighbors." And the word more clearly indicates the want of those who remained, saying that every vine will be laid waste, even if it has a value of a shekel. And that the land will bear only thorns, so that instead of bread and wine, they will use butter and milk. And Scripture presents these things after the capture by the Babylonians, saying: And of the poor of the land the captain of the guard left some to be vinedressers over whom he appointed Gedaliah. And showing the desolate and thorny state of the land, he says that it will not even be possible to walk through it unarmed, without an arrow and a bow. For thorns will oppose those passing by like arrows. And consequently, when the spiritual vine has failed us, every form of worthlessness rises up in us. And the end of the thorn is the fire. Wherefore Paul also says: "For the earth which has drunk the rain that comes upon it," and so on. He says, therefore, that the few who were left behind were seized with such fear as to make their dwelling in the mountains, to be hidden in woods and thickets, according to the word of the Savior: "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Which they also attempted to cultivate, since the best land had been laid waste through desolation, so that they might have just enough necessary food, reckoning on the safety of dwelling there. But the rest of the land, having been laid waste, will be for the pasturing of sheep, and the treading of oxen, that is, for the grazing of sheep. Perhaps also for this reason, he said 1972 that there would be much milk and butter. But some have explained the passage before us thus: 'My people,' he says, 'went down to Egypt to sojourn there, and they were brought by force to the Assyrians.' For this reason he prophesies concerning the birth of Emmanuel, that whether any of the people be in Egypt, or in Assyria, these shall come out, and having arrived in the land of Judea, they shall rest in the natural and unoccupied shelters. He says, however, that flies rule a part of the river of Egypt, and bees are in the land of the Assyrians, showing the worthlessness of the opposing powers. For the fly is an animal troublesome to men, and has its disgusting origin from dung. Whose life is troublesome, and whose death is abominable. And they will rule the part of the river of Egypt. For the Nile, beginning from above, from the Ethiopians, has Egypt dwelling around a small part of itself, that which is toward the outlets into the sea; in which place every kind of irrational animal has been deified. These flies, therefore, the weakness of the opposing power, the Lord will destroy with his whistling, that is, with the breath of his mouth. And the bee is also a small and weak animal, dying in the act of defending itself. For having left its sting, it perishes along with the wound, suffering things greater than it inflicted. Such are the most wicked of men. After the birth of Christ, therefore, when every opposing power has been scattered, the sons of Israel will be gathered into the natural shelters, and they will rest, having been delivered from captivity, when the king who plotted against them has been dishonored; when there will be such abundance in the land that a heifer and two sheep will suffice for the one who possesses them for self-sufficient nourishment. Because all are nourished with butter and honey; that is, each will nourish the industrious and agricultural part of the soul, that which is gentle and generous. For from the sheep comes the material for our covering, just as the life of the virtuous man is adorned by the mantle of virtue. Since, therefore, he is both nourished spiritually and adorned, for this reason he will raise a heifer and two sheep. And by butter and honey he means the introductory teachings of the divine doctrine; for this is childish and primary food, after which, having come to manhood, he gives himself over to the spiritual lessons that are fitting for a man. Then, indicating those of the circumcision, he speaks about the thousand vines: "For you brought a vine out of Egypt," and so on. Which, having formerly flourished, was later neglected

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τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ· πρὸς οὕς φησιν ὁ Θεός· "Ἰδοὺ οἱ δουλεύοντές μοι φάγονται· ὑμεῖς δὲ πεινάσετε. Ἰδοὺ οἱ δουλεύοντές μοι πίονται, ὑμεῖς δὲ διψήσετε." Τοῖς δὲ φρονοῦσιν ἅπερ ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ, λέγει· "Φάγετε, πίετε, καὶ μεθύσθητε, οἱ πλησίον." ∆ηλοῖ δὲ σαφέστερον ὁ λόγος τῶν ἀπομεινάντων τὴν ἔνδειαν, χερσοῦσθαι λέγων πᾶσαν ἄμπελον, κἂν σίκλον ἔχῃ τιμήν. Φέρειν δὲ μόνας ἀκάνθας τὴν γῆν, ὡς ἀντὶ ἄρτου καὶ οἴνου, βουτύρῳ κεχρῆσθαι καὶ γάλακτι. Παρίστησι δὲ ταῦτα μετὰ τὴν ὑπὸ Βαβυλωνίων ἅλωσιν ἡ Γραφὴ, λέγουσα· Καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πτωχῶν τῆς γῆς ὑπέλιπεν ὁ ἀρχιμάγειρος εἰς ἀμπελουργοὺς ἐφ' οὓς Γοδολίαν κατέστησε. ∆εικνὺς δὲ τὸ χερσῶδες καὶ ἠκανθωμένον τῆς γῆς, φησὶν, ὡς οὐδὲ βαδίζειν ἔσται διὰ ταύτης ψιλῶς, δίχα βέλους καὶ τοξεύματος. ∆ίκην γὰρ βελῶν ἀντικείσονται τοῖς παριοῦσιν ἄκανθαι. Καὶ ἀκολούθως ἐπιλειψάσης ἡμῖν ἀμπέλου τῆς νοητῆς, πᾶν εἶδος ἐν ἡμῖν ἀνίσχει φαυλότητος. Τέλος δὲ ἀκάνθης τὸ πῦρ. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλός φησι· "Γῆ γὰρ ἡ πιοῦσα τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον ὑετὸν," καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Τοὺς οὖν ὑπολειφθέντας ὀλίγους, τοσούτῳ φησὶ κατέχεσθαι δείματι, ὡς τὰς ἐν ὄρεσι ποιεῖσθαι διατριβὰς, ὕλαις τε καὶ λόχμαις ἐγκατακρύπτεσθαι, κατὰ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος· "Τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν εἰς τὰ ὄρη." Ἃ καὶ γεωργεῖν ἐπεχείρουν, τῆς ἀρίστης γῆς δι' ἐρημίαν κεχερσωμένης, ὡς ἂν μόνον ἀναγκαίας εὐποροῖεν τροφῆς, λογιζόμενοι τὸ ἀδεὲς τῆς ἐνταῦθα διατριβῆς. Ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ γῆ κεχερσωμένη εἰς βόσκημα ἔσται προβάτου, καὶ καταπάτημα βοὸς, τοῦτ' ἔστιν εἰς κατανομὰς προβάτων. Ἴσως καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, πολὺ τὸ γάλα καὶ τὸ βούτυρον ἔλε 1972 γεν ἔσεσθαι. Τὸ δὲ προκείμενον χωρίον οὕτω τινὲς ἐξηγήσαντο· Εἰς Αἴγυπτον, φησὶ, κατέβη ὁ λαός μου παροικῆσαι ἐκεῖ, καὶ εἰς Ἀσσυρίους βίᾳ ἤχθησαν. ∆ιατοῦτο προφητεύει ἐπὶ τῇ γεννήσει τοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ, εἴτε ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τις εἴη τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ, εἴτε ἐν Ἀσσυρίοις, ἐξελεύσεσθαι τούτους, καὶ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας γενομένους, ἀναπαύεσθαι ἐν ταῖς αὐτοφυέσι καὶ σχολαζούσαις καταδύσεσιν. Μυίας μέντοι κυριεύειν μέρους ποταμοῦ Αἰγύπτου, καὶ μελίττας ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ εἶναι τῶν Ἀσσυρίων φησὶ, τὸ εὐτελὲς ἐνδεικνύμενος τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων. Μυῖα γὰρ ὀχληρὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ζῶον, καὶ μυσαρὸν ἔχον ἀπὸ κόπρου τὴν γένεσιν. Ὧν καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ὀχληρὰ, καὶ ὁ θάνατος βδελυκτός. Τό τε μέρος κυριεύσουσι τοῦ ποταμοῦ Αἰγύπτου. Ἄνωθεν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν Αἰθιόπων ὁ Νεῖλος ἀρχόμενος, περὶ βραχὺ μέρος ἑαυτοῦ τὸ πρὸς ταῖς εἰς θάλατταν ἐκβολαῖς κατοικοῦσαν ἔχει τὴν Αἴγυπτον· ἐν ᾧ τόπῳ πᾶν εἶδος ἀλόγων ζώων τεθεοποίηται. Ταύτας οὖν τὰς μυίας τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῆς ἀντιτεταγμένης δυνάμεως, συριγμῷ ἑαυτοῦ ἀφανίσει ὁ Κύριος, δηλαδὴ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἡ μέλισσα δὲ μικρὸν ζῶον καὶ ἀσθενὲς, ἐν ᾧ ἀμύνεται τελευτῶν. Ἐναφεῖσα γὰρ τὸ κέντρον, συναπόλλυται τῇ πληγῇ, πάσχουσα ὧν ἔδρασε μείζω. Ὁποῖοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ πονηρότατοι. Μετὰ τὴν γέννησιν τοίνυν Χριστοῦ διασκεδασθείσης πάσης ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως, συναχθήσονται οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν ταῖς αὐτοφυέσιν ὑποδοχαῖς, καὶ ἀναπαύσονται τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ῥυσθέντες, ἀτιμωθέντος τοῦ ἐπιβουλεύσαντος βασιλέως αὐτοῖς· ὅτε τοσαύτη κατὰ τὴν χώραν εὐετηρία γενήσεται, ὡς ἀρκεῖν τῷ κεκτημένῳ δάμαλιν καὶ πρόβατα δύο πρὸς αὐτάρκη τροφήν. ∆ιὰ τὸ πάντας βουτύρῳ καὶ μέλιτι τρέφεσθαι· τοῦτ' ἔστι, θρέψει ἔκαστος τὸ φιλόπονον καὶ γεωργικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ἥμερόν τε καὶ εὐμετάδοτον. Ἀπὸ προβάτου γὰρ ἡ ὕλη τῆς σκέπης ἡμῖν, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς κατ' ἀρετὴν περιβολῆς ἡ ζωὴ τῷ σπουδαίῳ κεκόσμηται. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ τρέφεται πνευματικῶς καὶ κοσμεῖται, διὰ τοῦτο θρέψει δάμαλιν καὶ πρόβατα δύο. Βούτυρον δὲ καὶ μέλι τὰ εἰσαγωγικὰ τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας λέγει διδάγματα· νηπιώδης γὰρ αὐτὴ καὶ πρώτη τροφὴ, μεθ' ἣν εἰς ἄνδρας ἐλθὼν πρέπουσιν ἀνδρὶ πνευματικοῖς μαθήμασιν ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδίδωσιν. Εἶτα τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς δηλῶν, περὶ τῶν χιλίων ἀμπέλων φησίν· "Ἄμπελον γὰρ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετῆρε," καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἥτις εὐθηνήσασα πρότερον, ὕστερον ἠμελήθη