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RESPONSE This pelican is a bird; and the serpent greatly hates its young.

But what does it contrive? It fixes its nest on high, fencing it on all sides (14Α_296> because of the serpent. What then does the malevolent serpent do? It observes from where the wind blows and from there breathes its venom on the young, and they die. So the pelican comes and sees that its children have died and it looks for a cloud and flies on high and with its wings strikes its sides and blood comes out and through the cloud it drips upon them and they are raised up. The pelican, therefore, is taken to be the Lord; and its children, Adam and Eve, our nature, and its nest is paradise, and the serpent is the apostate devil. So the serpent, the author of evil, through disobedience breathed upon the first-formed and they became dead in sin. Therefore our Lord and God, through his love for us, is lifted up on the precious cross and having his side pierced, through the cloud of the Holy Spirit, he has granted us eternal life.

QUESTION A,29 What is: "there sparrows will build their nests"? RESPONSE Sparrows means either souls or various virtues. QUESTION A,30 What does it mean: "the heron's dwelling leads them"? (14Α_298> RESPONSE They say the heron is a bird, living with such moderation, that when it is about to come together for intercourse,

it mourns for forty days and again after this another forty. And it fixes its nest in the trees where it is not overshadowed by anything but has clean air. And by these things it signifies moderation; for this leads all the virtues; and it is separate from sensible things, being overshadowed by none of the temporary things; for the number forty contains the perfection of each of the four elements.

QUESTION A,31 What is "visiting the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth

generation of those who hate me"? RESPONSE We have supposed the first generation to be the sowing of evil, that is, the

assault, the second, desire, the third, the habit of evil, that is, consent, the fourth, the act, that is, the deed. It is visited, therefore, to the third and fourth generation, that is, for the consent and the deed; for the assault and the desire are without accountability, as the evil has not proceeded to its end.

QUESTION A,33 What does "for three or four impieties of Tyre I will not

turn away"? (14Α_300> RESPONSE I think the prophetic word alludes to four impieties, these, the

assault, desire, the habit of evil, and the act. Therefore, for the first and the second, that is, the assault and desire, God shows forbearance, as the evil has not progressed to completion. But for the third and fourth impiety, that is, the habit and the act, or rather consent and commission, the word reasonably indicates the threat.

QUESTION A,34

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ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ὁ πελεκὰν οὗτος ὄρνεόν ἐστιν· ὁ δὲ ὄφις πολὺ ἐχθραίνει τῶν νεοττῶν αὐτοῦ.

Αὐτὸς δὲ τί μηχανᾶται; Εἰς ὕψος πήγνυσι τὴν καλιὰν αὐτοῦ, πανταχόθεν περιφράσσων αὐτὴν (14Α_296> διὰ τὸν ὄφιν. Τί οὖν ποιεῖ ὁ κακομήχανος ὄφις; Περισκοπεῖ ὅθεν πνέει ὁ ἄνεμος κἀκεῖθεν ἐμφυσᾷ τοῖς νεοττοῖς τὸν ἰὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τελευτῶσιν. Ἔρχεται οὖν ὁ πελεκὰν καὶ θεωρεῖ ὅτι ἀπέθανον αὐτοῦ τὰ παιδία καὶ σκοπεῖ νεφέλην καὶ πέταται εἰς ὕψος καὶ μετὰ τῶν πτερύγων τύπτει αὐτοῦ τὰς πλευρὰς καὶ ἐξέρχεται αἷμα καὶ διὰ τῆς νεφέλης ἐπιστάζει τούτοις καὶ ἐγείρονται. Λαμβάνεται οὖν ὁ πελεκὰν εἰς τὸν Κύριον· τὰ δὲ παιδία αὐτοῦ, ὁ Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ Εὔα, ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις, ἡ δὲ καλιὰ αὐτοῦ ὁ παράδεισος, ὁ δὲ ὄφις ὁ ἀποστάτης διάβολος. Ἐνεφύσησεν οὖν ὁ ἀρχέκακος ὄφις διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῖς πρωτοπλάστοις καὶ γεγόνασιν νεκροὶ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ. Ὁ γοῦν Κύριος ἡμῶν καὶ Θεὸς διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀγάπην ὑψοῦται ἐπὶ τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ καὶ νυγεὶς τὴν πλευρὰν διὰ τῆς νεφέλης τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ζωὴν ἡμῖν ἐδωρήσατο τὴν αἰώνιον.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Α,29 Τί ἐστιν· «ἐκεῖ στρουθία ἐννοσσιεύσουσιν»; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Στρουθία ἢ τὰς ψυχὰς ἢ τὰς διαφόρους ἀρετὰς λέγει. ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Α,30 Τί σημαίνει· «τοῦ ἐρῳδιοῦ ἡ κατοικία ἡγεῖται αὐτῶν»; (14Α_298> ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ἐρῳδιόν φασιν ὄρνεον εἶναι, τοσαύτῃ δὲ σωφροσύνῃ συζῆν, ὥστε ἡνίκα πρὸς

συνουσίαν συνέρχεσθαι μέλλει, τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας πενθεῖν καὶ πάλιν μετὰ ταῦτα ἄλλας τεσσαράκοντα. Τὴν δὲ καλιὰν πήγνυσιν ἐν τοῖς δένδροις ἔνθα μὴ ἐπισκιάζεται ὑπό τινος ἀλλὰ καθαρὸν τὸν ἀέρα ἔχει. Σημαίνει δὲ διὰ τούτων τὴν σωφροσύνην· αὕτη γὰρ ἡγεῖται πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν· ἀποδιάκειται δὲ καὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν, ἀπὸ μηδενὸς σκιαζομένη τῶν προσκαίρων· ὁ τεσσαρακοστὸς γὰρ ἀριθμὸς τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων ἐμπεριέχει τελείωσιν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Α,31 Τί ἐστιν τὸ «ἀποδιδοὺς ἁμαρτίας γονέων ἐπὶ τέκνα ἕως τρίτης καὶ τετάρτης

γενεᾶς τοῖς μισοῦσίν με»; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Πρώτην γενεὰν ὑπειλήφαμεν εἶναι τὴν σπορὰν τοῦ κακοῦ, τουτέστιν τὴν

προσβολήν, δευτέραν δὲ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, τρίτην δὲ τὴν ἕξιν τοῦ κακοῦ, τουτέστιν τὴν συγκατάθεσιν, τετάρτην δὲ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, τουτέστιν τὴν πρᾶξιν. Ἀποδίδοται οὖν ἕως τρίτης καὶ τετάρτης γενεᾶς, τουτέστιν ὑπὲρ τῆς συγκαταθέσεως καὶ τῆς πράξεως· ἡ γὰρ προσβολὴ καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία ἀνεύθυνός ἐστιν, ὡς μὴ εἰς πέρας τοῦ κακοῦ προελθόντος.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Α,33 Τί σημαίνει τὸ «ἐπὶ ταῖς τρισὶν ἢ τέσσαρσιν ἀσεβείαις Τύρου οὐκ

ἀποστραφήσομαι»; (14Α_300> ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ἀσεβείας οἶμαι τέσσαρας τὸν προφητικὸν αἰνίττεσθαι λόγον, ταύτας, τὴν

προσβολήν, τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, τὴν ἕξιν τοῦ κακοῦ καὶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν. Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς πρώτης καὶ τῆς δευτέρας, τουτέστιν τῆς προσβολῆς καὶ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, ἀνοχὴν ποιεῖται ὁ Θεός, ὡς μὴ τοῦ κακοῦ προβάντος εἰς τελείωσιν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς τρίτης καὶ τῆς τετάρτης ἀσεβείας, τουτέστιν ἕξεως καὶ ἐνεργείας ἤγουν συγκαταθέσεως καὶ εἴρξεως, τὴν ἀπειλὴν ὁ λόγος εἰκότως ἐνδείκνυται.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Α,34