Chapter VIII.—The Use of the Symbolic Style by Poets and Philosophers.

But it was not only the most highly intellectual of the Egyptians, but also such of other barbarians as prosecuted philosophy, that affected the symbolical style. They say, then, that Idanthuris king of the Scythians, as Pherecydes of Syros relates, sent to Darius, on his passing the Ister in threat of war, a symbol, instead of a letter, consisting of a mouse, a frog, a bird, a javelin, a plough. And there being a doubt in reference to them, as was to be expected, Orontopagas the Chiliarch said that they were to resign the kingdom; taking dwellings to be meant by the mouse, waters by the frog, air by the bird, land by the plough, arms by the javelin. But Xiphodres interpreted the contrary; for he said, “If we do not take our flight like birds, or like mice get below the earth, or like frogs beneath the water, we shall not escape their arrows; for we are not lords of the territory.”

It is said that Anacharsis the Scythian, while asleep, covered the pudenda with his left hand, and his mouth with his right, to intimate that both ought to be mastered, but that it was a greater thing to master the tongue than voluptuousness.

And why should I linger over the barbarians, when I can adduce the Greeks as exceedingly addicted to the use of the method of concealment? Androcydes the Pythagorean says the far-famed so-called Ephesian letters were of the class of symbols. For he said that ἄσκιον (shadowless) meant darkness, for it has no shadow; and κατάσκιον (shadowy) light, since it casts with its rays the shadow; and λίξ if is the earth, according to an ancient appellation; and τετράς is the year, in reference to the seasons; and δαμναμενεύς is the sun, which overpowers (δαμάζων); and τὰ αἴσια is the true voice. And then the symbol intimates that divine things have been arranged in harmonious order—darkness to light, the sun to the year, and the earth to nature’s processes of production of every sort. Also Dionysius Thrax, the grammarian, in his book, Respecting the Exposition of the Symbolical Signification in Circles, says expressly, “Some signified actions not by words only, but also by symbols: by words, as is the case of what are called the Delphic maxims, ‘Nothing in excess,’ ‘Know thyself,’ and the like; and by symbols, as the wheel that is turned in the temples of the gods, derived from the Egyptians, and the branches that are given to the worshippers. For the Thracian Orpheus says:—

The branches either stand as the symbol of the first food, or they are that the multitude may know that fruits spring and grow universally, remaining a very long time; but that the duration of life allotted to themselves is brief. And it is on this account that they will have it that the branches are given; and perhaps also that they may know, that as these, on the other hand, are burned, so also they themselves speedily leave this life, and will become fuel for fire.

Very useful, then, is the mode of symbolic interpretation for many purposes; and it is helpful to the right theology, and to piety, and to the display of intelligence, and the practice of brevity, and the exhibition of wisdom. “For the use of symbolical speech is characteristic of the wise man,” appositely remarks the grammarian Didymus, “and the explanation of what is signified by it.” And indeed the most elementary instruction of children embraces the interpretation of the four elements; for it is said that the Phrygians call water Bedu, as also Orpheus says:1219    [Kaye, p. 181.]—

Dion Thytes also seems to write similarly:—

On the other hand, the comic poet, Philydeus, understands by Bedu the air, as being (Biodoros) life-giver, in the following lines:—

In the same opinion also concurs Neanthes of Cyzicum, who writes that the Macedonian priests invoke Bedu, which they interpret to mean the air, to be propitious to them and to their children. And Zaps some have ignorantly taken for fire (from ζέσιν, boiling); for so the sea is called, as Euphorion, in his reply to Theoridas:—

And Dionysius Iambus similarly:—

Similarly Cratinus the younger, the comic poet:—

And Simmias of Rhodes:—

And χθών is the earth (κεχυμένη) spread forth to bigness. And Plectron, according to some, is the sky (πόλος), according to others, it is the air, which strikes (πλήσσοντα) and moves to nature and increase, and which fills all things. But these have not read Cleanthes the philosopher, who expressly calls Plectron the sun; for darting his beams in the east, as if striking the world, he leads the light to its harmonious course. And from the sun it signifies also the rest of the stars.

And the Sphinx is not the comprehension1221    σύνεσις. Sylburgius, with much probability, conjectures σύνδεσις, binding together. of the universe, and the revolution of the world, according to the poet Aratus; but perhaps it is the spiritual tone which pervades and holds together the universe. But it is better to regard it as the ether, which holds together and presses all things; as also Empedocles says:—

And Apollodorus of Corcyra says that these lines were recited by Branchus the seer, when purifying the Milesians from plague; for he, sprinkling the multitude with branches of laurel, led off the hymn somehow as follows:—

And the people accompanied him, saying, “Bedu,1222    Βέδυ, Ζάψ, Χθών, Πλῆκτρον, Σφίγξ, Κναξζβί, Χθύπτης, Φλεγμός, Δρώψ. On the interpretation of which, much learning and ingenuity have been expended. Zaps, Chthon, Plectron, Sphinx, Cnaxzbi, Chthyptes, Phlegmos, Drops.” Callimachus relates the story in iambics. Cnaxzbi is, by derivation, the plague, from its gnawing (κναίειν) and destroying (διαφθείρειν), and θῦψαι is to consume with a thunderbolt. Thespis the tragic poet says that something else was signified by these, writing thus: “Lo, I offer to thee a libation of white Cnaxzbi, having pressed it from the yellow nurses. Lo, to thee, O two-horned Pan, mixing Chthyptes cheese with red honey, I place it on thy sacred altars. Lo, to thee I pour as a libation the sparkling gleam of Bromius.” He signifies, as I think, the soul’s first milk-like nutriment of the four-and-twenty elements, after which solidified milk comes as food. And last, he teaches of the blood of the vine of the Word, the sparkling wine, the perfecting gladness of instruction. And Drops is the operating Word, which, beginning with elementary training, and advancing to the growth of the man, inflames and illumines man up to the measure of maturity.

The third is said to be a writing copy for children—μάρπτες, σφίγξ, κλώψ, ζυνχθηδόν. And it signifies, in my opinion, that by the arrangement of the elements and of the world, we must advance to the knowledge of what is more perfect, since eternal salvation is attained by force and toil; for μάρψαι is to grasp. And the harmony of the world is meant by the Sphinx; and ζυνχθηδόν means difficulty; and κλώψς means at once the secret knowledge of the Lord and day. Well! does not Epigenes, in his book on the Poetry of Orpheus, in exhibiting the peculiarities found in Orpheus,1223    [See valuable references and note on the Sibylline and Orphic sayings. Leighton, Works, vol. vi. pp. 131, 178.] say that by “the curved rods” (κεραίσι) is meant “ploughs;” and by the warp (στήμοσι), the furrows; and the woof (μίτος) is a figurative expression for the seed; and that the tears of Zeus signify a shower; and that the “parts” (μοῖραι) are, again, the phases of the moon, the thirtieth day, and the fifteenth, and the new moon, and that Orpheus accordingly calls them “white-robed,” as being parts of the light? Again, that the Spring is called “flowery,” from its nature; and Night “still,” on account of rest; and the Moon “Gorgonian,” on account of the face in it; and that the time in which it is necessary to sow is called Aphrodite by the “Theologian.”1224    Orpheus. In the same way, too, the Pythagoreans figuratively called the planets the “dogs of Persephone;” and to the sea they applied the metaphorical appellation of “the tears of Kronus.” Myriads on myriads of enigmatical utterances by both poets and philosophers are to be found; and there are also whole books which present the mind of the writer veiled, as that of Heraclitus On Nature, who on this very account is called “Obscure.” Similar to this book is the Theology of Pherecydes of Syrus; for Euphorion the poet, and the Causes of Callimachus, and the Alexandra of Lycophron, and the like, are proposed as an exercise in exposition to all the grammarians.

It is, then, proper that the Barbarian philosophy, on which it is our business to speak, should prophesy also obscurely and by symbols, as was evinced. Such are the injunctions of Moses: “These common things, the sow, the hawk, the eagle, and the raven, are not to be eaten.”1225    Lev. xi; Deut. xiv. For the sow is the emblem of voluptuous and unclean lust of food, and lecherous and filthy licentiousness in venery, always prurient, and material, and lying in the mire, and fattening for slaughter and destruction.

Again, he commands to eat that which parts the hoof and ruminates; “intimating,” says Barnabas, “that we ought to cleave to those who fear the Lord, and meditate in their heart on that portion of the word which they have received, to those who speak and keep the Lord’s statutes, to those to whom meditation is a work of gladness, and who ruminate on the word of the Lord. And what is the parted hoof? That the righteous walks in this world, and expects the holy eternity to come.” Then he adds, “See how well Moses enacted. But whence could they understand or comprehend these things? We who have rightly understood speak the commandments as the Lord wished; wherefore He circumcised our ears and hearts, that we may comprehend these things. And when he says, ‘Thou shalt not eat the eagle, the hawk, the kite, and the crow;’ he says, ‘Thou shalt not adhere to or become like those men who know not how to procure for themselves subsistence by toil and sweat, but live by plunder, and lawlessly.’ For the eagle indicates robbery, the hawk injustice, and the raven greed. It is also written, ‘With the innocent man thou wilt be innocent, and with the chosen choice, and with the perverse thou shall pervert.’1226    Ps. xviii. 25, 26. It is incumbent on us to cleave to the saints, because they that cleave to them shall be sanctified.”1227    [Epistle of Barnabas, vol. i, p. 143, 144. S.]

Thence Theognis writes:—

And when, again, it is said in the ode, “For He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He cast into the sea;”1228    Ex. xv. 1. the many-limbed and brutal affection, lust, with the rider mounted, who gives the reins to pleasures, “He has cast into the sea,” throwing them away into the disorders of the world. Thus also Plato, in his book On the Soul, says that the charioteer and the horse that ran off—the irrational part, which is divided in two, into anger and concupiscence—fall down; and so the myth intimates that it was through the licentiousness of the steeds that Phaëthon was thrown out. Also in the case of Joseph: the brothers having envied this young man, who by his knowledge was possessed of uncommon foresight, stripped off the coat of many colours, and took and threw him into a pit (the pit was empty, it had no water), rejecting the good man’s varied knowledge, springing from his love of instruction; or, in the exercise of the bare faith, which is according to the law, they threw him into the pit empty of water, selling him into Egypt, which was destitute of the divine word. And the pit was destitute of knowledge; into which being thrown and stript of his knowledge, he that had become unconsciously wise, stript of knowledge, seemed like his brethren. Otherwise interpreted, the coat of many colours is lust, which takes its way into a yawning pit. “And if one open up or hew out a pit,” it is said, “and do not cover it, and there fall in there a calf or ass, the owner of the pit shall pay the price in money, and give it to his neighbour; and the dead body shall be his.1229    Ex. xxi. 33, 36. Here add that prophecy: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel hath not understood Me.”1230    Isa. i. 3. In order, then, that none of those, who have fallen in with the knowledge taught by thee, may become incapable of holding the truth, and disobey and fall away, it is said, Be thou sure in the treatment of the word, and shut up the living spring in the depth from those who approach irrationally, but reach drink to those that thirst for truth. Conceal it, then, from those who are unfit to receive the depth of knowledge, and so cover the pit. The owner of the pit, then, the Gnostic, shall himself be punished, incurring the blame of the others stumbling, and of being overwhelmed by the greatness of the word, he himself being of small capacity; or transferring the worker into the region of speculation, and on that account dislodging him from off-hand faith. “And will pay money,” rendering a reckoning, and submitting his accounts to the “omnipotent Will.”

This, then, is the type of “the law and the prophets which were until John;”1231    Matt. xi. 13; Luke xvi. 16. while he, though speaking more perspicuously as no longer prophesying, but pointing out as now present, Him, who was proclaimed symbolically from the beginning, nevertheless said, “I am not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe.”1232    Mark i. 7; Luke iii. 16; John i. 27. For he confesses that he is not worthy to baptize so great a Power; for it behooves those, who purify others, to free the soul from the body and its sins, as the foot from the thong. Perhaps also this signified the final exertion of the Saviour’s power toward us—the immediate, I mean—that by His presence, concealed in the enigma of prophecy, inasmuch as he, by pointing out to sight Him that had been prophesied of, and indicating the Presence which had come, walking forth into the light, loosed the latchet of the oracles of the [old] economy, by unveiling the meaning of the symbols.

And the observances practiced by the Romans in the case of wills have a place here; those balances and small coins to denote justice, and freeing of slaves, and rubbing of the ears. For these observances are, that things may be transacted with justice; and those for the dispensing of honour; and the last, that he who happens to be near, as if a burden were imposed on him, should stand and hear and take the post of mediator.

Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐ μόνον Αἰγυπτίων οἱ λογιώτατοι, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βαρβάρων ὅσοι φιλοσοφίας ὠρέχθησαν, τὸ συμβολικὸν εἶδος ἐζήλωσαν. Φασὶ γοῦν καὶ Ἰδανθούραν τὸν Σκυθῶν βασιλέα, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Φερεκύδης ὁ Σύριος, ∆αρείῳ διαβάντι τὸν Ἴστρον πόλεμον ἀπειλοῦντα πέμψαι σύμβολον ἀντὶ τῶν γραμμάτων μῦν, βάτραχον ὄρνιθα, ὀιστόν, ἄροτρον. ἀπορίας δὲ οὔσης, οἷα εἰκός, ἐπὶ τούτοις Ὀροντοπάτας μὲν ὁ χιλίαρχος ἔλεγεν παραδώσειν αὐτοὺς τὴν ἀρχήν, τεκμαιρόμενος ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ μυὸς τὰς οἰκήσεις, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ βατράχου τὰ ὕδατα τὸν ἀέρα τε ἀπὸ τῆς ὄρνιθος καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀιστοῦ τὰ ὅπλα, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἀρότρου τὴν χώραν. Ξιφόδρης δὲ ἔμπαλιν ἡρμήνευσεν· ἔφασκεν γάρ· ἐὰν μὴ ὡς ὄρνιθες ἀναπτῶμεν ἢ ὡς μύες κατὰ τῆς γῆς ἢ ὡς οἱ βάτραχοι καθ' ὕδατος δύωμεν, οὐκ ἂν φύγοιμεν τὰ ἐκείνων βέλη, τῆς γὰρ χώρας οὔκ ἐσμεν κύριοι. Ἀνάχαρσίν τε τὸν Σκύθην φασὶ καὶ αὐτὸν κοιμώμενον κατέχειν τῇ μὲν λαιᾷ τὰ αἰδοῖα, τῇ δεξιᾷ δὲ τὸ στόμα, αἰνιττόμενον δεῖν μὲν ἀμφοῖν, μεῖζον δὲ εἶναι γλώττης κρατεῖν ἢ ἡδονῆς. Καὶ τί μοι περὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐνδιατρίβειν, ἐξὸν αὐτοὺς τοὺς Ἕλληνας σφόδρα τῇ ἐπικρύψει κεχρημένους παραστῆσαι; Ἀνδροκύδης γοῦν ὁ Πυθαγορικὸς τὰ Ἐφέσια καλούμενα γράμματα ἐν πολλοῖς δὴ πολυθρύλητα ὄντα συμβόλων ἔχειν φησὶ τάξιν, σημαίνειν δὲ Ἄσκιον μὲν τὸ σκότος, μὴ γὰρ ἔχειν τοῦτο σκιάν· φῶς δὲ Κατάσκιον, ἐπεὶ καταυγάζει τὴν σκιάν· Λίξ τέ ἐστιν ἡ γῆ κατὰ ἀρχαίαν ἐπωνυμίαν καὶ Τετρὰξ ὁ ἐνιαυτὸς διὰ τὰς ὥρας, ∆αμναμενεὺς δὲ ὁ ἥλιος ὁ δαμάζων, τὰ Αἴσιά τε ἡ ἀληθὴς φωνή. σημαίνει δ' ἄρα τὸ σύμβολον ὡς κεκόσμηται τὰ θεῖα, οἷον σκότος πρὸς φῶς καὶ ἥλιος πρὸς ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ γῆ πρὸς παντοίαν φύσεως γένεσιν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ∆ιονύσιος ὁ Θρᾷξ ὁ γραμματικὸς ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῆς ἐμφάσεως περὶ τοῦ τῶν τροχίσκων συμβόλου φησὶ κατὰ λέξιν· ἐσήμαινον γοῦν οὐ διὰ λέξεως μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ συμβόλων ἔνιοι τὰς πράξεις, διὰ λέξεως μὲν ὡς ἔχει τὰ λεγόμενα ∆ελφικὰ παραγγέλματα, τὸ "μηδὲν ἄγαν" καὶ τὸ "γνῶθι σαυτὸν" καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια, διὰ δὲ συμβόλων ὡς ὅ τε τροχὸς ὁ στρεφόμενος ἐν τοῖς τῶν θεῶν τεμένεσιν εἱλκυσμένος παρὰ Αἰγυπτίων καὶ τὸ τῶν θαλλῶν τῶν διδομένων τοῖς προσκυνοῦσι. φησὶ γὰρ Ὀρφεὺς ὁ Θρᾴκιος· θαλλῶν δ' ὅσσα βροτοῖσιν ἐπὶ χθονὸς ἔργα μέμηλεν, οὐδὲν ἔχει μίαν αἶσαν ἐπὶ φρεσίν, ἀλλὰ κυκλεῖται πάντα πέριξ, στῆναι δὲ καθ' ἓν μέρος οὐ θέμις ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ἔχει, ὡς ἤρξαντο, δρόμου μέρος ἶσον ἕκαστος. οἱ θαλλοὶ ἤτοι τῆς πρώτης τροφῆς σύμβολον ὑπάρχουσιν, ἢ ὅπως ἐπιστῶνται οἱ πολλοὶ τοὺς μὲν καρποὺς δι' ὅλου θάλλειν καὶ αὔξεσθαι διαμένοντας ἐπὶ πλεῖστον, σφᾶς δὲ αὐτοὺς ὀλίγον εἰληχέναι τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χρόνον, τούτου χάριν δίδοσθαι τοὺς θαλλοὺς βούλον ται, ἴσως δὲ καὶ ἵνα ἐπιστῶνται, ὅτι, ὡς οὗτοι αὖ καίονται, οὕτως καὶ [αὐ]τοὺς δεῖ τοῦτον τὸν βίον ταχέως ἐκλιπεῖν καὶ πυρὸς ἔργον γενέσθαι. Χρησιμώτατον ἄρα τὸ τῆς συμβολικῆς ἑρμηνείας εἶδος εἰς πολλά, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὀρθὴν θεολογίαν συνεργοῦν καὶ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν συνέσεως καὶ πρὸς βραχυλογίας ἄσκησιν καὶ σοφίας ἔνδειξιν· σοφοῦ γὰρ τὸ χρῆσθαι τῇ συμβολικῇ φράσει δεξιῶς, φησὶν ὁ γραμματικὸς ∆ίδυμος, καὶ τὸ γνωρίσαι τὸ διὰ ταύτης δηλούμενον. Ναὶ μὴν ἡ στοιχειωτικὴ τῶν παίδων διδασκαλία τὴν τῶν τεττάρων στοιχείων περιείληφεν ἑρμηνείαν. 20βέδυ20 μὲν γὰρ τοὺς Φρύγας τὸ ὕδωρ φησὶ καλεῖν, καθὰ καὶ Ὀρφεύς· καὶ βέδυ νυμφάων καταλείβεται ἀγλαὸν ὕδωρ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ θύτης ∆ίων ὁμοίως φαίνεται γράφων· καὶ βέδυ λαβὼν κατὰ χειρῶν καταχέου καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἱεροσκοπίην τρέπου. ἔμπαλιν δὲ ὁ κωμικὸς Φιλύλλιος βέδυ τὸν ἀέρα βιόδωρον ὄντα διὰ τούτων γινώσκει· ἕλκειν τὸ βέδυ σωτήριον προσεύχομαι, ὅπερ μέγιστόν ἐστιν ὑγιείας μέρος, τὸ τὸν ἀέρα ἕλκειν καθαρόν, οὐ τεθολωμένον. συνομόλογος τῆς τοιᾶσδε δόξης καὶ ὁ Κυζικηνὸς Νεάνθης γράφων τοὺς Μακεδόνων ἱερεῖς ἐν ταῖς κατευχαῖς βέδυ κατακαλεῖν ἵλεω αὐτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύουσιν ἀέρα. 20ζὰψ20 δὲ τὸ πῦρ οἳ μὲν παρὰ τὴν ζέσιν ἀμαθῶς ἐδέξαντο· καλεῖται δ' οὕτως ἡ θάλασσα, ὡς Εὐφορίων ἐν ταῖς πρὸς Θεοδωρίδαν ἀντιγραφαῖς· ζὰψ δὲ ποτὶ σπιλάδεσσι νεῶν ὀλέτειρα κακύνει. ∆ιονύσιός τε ὁ Ἴαμβος ὁμοίως· πόντου μαινομένοιο περιστείνει ἁλυκὴ ζάψ. ὁμοίως δὲ Κρατῖνος ὁ νεώτερος κωμικός· καρῖδας ἡ ζὰψ ἐκφέρει κἰχθύδια. καὶ Σιμμίας ὁ Ῥόδιος· ἀμμὰς Ἰγνήτων καὶ Τελχίνων ἔφυ ἡ ἁλυκὴ ζάψ. 20χθὼν20 δὲ ἡ γῆ εἰς μέγεθος κεχυμένη. καὶ 20πλῆκτρον20 οἳ μὲν τὸν πόλον, οἳ δὲ τὸν ἀέρα τὸν πάντα πλήσσοντα καὶ κινοῦντα εἰς φύσιν τε καὶ αὔξησιν ἢ τὸν πάντων πληρωτικόν. οὐκ ἀνέγνωσαν δ' οὗτοι Κλεάνθην τὸν φιλόσοφον, ὃς ἄντικρυς πλῆκτρον τὸν ἥλιον καλεῖ· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἀνατολαῖς ἐρείδων τὰς αὐγάς, οἷον πλήσσων τὸν κόσμον, εἰς τὴν ἐναρμόνιον πορείαν τὸ φῶς ἄγει· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου σημαίνει καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἄστρα. 20σφὶγξ20 δὲ οὐχ ἡ τῶν ὅλων σύνδεσις καὶ ἡ τοῦ κόσμου κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν Ἄρατον περιφορά, ἀλλὰ τάχα μὲν ὁ διήκων πνευματικὸς τόνος καὶ συνέχων τὸν κόσμον εἴη ἄν· ἄμεινον δὲ ἐκδέχεσθαι τὸν αἰθέρα πάντα συνέχοντα καὶ σφίγγοντα, καθὰ καὶ ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς φησιν· εἰ δ' ἄγε τοι λέξω [κείνων] πρῶθ' ἥλιον ἀρχήν, ἐξ ὧν δὴ ἐγένοντο τὰ νῦν ἐσορώμενα πάντα, γαῖά τε καὶ πόντος πολυκύμων ἠδ' ὑγρὸς ἀὴρ Τιτὰν ἠδ' αἰθὴρ σφίγγων περὶ κύκλον ἅπαντα. Ἀπολλόδωρος δ' ὁ Κερκυραῖος τοὺς στίχους τούσδε ὑπὸ Βράγχου ἀναφωνηθῆναι τοῦ μάντεως λέγει Μιλησίους καθαίροντος ἀπὸ λοιμοῦ. ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἐπιρραίνων τὸ πλῆθος δάφνης κλάδοις προκατήρχετο τοῦ ὕμνου ὧδέ πως· μέλπετε, ὦ παῖδες, ἑκάεργον καὶ ἑκαέργαν· ἐπέψαλλεν δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν ὁ λαός· βέδυ, ζάψ, χθώμ, πλῆκτρον, σφίγξ· κναξζβίχ, θύπτης, φλεγμό, δρώψ. μέμνηται τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ Καλλίμαχος ἐν ἰάμβοις. κναξζβὶχ δὲ κατὰ παραγωγὴν ἡ νόσος παρὰ τὸ κναίειν καὶ διαφθείρειν, θῦψαί τε τὸ κεραυνῷ φλέξαι. Θέσπις μέντοι ὁ τραγικὸς διὰ τούτων ἄλλο τι σημαίνεσθαί φησιν ὧδέ πως γράφων· ἴδε σοι σπένδω κναξζβὶχ τὸ λευκὸν ἀπὸ θηλαμόνων θλίψας κνακῶν· ἴδε σοι θύπτην τυρὸν μίξας ἐρυθρῷ μελιτῷ, κατὰ τῶν σῶν, Πὰν δίκερως, τίθεμαι βωμῶν ἁγίων. ἴδε σοι Βρομίου αἴθοπα φλεγμὸν λείβω. αἰνίσσεται, οἶμαι, τὴν ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων καὶ εἴκοσι στοιχείων ψυχῆς γαλακτώδη πρώτην τροφήν, μεθ' ἣν ἤδη πεπηγὸς γάλα τὸ βρῶμα, τελευταῖον δὲ αἷμα ἀμπέλου τοῦ λόγου τὸν αἴθοπα οἶνον, τὴν τελειοῦσαν τῆς ἀγωγῆς εὐφροσύνην, διδάσκει. δρὼψ δὲ ὁ λόγος ὁ δραστήριος, ὁ ἐκ κατηχήσεως τῆς πρώτης εἰς αὔξησιν ἀνδρός, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας, ἐκφλέγων καὶ ἐκφωτίζων τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τρίτος ὑπογραμμὸς φέρεται παιδικός· μάρπτε, σφίγξ, κλώψ, ζβυχθηδόν· σημαίνει δ', οἶμαι, διὰ τῆς τῶν στοιχείων καὶ τοῦ κόσμου διοικήσεως τὴν ὁδὸν ἡμῖν δεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν τελειοτέρων γίνεσθαι γνῶσιν, βίᾳ καὶ πόνῳ περιγινομένης τῆς αἰωνίου σωτηρίας· μάρψαι μὲν γὰρ τὸ καταλαβεῖν, τὴν δὲ τοῦ κόσμου ἁρμονίαν ἡ σφίγξ, ζβυχθηδὸν δὲ τὴν χαλεπότητα μηνύει, καὶ κλὼψ τὴν λανθάνουσαν κυρίου γνῶσιν ἅμα καὶ ἡμέραν δηλοῖ. Τί δ'; οὐχὶ καὶ Ἐπιγένης ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς Ὀρφέως ποιήσεως τὰ ἰδιάζοντα παρ' Ὀρφεῖ ἐκτιθέμενός φησι κερκίσι καμπυλόχρωσι τοῖς ἀρότροις μηνύεσθαι, στήμοσι δὲ τοῖς αὔλαξι· μίτον δὲ τὸ σπέρμα ἀλληγορεῖσθαι, καὶ δάκρυα ∆ιὸς τὸν ὄμβρον δηλοῦν, Μοίρας τε αὖ τὰ μέρη τῆς σελήνης, τριακάδα καὶ πεντεκαιδεκάτην καὶ νουμηνίαν· διὸ καὶ λευκοστόλους αὐτὰς καλεῖν τὸν Ὀρφέα φωτὸς οὔσας μέρη. πάλιν ἄνθιον μὲν τὸ ἔαρ διὰ τὴν φύσιν, ἀργίδα δὲ τὴν νύκτα διὰ τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν, καὶ Γοργόνιον τὴν σελήνην διὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ πρόσωπον, Ἀφροδίτην τε τὸν καιρὸν καθ' ὃν δεῖ σπείρειν, λέγεσθαι παρὰ τῷ θεολόγῳ. Τοιαῦτα καὶ οἱ Πυθαγόρειοι ᾐνίσσοντο, Φερσεφόνης μὲν κύνας τοὺς πλανήτας, Κρόνου δὲ δάκρυον τὴν θάλασσαν ἀλληγοροῦντες. καὶ μυρία ἐπὶ μυρίοις εὕροιμεν ἂν ὑπό τε φιλοσόφων ὑπό τε ποιητῶν αἰνιγματωδῶς εἰρημένα, ὅπου γε καὶ ὅλα βιβλία ἐπικεκρυμμένην τὴν τοῦ συγγραφέως βούλησιν ἐπιδείκνυται, ὡς καὶ τὸ Ἡρακλείτου περὶ φύσεως, ὃς καὶ δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο Σκοτεινὸς προσηγόρευται. ὁμοία τούτῳ τῷ βιβλίῳ καὶ ἡ Φερεκύδους θεολογία τοῦ Συρίου. Εὐφορίων γὰρ ὁ ποιητὴς καὶ τὰ Καλλιμάχου Αἴτια καὶ ἡ Λυκόφρονος Ἀλεξάν δρα καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια γυμνάσιον εἰς ἐξήγησιν γραμματικῶν ἔκκειται παισίν. Οὔκουν ἀπεικὸς καὶ τὴν βάρβαρον φιλοσοφίαν, περὶ ἧς ἡμῖν πρόκειται λέγειν, ἐπικεκρυμμένως καὶ διὰ συμβόλων προφητεύειν ἔν τισιν, ὡς ἀποδέδεικται. τοιαῦτα γοῦν καὶ ὁ Μωυσῆς παραινεῖ, τὰ κοινὰ δὴ ταῦτα· οὐ φάγεσθε χοῖρον οὔτε ἀετὸν οὔτε ὀξύπτερον οὔτε κόρακα. ὁ μὲν γὰρ χοῖρος φιλήδονον καὶ ἀκάθαρτον ἐπιθυμίαν τροφῶν καὶ ἀφροδισίων λίχνον καὶ μεμολυσμένην ἀκολασίαν μηνύει. ἀεὶ κνηστιῶσαν ὑλικήν τε καὶ ἐν βορβόρῳ κειμένην, εἰς σφαγὴν καὶ ἀπώλειαν πιαινομένην. ἔμπαλιν δὲ ἐπιτρέπει διχηλοῦν καὶ μαρυκώμενον ἐσθίειν, μηνύων, φησὶν ὁ Βαρνάβας, κολλᾶσθαι δεῖν μετὰ τῶν φοβουμένων τὸν κύριον καὶ μετὰ τῶν μελετώντων ὃ ἔλαβον διάσταλμα ῥήματος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, μετὰ τῶν λαλούντων δικαιώματα κυρίου καὶ τηρούντων, μετὰ τῶν εἰδότων ὅτι ἡ μελέτη ἐστὶν ἔργον εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἀναμαρυκωμένων τὸν λόγον κυρίου. τί δὲ τὸ διχηλοῦν; ὅτι ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ κόσμῳ περιπατεῖ καὶ τὸν ἅγιον αἰῶνα ἐκδέχεται. εἶτα ἐπιφέρει· βλέπετε πῶς ἐνομοθέτησεν ὁ Μωυσῆς καλῶς. ἀλλὰ πόθεν ἐκείνοις ταῦτα νοῆσαι ἢ συνιέναι; ἡμεῖς δικαίως νοήσαντες τὰς ἐντολάς, λαλοῦμεν ὡς ἠθέλησεν κύριος. διὰ τοῦτο περιέτεμε τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν καὶ τὰς καρδίας, ἵνα συνιῶμεν ταῦτα. ναὶ μὴν ὅταν λέγῃ οὐ φάγῃ τὸν ἀετόν, τὸν ὀξύπτερον καὶ τὸν ἰκτῖνον καὶ τὸν κόρακα, οὐ κολληθήσῃ, φησίν, οὐδὲ ὁμοιωθήσῃ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις, οἳ οὐκ ἴσασι διὰ πόνου καὶ ἱδρῶτος πορίζειν ἑαυτοῖς τὴν τροφήν, ἀλλ' ἐν ἁρπαγῇ καὶ ἀνομίᾳ βιοῦσιν· ἀετὸς μὲν γὰρ ἁρπαγήν, ὀξύπτερος δὲ ἀδικίαν καὶ πλεονεξίαν ὁ κόραξ μηνύει. γέγραπται δέ· μετὰ ἀνδρὸς ἀθῴου ἀθῷος ἔσῃ καὶ μετὰ ἐκλεκτοῦ ἐκλεκτὸς ἔσῃ καὶ μετὰ στρεβλοῦ διαστρέψεις. κολλᾶσθαι οὖν τοῖς ἁγίοις προσήκει, ὅτι οἱ κολλώμενοι αὐτοῖς ἁγιασθήσονται. ἐντεῦθεν ὁ Θέογνις γράφει· ἐσθλῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄπ' ἐσθλὰ μαθήσεαι· ἢν δὲ κακοῖσι συμμί[σ]γῃς, ἀπολεῖς καὶ τὸν ἐόντα νόον. ὅταν τε αὖ ἐν τῇ ᾠδῇ λέγῃ ἐνδόξως γὰρ δεδόξασται, ἵππον καὶ ἀναβάτην ἔρριψεν εἰς θάλασσαν, τὸ πολυσκελὲς καὶ κτηνῶδες καὶ ὁρμητικὸν πάθος, τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, σὺν καὶ τῷ ἐπιβεβηκότι ἡνιόχῳ τὰς ἡνίας ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐπιδεδωκότι ἔρριψεν εἰς θάλασσαν, εἰς τὰς κοσμικὰς ἀταξίας ἀποβαλών. οὕτως καὶ Πλάτων ἐν τῷ Περὶ ψυχῆς τόν τε ἡνίοχον καὶ τὸν ἀποστατήσαντα ἵππον (τὸ ἄλογον μέρος, ὃ δὴ δίχα τέμνεται, εἰς θυμὸν καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν,) καταπίπτειν φησίν. ᾗ καὶ τὸν Φαέθοντα δι' ἀκρασίαν τῶν πώλων ἐκπεσεῖν ὁ μῦθος αἰνίττεται. Ναὶ μὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰωσήφ· νέον τοῦτον ζηλώσαντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ πλεῖόν τι προορώμενον κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν ἐξέδυσαν τὸν χιτῶνα τὸν ποικίλον καὶ λαβόντες ἔρριψαν εἰς λάκκον, ὁ δὲ λάκκος κενὸς ὕδωρ οὐκ εἶχε· τὴν ἐκ φιλομαθίας τοῦ σπουδαίου ποικίλην γνῶσιν ἀποσκορακίσαντες ἢ ψιλῇ τῇ κατὰ νόμον πίστει κεχρημένοι ἔρριψαν εἰς λάκκον τὸν ὕδατος κενόν, εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπεμπολήσοντες τὴν τοῦ θείου λόγου ἔρημον. κενὸς δὲ ἐπιστήμης ὁ λάκκος, ἐν ᾧ ῥιφεὶς καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ἀποδυσάμενος ὅμοιος τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐδόκει γυμνὸς γνώσεως ὁ διαλεληθὼς σοφός. κατ' ἄλλο σημαινόμενον εἴη δ' ἂν ἐπιθυμία [τὸ] ποικίλον ἔνδυμα, εἰς ἀχανὲς ἀπάγουσα βάραθρον. ἐὰν δέ τις ἀνοίξῃ λάκκον ἢ λατομήσῃ, φησί, καὶ μὴ καλύψῃ αὐτόν, ἐμπέσῃ δ' ἐκεῖ μόσχος ἢ ὄνος, ὁ κύριος τοῦ λάκκου ἀποτίσει ἀργύριον καὶ δώσει τῷ πλησίον, τὸ δὲ τεθνηκὸς αὐτῷ ἔσται. ἐνταῦθά μοι τὴν προφητείαν ἐκείνην ἔπαγε· ἔγνω βοῦς τὸν κτησάμενον καὶ ὄνος τὴν φάτνην τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, Ἰσραὴλ δέ με οὐ συνῆκεν. ἵνα οὖν μή τις τούτων, ἐμπεσὼν εἰς τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ διδασκομένην γνῶσιν, ἀκρατὴς γενόμενος τῆς ἀληθείας, παρακούσῃ τε καὶ παραπέσῃ, ἀσφαλής, φησί, περὶ τὴν χρῆσιν τοῦ λόγου γίνου, καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀλόγως προσιόντας ἀπόκλειε τὴν ζῶσαν ἐν βάθει πηγήν, ποτὸν δὲ ὄρεγε τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας δεδιψηκόσιν. ἐπικρυπτόμενος δ' οὖν πρὸς τοὺς οὐχ οἵους τε ὄντας παραδέξασθαι τὸ βάθος τῆς γνώσεως κατακάλυπτε τὸν λάκκον. ὁ κύριος οὖν τοῦ λάκκου, ὁ γνωστικὸς αὐτός, ζημιωθήσεται, φησί, τὴν αἰτίαν ὑπέχων τοῦ σκανδαλισθέντος ἤτοι καταποθέντος τῷ μεγέθει τοῦ λόγου, μικρολόγου ἔτι ὄντος, ἢ μετακινήσας τὸν ἐργάτην ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν καὶ ἀποστήσας διὰ προφάσεως τῆς αὐτοσχεδίου πίστεως. ἀργύριον δὲ δώσει, τῷ παντοκρατορικῷ βουλήματι ὑπέχων λόγον καὶ εὐθύνας. Οὗτος μὲν οὖν ὁ τύπος νόμου καὶ προφητῶν ὁ μέχρις Ἰωάννου· ὃ δέ, καίτοι φανερώτερον λαλήσας ὡς ἂν μηκέτι προφητεύων, ἀλλὰ δεικνύων ἤδη παρόντα τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς καταγγελλόμενον συμβολικῶς, ὅμως οὔκ εἰμι φησὶν ἄξιος τὸν ἱμάντα τοῦ ὑποδήματος λῦσαι κυρίου· μὴ γὰρ ἄξιος εἶναι ὁμολογεῖ τὴν τοσαύτην βαπτίσαι δύναμιν, χρῆναι γὰρ τοὺς καθαροποιοῦντας ἀπολύειν τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῶν τούτου ἁμαρτημάτων τὴν ψυχὴν ὥσπερ τοῦ δεσμοῦ τὸν πόδα. τάχα δὲ καὶ τὴν τελευταίαν τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐνέργειαν, τὴν προσεχῆ, λέγει, τὴν διὰ τῆς παρουσίας, ἐπικρυπτομένην τῷ τῆς προφητείας αἰνίγματι· ὁ [γὰρ] διὰ τῆς αὐτοψίας τὸν θεσπιζόμενον δείξας, τὴν εἰς φανερὸν πόρρωθεν ὁδεύουσαν μηνύσας ἥκουσαν παρουσίαν, ὄντως ἔλυσεν τὸ πέρας τῶν λογίων τῆς οἰκονομίας, ἐκκαλύψας τὴν ἔννοιαν τῶν συμβόλων. Καὶ τὰ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἐπὶ τῶν διαθηκῶν γινόμενα τάξιν εἴληχε, τὰ διὰ δικαιοσύνην ἐκεῖνα ζυγὰ καὶ ἀσσάρια καρπισμοί τε καὶ αἱ τῶν ὤτων ἐπιψαύσεις, τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἵνα δικαίως γίνηται, τὰ δὲ εἰς τὸν τῆς τιμῆς μερισμόν, τὸ δ' ὅπως ὁ παρατυχών, ὡς βάρους τινὸς αὐτῷ ἐπιτιθεμένου, ἑστὼς ἀκούσῃ καὶ τάξιν μεσίτου λάβῃ.