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falling under the statutes of just judgments, like the former inhabitants of Judea, and not willingly accepting to be under the yoke of the king of Babylon, according to the divine command, is handed over into captivity to the king of Babylon, and to yokes, and bonds, and death, and famine, and the sword, and is utterly colonized away from his own land; that is, from the disposition that seemed to be of virtue and knowledge. Through captivity, he is condemned for his apostasy from divine things; through the yokes, for the false opinion concerning beings; through the bonds, for the complete inaction of good things; through the famine, for the deprivation of divine teachings; through death, for the perfect hardening and insensibility toward good things; and through the sword, for the passionate and licentious thoughts that destroy the memory of divine things.

(345) For he who is exiled from the disposition of virtue and knowledge as from his own land suffers all these things, and more than these, because he does not wish, out of pride and vain conceit, while paying the penalties for his offenses, to be content in tribulations and necessities and distresses, according to the divine Apostle, although he is free from all obligation in these matters because of righteousness. For the great Apostle knew that the humiliation of the body from without, through labors, is a guardian of the divine treasures in the soul; and for this reason, he lovingly endured, both for himself and for those for whom he was set forth as a model of virtue and faith, so that even if they suffer as though responsible, like the Corinthian who was rebuked, they might have for consolation and an imitation of patience [Fr. et. Reg. patience and imitation], one who suffers without being responsible.

And I consider the kings of the nations, according to this passage of Scripture, to be the men [perhaps: thoughts] who are rulers of the other passions of dishonor, and they themselves justly subjected to the punishment of their own offenses; and for this reason they are handed over to the king of Babylon as to a punishing power, and one who rejoices in the torment of nature. The Egyptian king, then, is the pleasure-loving and licentious mind; the Moabite, the luxurious and profane mind; the Ammonite, the covetous mind; the Syrian, the superstitious and dialectical mind; for only the Syrian is written to have opposed Solomon, that is, peace and wisdom; the Tyrian, the world-loving and life-loving mind; and all the other kings, whom the gnostic will know by their proper signification from the interpretation of names, or from the position of places, or from the general tradition prevailing among them, or from their practice among one another, or from some antipathy toward Israel. For not always and not all are taken in the same way and with one meaning, but according to the present need and the power of the prophecy.

For indeed Scripture knows how to take Pharaoh as the devil, when he becomes the destroyer of Israel; and again as the law of nature, when Joseph serves him according to the economy, prophetically signifying through himself the God-Logos who willingly serves our nature and passions, apart from sin alone. Likewise, the king of Tyre is understood as the devil, when he wars against Israel through Sisera; and again as the natural law, when he makes a treaty with David, and contributes very much to Solomon for the building of the divine temple; and each of the kings enumerated by Scripture is taken [Fr. is taken] for many other meanings, but according to the power underlying the prophecy.

And the beasts which God gives to the king of Babylon are the demons, each ministering according to his inwardly inherent aptitude for bringing on this or that (348) temptation. For one is productive of one kind of evil, and another is clearly more defiled than others, and is more suited to this kind of evil rather than that. For not even the demons themselves can in any way serve the author of evil, the devil, without divine permission; so that just as God himself knows, with the

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δικαίων κριμάτων ἐμπίπτων θεσπίσμασι, κατά τούς πάλαι τῆς Ἰουδαίας οἰκήτορας, καί μή καταδεχόμενος ἑκουσίως ὑπό τόν ζυγόν γενέσθαι τοῦ βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος, κατά τήν θείαν διαταγήν, εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν παραδίδοται τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος, καί κλοιούς, καί δεσμά, καί θάνατον, καί λιμόν, καί μάχαιραν, καί τῆς ἰδίας παντελῶς ἀποικίζεται γῆς· τουτέστι, τῆς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν καί γνῶσιν εἶναι δοκούσης ἕξεως· διά μέν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας, τήν τῶν θείων ἀπόστασιν κατακρινόμενος· διά δέ τῶν κλοιῶν, τήν ψευδῆ περί τῶν ὄντων δόξαν· διά δέ τῶν δεσμῶν, τήν παντελῆ τῶν καλῶν ἀπραξίαν· διά τοῦ λιμοῦ, τήν τῶν θείων στέρησιν διδαγμάτων· διά δέ τοῦ θανάτου, τήν τελείαν πρός τά καλά πώρωσίν τε καί ἀναισθησίαν· διά δέ τῆς μαχαίρας, τούς τῶν θείων μνημῶν ἀναιρετικούς ἐμπαθεῖς καί ἀκολάστους λογισμούς.

(345) Πάντα γάρ ταῦτα, καί τούτων πλείονα, ὁ τῆς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν καί γνῶσιν ὡς ἰδίας γῆς ἐξοικιζόμενος ἕξεως, πάσχει· διά τό μή θέλειν αὐτόν ἐξ ὑπερηφανίας καί ματαίας οἰήσεως, τάς ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἐπλημμέλησεν ἐκτιννύς δίκας, ἐν θλίψεσιν εὐδοκῆσαι καί ἀνάγκαις καί στενοχωρίαις κατά τόν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, καίτοι πάσης τῆς ἐπί τούτοις ὀφειλῆς ὄντα διά τήν δικαιοσύνην ἐλεύθερον. ᾜδει γάρ ὁ μέγας Ἀπόστολος, φυλακτικήν τῶν θείων κατά ψυχήν θησαυρῶν ὑπάρχουσαν, τήν ἐκτός περί τό σῶμα συνισταμένην διά τῶν πόνων ταπείνωσιν· καί διά τοῦτο, στέργων ὑπέμενε, καί δι᾿ ἑαυτόν, καί τούς, οἷς ἀρετῆς καί πίστεως προέκειτο τύπος· ἵνα κἄν ὡς ὑπεύθυνοι πάσχωσι κατά τόν ἐπιτιμηθέντα Κορίνθιον, εἰς παρηγορίαν ἔχωσι καί ὑπομονῆς μίμησιν [Fr. et. Reg. ὑπομονήν καί μίμησιν], τόν ἀνευθύνως πάσχοντα.

Τούς δέ βασιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν εἶναι νομίζω κατά τοῦτον τῆς Γραφῆς τόν τόπον, τούς τῶν λοιπῶν τῆς ἀτιμίας παθῶν ἐπάρχοντας ἀνθρώπους [ἴσ. λογισμούς], καί αὐτούς ὑποκειμένους ἐνδίκως τῇ τιμωρίᾳ τῶν οἰκείων ὀφλημάτων· καί διά τοῦτο τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος παραδιδομένους ὡς τιμωρῷ δυνάμει, καί χαιρούσῃ τῇ βασάνῳ τῆς φύσεως. Ἔστιν οὖν ὁ μέν Αἰγύπτιος βασιλεύς, ὁ φιλήδονος νοῦς καί ἀκόλαστος· ὁ δέ Μωαβίτης, ὁ τρυφητής καί βέβηλος νοῦς· ὁ δέ Ἀμμανίτης, ὁ πλεονεκτικός νοῦς· ὁ δέ Σύρος, ὁ δεισιδαίμων καί διαλεκτικός νοῦς· μόνος γάρ ἀντικεῖσθαι γέγραπται τῷ Σαλομῶν ὁ Σύρος, τουτέστι, τῇ εἰρήνῃ καί σοφίᾳ· ὁ δέ Τύριος, ὁ φιλόκοσμος νοῦς καί φιλόζωος· καί οἱ λοιποί πάντες βασιλεῖς, οὕς γνώσεται διά τῆς οἰκείας σημασίας ὁ γνωστικός ἐκ τῆς ὀνομάτων ἑρμηνείας, ἤ τῆς τῶν τόπων θέσεως, ἤ τῆς κρατούσης ἐν αὐτοῖς γενικῆς παραδόσεως, ἤ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἐπιτηδεύσεως, ἤ τῆς πρός Ἰσραήλ ποιᾶς ἀντιπαθείας. Οὐ γάρ πάντοτε καί πάντες ὡσαύτως καί καθ᾿ ἕν σημαινόμενον λαμβάνονται· ἀλλά πρός τήν προκειμένην χρείαν, καί τῆς προφητείας τήν δύναμιν.

Ἐπείτοι γε καί εἰς τόν διάβολον οἶδεν ἡ Γραφή λαμβάνειν τόν Φαραώ, ὅταν ἀναιρέτης γίνηται τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· καί πάλιν εἰς τόν τῆς φύσεως νόμον, ὅταν αὐτῷ δουλεύῃ κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν ὁ Ἰωσήφ, προφητικῶς δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ σημάνας τόν φύσει καί πάθεσιν ἡμετέροις ἑκουσίως δουλεύοντα Θεόν Λόγον, δίχα μόνης ἁμαρτίας. Ὁμοίως καί ὁ βασιλεύς Τύρου νοεῖται εἰς τόν διάβολον, ὅταν τόν Ἰσραήλ διά τοῦ Σισάρα πολεμῇ· καί πάλιν εἰς τόν φυσικόν νόμον, ὅταν σπένδηται τῷ ∆αβίδ, καί εἰς τήν οἰκοδομήν τοῦ θείου ναοῦ τῷ Σολομῶν πλεῖστα συμβάλλεται· καί εἰς ἄλλα πολλά σημαινόμενα, ἕκαστος τῶν ἀπηριθμημένων τῇ Γραφῇ βασιλέων, παραλαμβάνεται [Fr.λαμβάνεται]· κατά μέντοι τήν ὑποκεμένην τῇ προφητείᾳ δύναμιν.

Τά δέ θηρία ἅπερ δίδωσιν ὁ Θεός τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος, εἰσίν οἱ δαίμονες, ἕκαστος κατά τήν ἐνδιαθέτως ἐπικειμένην ἐπιτηδειότητα πρός τήνδε ἤ τήνδε (348) τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπαγωγήν λειτουργῶν. Ἄλλος γάρ ἄλλης ἐμποιητικός κακίας, καί ἄλλος ἄλλους σαφῶς ἐστι μιαρώτερος· καί πρός τόδε μᾶλλον τό εἶδος τῆς κακίας ἐπιτηδειότερος. Οὔτε γάρ αὐτοί οἱ δαίμονες ἄνευ θείας συγχωρήσεως κατ᾿ οὐδέν ὑπουργεῖν δύνανται τῷ ἀρχεκάκῳ διαβόλῳ· ἵνα καθώς οἶδεν αὐτός ὁ Θεός, μετά τῆς