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over serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And they were horned, so as to be able to say: In you we will push down our enemies with the horn. But they also happened to be pure in soul, if any others were; for which reason they were compared to a deer. Since also the bridegroom himself in the Song of Songs was likened to a fawn of a deer, and in Job it is also said: And you have guarded the months of the deer and their birth pangs; you will send them forth. And such rational deer the Lord is said to prepare in the 28th psalm, which says: The voice of the Lord preparing the deer. These deer, therefore, when the spring failed them on account of the iniquities of the people, and God having turned away, wept by themselves, and used their own tears for food, night and day lamenting the destruction of the people; and they confessed to thirsting not in their bodies and in their flesh for the pleasures dear to it, but the soul itself to long and desire, according to Symmachus, the journey towards God. Therefore they said: So my soul longs for you, O God; and again: My soul has thirsted for God, the mighty, the living. For that the Lord lives according to what is said, Who alone has immortality; and has life alone in himself, according to: For with you is the fountain of life, they knew. And this living water, the spring, having at some later time appeared according to the prayers of the prophets, the Savior himself taught to provide to men, saying something like this: Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, in him will become a spring of living water welling up to eternal life. And again: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from his belly. Thirsting, therefore, for this drink the prophetic choir said: My soul has thirsted for God, the mighty, the living, and, When shall I come and appear before the face of God? For seeing themselves to be far from the face to face vision of God, they said these things. But also perceiving that the face of God had turned away from the people, the power that always took providence for them no longer watched over them, they lamented their sojourn on earth, and they made a prayer to stand one day before the face of God; wherefore they said: When shall I come and appear before the face of God? And being full of much boldness and of a good conscience they used such words. For as being entirely healthy in their souls and purified from every blemish 23.372 and spot, and stain, they deemed themselves worthy to appear before the face of God. But the one who sins flees the face, and begs off through prayer and supplication, saying: Turn your face away from my sins. Turning away from all things on earth, and abhorring every luxury among men, using only bread of necessity, and this with tears, he will say: My tears have become my bread day and night. But the choir of the prophets, since it saw the face of God turned away from all the people, considering the destruction of the many to be its own loss, undertook the lamentations on behalf of all; and to such a degree did the men of God intensify their hardship, that they were nourished by their own tears and through all day and night they gave up even bread itself, and devoted themselves only to weeping. And especially they did these things and suffered these things, hearing from the people themselves, or rather from the impious among them, saying: Where is your God? For surely the enemies and foes did not say these things to them every day; but it is likely that the faithless in the nation blamed the prophets as worshiping God in vain and toiling to no purpose and said to them: Where is your God? Which indeed hearing from their brothers and kinsmen and acquaintances, they intensified their mourning; wherefore they say: These things I remembered, and I poured out my soul upon myself. For not outside my own disturbance

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ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ. Κερασφόροι δὲ ὑπῆρχον, ὡς λέγειν δύνασθαι· Ἐν σοὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἡμῶν κερατιοῦμεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ καθαροὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐτύγχανον, εἰ καί τινες ἄλλοι· διὸ ἐλάφῳ παρεβάλλοντο. Ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ νυμφίος ἐν Ἄσματι ᾀσμάτων νεβρῷ ἐλάφῳ ἀφωμοίωτο, καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἰὼβ δὲ εἴρηται· Ἐφύλαξας δὲ μῆνας ἐλάφων ὠδῖνάς τε· αὐτοὺς ἐξαποστελεῖς. Τοιαύτας δὲ λογικὰς ἐλάφους ὁ Κύριος καταρτίζεσθαι λέγεται ἐν κηʹ ψαλμῷ, φάσκοντι· Φωνὴ Κυρίου καταρτιζομένη ἐλάφους. Αὗται τοίνυν αἱ ἔλαφοι, τῆς πηγῆς διαλειπούσης αὐτὰς διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ ἀποστραφέντος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καθ' ἑαυτὰς ἀπεκλαίοντο, καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν δάκρυσιν ἐχρῶντο τροφῇ, νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας τὴν ἀπώλειαν τοῦ λαοῦ ἀποθρηνοῦσαι· ὡμολόγουν τε διψῇν οὐ τοῖς σώμασι καὶ ταῖς σαρξὶ τὰς τούτῳ φίλας ἡδονὰς, ἀλλ' αὐτὴ ἡ ψυχὴ ποθεῖν καὶ ἱμείρεσθαι κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν πορείας. ∆ιὸ ἔλεγον· Οὕτως ἐπιποθεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς σὲ, ὁ Θεός· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐδίψησεν ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τὸν ἰσχυρὸν τὸν ζῶντα. Ζῇν γὰρ τὸν Κύριον κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον, Ὁ μόνος ἔχων ἀθανασίαν· καὶ μόνον ζωὴν ἔχειν παρ' ἑαυτῷ, κατὰ τό· Ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ᾔδεσαν. Καὶ τοῦτό γε τὸ ζῶν ὕδωρ, ὕστερόν ποτε ἐπιστᾶσα κατὰ τὰς τῶν προφητῶν εὐχὰς ἡ πηγὴ, αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις ἐδίδασκεν, ὧδέ πη λέγων· Ὃς ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ζῶντος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Καὶ πάλιν· Εἴ τις διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρὸς μὲ, καὶ πινέτω. Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ Γραφὴ, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος. Τούτου δὴ οὖν τοῦ πόματος ὁ προφητικὸς χορὸς διψῶν ἔλεγεν· Ἐδίψησεν ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τὸν ἰσχυρὸν τὸν ζῶντα, καὶ, Πότε ἥξω, καὶ ὀφθήσομαι τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ὁρῶντες γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς μακρὰν ὑπάρχοντας τῆς πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον θέας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ταῦτα ἔλεγον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ συναισθόμενοι, ὡς ἀπέστραπτο τὸν λαὸν τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρόσωπον, οὐκέτ' αὐτοὺς ἐπισκοπεῖ ἡ πάντοτε πρόνοιαν αὐτῶν ποιουμένη δύναμις, ἀπεθρήνουν μὲν τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς διατριβὴν, εὐχὴν δ' ἐτίθεντο παραστῆναί ποτε τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ· διὸ ἔλεγον· Πότε ἥξω, καὶ ὀφθήσομαι τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ; Πολλῆς δὲ γέμοντες παῤῥησίας καὶ συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς τοιαύταις ἐχρῶντο φωναῖς. Ὡς γὰρ ὅλοι διόλου τὰς ψυχὰς ὑγιεῖς καὶ παντὸς μώ 23.372 μου καὶ σπίλου, καὶ μολυσμοῦ κεκαθαρμένοι, ὀφθῆναι ἠξίουν τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἁμαρτάνων φεύγει τὸ πρόσωπον, καὶ παραιτεῖται δι' εὐχῆς καὶ ἱκετηρίας λέγων· Ἀπόστρεψον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν μου. Πάντα τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς ἀποστρεφόμενος, καὶ πᾶσαν τρυφὴν τὴν ἐν ἀνθρώποις βδελυττόμενος, μόνῳ δὲ ἄρτῳ ἐπάναγκες χρώμενος, καὶ τούτῳ μετὰ δακρύων, ἐρεῖ· Ἐγενήθη τὰ δάκρυά μου ἄρτος μοι ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. Ὁ δὲ τῶν προφητῶν χορὸς, ἐπεὶ ἑώρα τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποστραφὲν πάντα τὸν λαὸν, τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἀπώλειαν ἑαυτοῦ εἶναι ζημίαν ἡγούμενος, τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων ἀνεδέχετο θρήνους· εἰς τοσοῦτον δὲ ἐπέτεινον τὴν κακοπάθειαν οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι, ὡς τοῖς δάκρυσιν ἑαυτῶν τρέφεσθαι καὶ διὰ πάσης ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς παραιτεῖσθαι μὲν καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἄρτον, μόνῳ δὲ τῷ κλαυθμῷ σχολάζειν. Μάλιστα δὲ ταῦτ' ἔπραττον καὶ ταῦτ' ἔπασχον, ἀκούοντες αὐτοῦ τοῦ λαοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ λεγόντων· Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός σου; Οὐ γὰρ δήπου οἱ ἐχθροὶ καὶ πολέμιοι καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ταῦτα αὐτοῖς ἔλεγον· ἀλλ' εἰκὸς τοὺς ἐν τῷ ἔθνει ἀπίστους ὡς μάτην θεοσεβοῦντας καὶ εἰκῆ μοχθοῦντας τοὺς προφήτας καταμέμφεσθαι καὶ λέγειν αὐτοῖς· Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός σου; Ἃ δὴ παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ συγγενῶν, καὶ γνωρίμων ἀκούοντες, τὰ τοῦ πένθους ἐπέτεινον· διό φασι· Ταῦτα ἐμνήσθην, καὶ ἐξέχεα ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὴν ψυχήν μου. Οὐ γὰρ ἔξω τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ταραχὴν