114

they would have swallowed us alive, according to the voice of the great writer. They are said to eat grass because they delight in the corruptible and transient things of this life and through these deceive men, which like grass will quickly be dried up and like green herbs will quickly fall away. 40, 16 Behold now his strength is in his loins. The power of the beast, he says, is in fornication; and personifying Satan, he describes him by his powers; since, therefore, the seeds are in the loins, his strength, he says, is in fornication. 40, 16 And his power is in the navel of his belly. Because from fornication a woman bears in her womb, and because it drives 361 to gluttony. But I also heard someone else explaining: The navel, he says, is in the middle of the whole body; therefore his strength is fixed in his middle, and he is unswerving from every direction, being only evil and never inclining to good. 40, 17 He has set his tail like a cypress. The tail is the end, and the cypress is a bold wood. He persists, he says, being bold until the end. And in another sense, his ministers are called his tail. For it is said in the Law: you will therefore be the tail and not the head. And so these themselves, following him, transform themselves into angels of light; for the saints are called cypresses because of their fragrance, as in the Song: our rafters are of cypress. Therefore the tail-end of Satan pretends to be a cypress, though it is not. 40, 17 And his sinews are intertwined. His sinews are his cunning; it is full of entanglement and is difficult to unravel. And there are also certain men who are like members of Satan and his intertwined sinews. He who unravels the deceits of these men fulfilled the words of Isaiah who says: Loose every bond of wickedness and undo the knots of oppressive contracts. 40, 18 His ribs are ribs of bronze. 362 Ribs are deceits, craftiness, schemes, because the ribs are at the side just as his thoughts are crooked and sideways. And in another sense, just as the woman came from Adam's rib and the initiating apostle viewed her as the church, saying: This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the church, so the synagogues of all the heretics are understood as the ribs of Satan. And of bronze either because they brazenly oppose the truth, or because gleaming bronze resembles gold, and gold is considered to be the mind. And the heretics seem to have some mind, but not a true one nor the mind of the Lord, but rather falsely called knowledge. 40, 18 And his spine is cast iron. The filings of iron when smelted become an invincible vessel. And the spine is the bond of all the members. Through this, therefore, is signified that which contains all the passions, from which all things grow. And in another sense, since animals carry burdens on their back, he signified his strength through the spine. And just as such men of the church are called members of Christ according to the proportion of each, and one is an eye, another a foot, and the rest, so also those who do the things of Satan are understood to be mem 363 bers of the dragon, in proportion to their own cunning. 40, 19 This is the beginning of the creation of the Lord. Some say that God created this one first; but others, avoiding saying that the first creation of God underwent change, say that he was not created first, but held the first rank among angels, being one of the first rulers, according to what is said in the Psalms: and you fall like one of the princes, and he was cast out for having raised his hands against God. And others say that man is a creation of God, and that the devil was appointed by God to rule over men, but that he did not use his authority as he ought, and both fell away from God himself and persuaded men to do the same; and they make use of the apostle saying: according to the ruler of this air. But others say that he did not receive leadership over men from God, but that men voluntarily, because of their passions and pleasures, brought themselves under the tyrannical yoke of the devil, which indeed, he says

114

ζῶντας ἂν κατέπιον ἡμᾶς κατὰ τὴν τοῦ μεγαλογράφου φωνήν. χόρτον δὲ ἐσθίειν λέγονται διὰ τὸ τοῖς φθαρτοῖς καὶ προσκαίροις τοῦδε τοῦ βίου ἐνηδύνεσθαι καὶ διὰ τούτων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐξαπατᾶν, ἅτινα ὡσεὶ χόρτος ταχὺ ἀποξηρανθήσονται καὶ ὡσεὶ λάχανα χλόης ταχὺ ἀποπεσοῦνται. 40, 16 ἰδοὺ δὴ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ὀσφύι. τοῦ θηρίου, φησίν, ἡ δύναμις ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ· τὸ πρόσωπον δὲ σωματοποιῶν τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐκ τῶν δυνάμεων αὐτοῦ διαγράφει τοῦτον· ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἐν τῇ ὀσφύι τὰ σπέρματα, ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ, φησίν, ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ. 40, 16 ἡ δὲ δύναμις αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ὀμφαλοῦ γαστρός. ὅτι ἀπὸ πορνείας ἡ γυνὴ κατὰ γαστρὸς φέρει, καὶ ὅτι εἰς γα 361 στριμαργίαν ἐκμαίνει. ἤκουσα δὲ καὶ ἄλλου τινὸς ἐξηγουμένου· ὁ ὀμφαλός, φησίν, ἐν μέσῳ κεῖται τοῦ παντὸς σώματος· ἐν μέσῳ οὖν αὐτοῦ πέπηκται ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκλινής ἐστι πανταχόθεν μόνον κακὸς ὢν καὶ μηδέποτε ῥέπων εἰς ἀγαθόν. 40, 17 ἔστησεν οὐρὰν ὡς κυπάρισσον. οὐρὰ τὸ τέλος, κυπάρισσος δὲ ξύλον ἰταμόν. ἐπιμένει, οὖν φησιν, μέχρι τέλους ἰταμευόμενος. καὶ ἄλλως δὲ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ οὐρὰ καλοῦνται. εἴρηται γὰρ ἐν τῷ Νόμῳ· ἔσῃ οὖν εἰς οὐρὰν καὶ οὐκ εἰς κεφαλήν. καὶ αὐτοὶ οὖν οὗτοι ἑπόμενοι αὐτῷ μετασχηματίζονται εἰς ἀγγέλους φωτός· οἱ γὰρ ἅγιοι κυπάρισσοι λέγονται διὰ τὸ εὐῶδες ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἄισματι· φατνώματα ἡμῶν κυπάρισσοι. προσποιεῖται οὖν ἡ οὐραγία τοῦ Σατανᾶ εἶναι κυπάρισσος οὐκ οὖσα. 40, 17 τὰ δὲ νεῦρα αὐτοῦ συμπέπλεκται. νεῦρα αὐτοῦ ἡ πανουργία αὐτοῦ· συμπλοκῆς γέμει καὶ δυσδιάλυτός ἐστιν. εἰσὶ δὲ καί τινες ἄνθρωποι ὥσπερ μέλη ὄντες τοῦ Σατανᾶ καὶ νεῦρα αὐτοῦ συμπεπλεγμένα. ὁ τοὺς τούτων τῶν ἀνθρώπων δόλους διαλύων ἐπλήρωσε τὰ τοῦ Ἠσαίου λέγοντος· λύε πάντα σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας καὶ διάλυε στραγγαλιὰς βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων. 40, 18 αἱ πλευραὶ αὐτοῦ πλευραὶ χάλκειαι. 362 πλευραὶ οἱ δόλοι, αἱ πανουργίαι, αἱ μηχαναί, ὅτι πλάγιαί εἰσιν αἱ πλευραὶ ὥσπερ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα σκολιὰ καὶ πλάγια. καὶ ἄλλως δέ, ὥσπερ ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἡ γυνὴ γέγονε καὶ ἐθεώρησεν αὐτὴν ὁ μυσταγωγὸς ἀπόστολος εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εἰρηκώς· τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστιν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, οὕτω πλευραὶ νοοῦνται τοῦ Σατανᾶ αἱ πάντων τῶν αἱρετικῶν συναγωγαί. χάλκειαι δὲ ἢ διὰ τὸ ἰταμῶς ἀνθίστασθαι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, ἢ ἐπειδήπερ ὁ χαλκὸς στίλβων ἔοικε τῷ χρυσῷ, νοῦς δὲ ὁ χρυσὸς θεωρεῖται. δοκοῦσι δὲ καὶ οἱ αἱρετικοὶ ἔχειν τινὰ νοῦν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀληθινὸν οὐδὲ νοῦν κυρίου, γνῶσιν δὲ μᾶλλον ψευδώνυμον. 40, 18 ἡ δὲ ῥάχις αὐτοῦ σίδηρος χυτός. τὰ ἀπορρινήματα τοῦ σιδήρου χωνευόμενα γίνονται σκεῦος ἀήττητον. ἔστι δὲ ἡ ῥάχις σύνδεσμος πάντων τῶν μελῶν. σημαίνεται τοίνυν διὰ ταύτης τὸ περιεκτικὸν πάντων τῶν παθῶν, ἐξ ἧς τὰ πάντα φύονται. καὶ ἄλλως δέ, ἐπειδήπερ τὰ ζῷα ἐπὶ τοῦ νώτου ἀχθοφοροῦσιν, τὸ ἰσχυρὸν αὐτοῦ διὰ τῆς ῥάχεως ἐσήμανεν. ὥσπερ δὲ μέλη Χριστοῦ λέγονται οἱ τοιοίδε τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἄνδρες κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου ἀναλογίαν, καὶ ὁ μέν τίς ἐστιν ὀφθαλμός, ὁ δὲ ποὺς καὶ τὰ λοιπά, οὕτω καὶ οἱ τὰ τοῦ Σατανᾶ πράττοντες ἀναλόγως τῇ ἑαυτῶν πανουργίᾳ μέ 363 λη νοοῦνται τοῦ δράκοντος. 40, 19 τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀρχὴ πλάσματος κυρίου. οἱ μέν φασιν, ὅτι πρῶτον τοῦτον ἔκτισεν ὁ θεός· οἱ δὲ φεύγοντες εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τὸ πρῶτον ποίημα τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν τροπὴν ὑπέμεινεν, φασίν, ὅτι οὐ πρῶτος μὲν γέγονεν, τὴν πρώτην δὲ ἀρχὴν παρ' ἀγγέλοις εἶχεν εἷς τῶν πρώτων ἀρχόντων τυγχάνων κατὰ τὸ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς εἰρημένον· καὶ ὡς εἷς τῶν ἀρχόντων πίπτετε, καὶ ἐξώσθη ὡς χεῖρας ἀντάρας τῷ θεῷ. ἄλλοι δὲ λέγουσι πλάσμα εἶναι θεοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἄρχειν δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τετάχθαι τὸν διάβολον, μὴ εἰς δέον δὲ χρησάμενον τῇ ἀρχῇ αὐτόν τε ἀποστῆναι θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πεῖσαι τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ποιεῖν· καὶ συγκέχρηνται τῷ ἀποστόλῳ λέγοντι· κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ ἀέρος τούτου. ἕτεροι δὲ λέγουσι μὴ ὑπὸ θεοῦ αὐτὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν ἡγεμονία εἰληφέναι, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους προαιρετικῶς διὰ τὰ πάθη καὶ τὰς ἡδονὰς ἑαυτοὺς ὑπαγαγεῖν τῷ τυραννικῷ τοῦ διαβόλου ζυγῷ, ὃ δή, φη