,

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of peaceful and contemplative knowledge of divine things, and of Judea, that is, of confession in the joy of practice. For the mind, having moved its own powers to mourning(35) and the conscience, like a testimony of things formerly done, and the memory of specific transgressions—for this is their revelation—and, to speak simply, having come in thought to the time before grace—for this is to be beyond the Jordan, in which it was alienated from the grace of virtue and knowledge—and having recognized its own weakness and acquired the strong and contrary virtue of humility instead of conceit, which through the perception of its own affairs crosses over to it, which is in goodly mourning, it kills the tyrant conceit and returns again to its own glory and rules the land of Judah and Jerusalem, (14C_084> reigns and serves in the holy tabernacle of God with pure and blameless worship.

But let us return to the number of the mules of the Jews released from captivity, to contemplate, according to our ability, the spiritual meaning within it. Mules, he says, eight hundred and forty-five. This number indicates the perfect impassibility of the mind with respect to things perceptible and to perception, according to the barren disposition of evil, that is, the disposition that does not give birth to evil. For eight hundred(36) signifies the impassibility characteristic of the age to come, being taken in a praiseworthy sense, while forty signifies perceptible things, and five the senses.

Beasts of burden, five thousand five hundred and twenty-five. A beast of burden is the body yoked to the soul for bearing the toils and labors for virtue in practice, that is, the virtuous disposition of the body. And perhaps having such asses, the sons of the great Jacob carried the grain from Egypt for their nourishment to the land of promise, placing upon their bodies through practice the spiritual knowledge derived from natural contemplation, as grain from Egypt, enclosed in the sacks of their minds, and transporting it to the future life. The number of these asses (5,525), being entirely spherical,(37) signifies the similarly disposed movement of the bodily disposition concerning virtuous practice, and moving unchangeably with the principle of knowledge. For those skilled in these matters call only the spherical motion unchangeable, as it has a uniformity throughout, unlike the other motions of beings.

Let these things be said by us in this manner, not falling short of our ability to understand and to speak. But if someone wishes again to say that in these things are prefigured (14C_086> the different ranks of the faithful of the Church, and, so to speak, their dispositions, men are those who have reached the measure, as far as is possible, of the stature of the fullness of Christ and by love with a voluntary will achieve virtue; boys and girls are those who, out of fear of the threatened eternal punishments, undergo the burden of the practical philosophy; singers are those who explain well the teaching concerning practice and heal the passions of others; cantors are those who through contemplation reveal the beauty of the knowledge of the divine words and drive away the ignorance of others like a darkness; camels are those who with reason tame the crookedness of their will toward virtue; horses are those who run well the course of the life according to God; mules are those of mixed character who harmlessly demonstrate the philosophical life in the community; asses or beasts of burden are those who have toil in their practice and who receive the Word mounting them through contemplation. For one who gathers these will assemble the fullness of the holy Church, adorned with many beauties of virtue and through many.

The discourse, therefore, on the spiritual contemplation of the matters in question has here, so to speak, reached its end. But if someone should be found glorying in the wealth of gnostic grace, and

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εἰρηνικῆς καὶ τῶν θείων ἐποπτικῆς γνώσεως, καὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας, τουτέστι τῆς ἐπὶ χαρᾷ τῆς πράξεως ἐξομολογήσεως. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸ πένθος μετοικίσας(35) ὁ νοῦς τὰς οἰκείας δυνάμεις καὶ τὴν τῶν πρώην πεπραγμένων καθάπερ μαρτυρίαν συνείδησιν καὶ τὴν μνήμην τῶν κατ᾽ εἶδος πλημμεληθέντωντοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἀποκάλυψις αὐτῶνκαὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν εἰς τὸν πρὸ τῆς χάριτος χρόνον τῇ διανοίᾳ γενόμενοςτοῦτο γάρ ἐστι πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου γενέσθαι, καθ᾽ ὃν τῆς κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν ἠλλοτρίωτο χάριτος, καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπιγνοὺς ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὴν ἰσχυρὰν καὶ ἀντίθετον τῆς οἰήσεως κτησάμενος ταπεινοφροσύνην, διὰ τῆς τῶν οἰκείων συναισθήσεως διαπερῶσαν πρὸς αὐτόν, ὄντα ἐν πένθει καλῷ, τὴν τύραννον οἴησιν ἀποκτέννει καὶ πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν πάλιν ἐπανέρχεται δόξαν καὶ τῆς γῆς κρατεῖ τοῦ Ἰούδα καὶ τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ, (14Γ_084> βασιλεύει καὶ τῇ ἁγίᾳ σκηνῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ λατρεύει τὴν ἀκήρατον καὶ ἄμωμον λατρείαν.

Ἀλλ᾽ ἐπανέλθωμεν πρὸς τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἡμιόνων τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπολυθέντων Ἰουδαίων, τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ πνευματικὸν κατὰ δύναμιν ἐποψόμενοι λόγον. Ἡμίονοι, φησίν, ὀκτακόσιαι τεσσαρακονταπέντε. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ ὁ παρὼν ἀριθμὸς τὴν τοῦ νοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἄγονον ἕξιν τῆς κακίας, τουτέστι τὴν μὴ τίκτουσαν κακίαν ἕξιν, πρός τε τὰ αἰσθητὰ καὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν τελείαν ἀπάθειαν. Ὁ γὰρ ὀκτακόσια(36) σημαίνει τὴν χαρακτηριστικὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος ἀπάθειαν, ἐπαινετῶς λαμβανόμενος, ὁ δὲ τεσσαράκοντα τὰ αἴσθητα, καὶ ὁ πέντε τὰς αἰσθήσεις.

Ὑποζύγια πεντακισχίλια πεντακόσια εἰκοσιπέντε. Ὑποζύγιόν ἐστι τὸ ὑπεζευγμένον τῇ ψυχῇ σῶμα πρὸς ἀχθοφορίαν τῶν ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν καμάτων τε καὶ πόνων, ἤγουν ἡ κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν τοῦ σώματος ἕξις. Καὶ τάχα τοιούτους ὄνους ἔχοντες οἱ τοῦ μεγάλου Ἰακὼβ υἱοὶ πρὸς ἀποτροφὴν τὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου σῖτον μετέφερον πρὸς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, τὴν ἐκ τῆς φυσικῆς θεωρίας, ὡς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου σῖτον, τοῖς μαρσίπποις τῶν διανοιῶν ἀποκλεισθεῖσαν πνευματικὴν γνῶσιν διὰ πράξεως ἐπιτιθέντες τοῖς σώμασι καὶ πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν ζωὴν μετακομίζοντες. Ὁ δὲ τούτων ἀριθμὸς (5.525) τῶν ὄνων, σφαιρικὸς(37) ὅλος ὑπάρχων, δηλοῖ τὴν ὡσαύτως ἔχουσαν κίνησιν τῆς κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν περὶ πρᾶξιν σωματικῆς ἕξεως, καὶ ἀτρέπτως τῷ λόγῳ τῆς γνώσεως συμφερομένην. Μόνην γὰρ καλοῦσιν ἄτρεπτον τὴν σφαιρικὴν κίνησιν, ὡς ὁμαλότητα διὰ πάντων παρὰ τὰς λοιπὰς τῶν ὄντων κινήσεις ἔχουσαν, οἱ περὶ ταῦτα δεινοί.

Ταῦτα μὲν κατὰ τόνδε τὸν τρόπον ἡμῖν εἰρήσθω, τῆς ἡμῶν κατὰ τὸ νοεῖν τε καὶ λέγειν οὐκ ἀπολειπόμενα δυνάμεως. Εἰ δέ τις βούλεται πάλιν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐν τούτοις προδιατυποῦσθαι (14Γ_086> λέγειν τοὺς διαφόρους βαθμοὺς τῶν πιστευόντων, καὶ οἷον εἰπεῖν διαθέσεις, ἄνδρες εἰσὶν οἱ τὸ μέτρον ἐφθακότες κατὰ τὸ ἐφικτὸν τῆς ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ κατ᾽ ἀγάπην αὐθαιρέτῳ γνώμῃ τὴν ἀρετὴν κατορθοῦντες· παῖδές εἰσι καὶ παιδίσκαι οἱ φόβῳ τῶν ἠπειλημένων αἰωνίων κολάσεων ὑπερχόμενοι τὸ βάρος τῆς πρακτικῆς φιλοσοφίας· ψάλται δὲ οἱ καλῶς τὸν περὶ πρακτικῆς ἐξηγούμενοι λόγον καὶ τὰ πάθη τῶν ἄλλων ἐξιώμενοι· ψαλτῳδοὶ δὲ οἱ τὸ κάλλος τῆς γνώσεως τῶν θείων λόγων διὰ θεωρίας ἐκφαίνοντες καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπελαύνοντες ὥσπερ ζόφον τὴν ἄγνοιαν· κάμηλοι δὲ οἱ τὸ σκολιὸν τῆς γνώμης ἐξημεροῦντες τῷ λόγῳ πρὸς ἀρετήν· ἵπποι δὲ οἱ· τὸ στάδιον τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν βίου καλῶς διατρέχοντες· ἡμίονοι δὲ οἱ μιγάδες τὸ ἦθος καὶ ἐν τῷ κοινῷ τὸ φιλόσοφον ἀβλαβῶς ἐπιδεικνύμενοι· ὄνοι ἤγουν ὑποζύγια οἱ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἔχοντες τὸ μοχθεῖν καὶ τὸν λόγον ἐπιβαίνοντα διὰ θεωρίας δεχόμενοι. Τούτους γάρ τις συναγαγὼν τῆς ἁγίας Ἐκκλησίας ἀθροίσει τὸ πλήρωμα, πολλοῖς καὶ διὰ πολλῶν ἀρετῆς ὡραϊσμένον κάλλεσι.

Τῆς μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀπορηθέντων πνευματικῆς θεωρίας ὁ λόγος ἐνταῦθα, κατ᾽ ἐμὲ φάναι, τὸ πέρας εἴληφεν. Εἰ δέ τις εὑρεθῇ πλούτῳ κομῶν χάριτος γνωστικῆς, καὶ