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to them according to the likeness of the serpent." They have imitated the serpent's resentfulness and treachery. "Like a deaf asp that stops its ears. [2.] Which will not listen to the voice of charmers, being charmed with spells by a wise man." They stop their ears like the asp, which is wont to do this out of an excess of wickedness, so as not to be charmed by the incantations, nor to yield to the charm prepared by the one called wise. For here he has improperly called the snake-charmer 'wise'; as in: "They are wise to do evil [but to do good they have no knowledge;] and, "Where is the wise? where is the scribe?" He does not call these truly wise, but as appearing to be so to some. For since the blessed David, having used many words toward Saul, and having called himself a servant, and him lord and king, and having shown by the deeds themselves that he did not desire his slaughter, did not persuade him to put an end to the enmity; he fittingly compared him to an asp, not deaf by nature, but one that stops its ears and rejects the application of the charm. But the phrase, 'being charmed with spells by a wise man,' Symmachus translated thus: 'being charmed by the incantations of a skillful one;' so that it is clear that he called the incantation a charm. [That by this the bloodthirstiness of Saul might be made clear, has been said by us above, and of those with him, in whatever dignity and rank or place they might be. But one might well understand these things to have been said also against the heretics, I mean the Arians and Eunomians and Macedonians and those who seem to hold doctrines similar to theirs. For one might justly call them chanters and enchanters. But that the mother, in an instant moment of time 80.1300 brings forth those who are born again, from whom is it clear to the initiated? For they are accustomed to baptize into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and after the emergence from the three immersions. You know what I mean, you who have been deemed worthy of adoption. They transmit a grievous disease to those supposedly baptized by them, or rather, submerged; some saying, 'Glory to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit;' others, 'Glory to the Father and to the Son in the Holy Spirit;' and thus they receive the indivisible Godhead, which is ever the same and worshipped in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as a trinity of gods, or rather, they transmit a great, a small, and a smaller; dividing with a scale of inequality by a frenzied tongue the Godhead of the immaculate Trinity, which they suppose to be most unequal, and that which is in one essence, in one kingdom, in one lordship, in one divinity, in one power, in one act of creation, and whatever else befits its blessedness. For the wretched ones are accustomed to dare call one God and king, another Lord and his servant and a creature made by him before all others, and the other a slave and servant of the Son; against whom especially the prophecy is spoken. For not against Saul alone and those with him has the all-holy Spirit of prophecy spoken through the revered tongue of the prophet.] 7. "God will break their teeth in their mouth." But indeed the overseer of all things will render his machinations against us idle. "The Lord has shattered the molars of the lions." And in the preceding psalm he called them lion cubs, and here lions. For this reason he mentioned both teeth and molars. And he calls molars the inner teeth, with which we are accustomed to grind our food. Through these, however, and those, he taught that the God of all will dissolve their various slanders. 8. "They will be set at nought like water that runs away." 'They will be contemptible,' he says, 'like scattered water, and utterly useless.' "He will bend his bow until they are weakened." 'For he does not cease striking them with punishments, until he destroys their power," [bringing on their melting and dissolution.] 9. "Like melted wax they will be taken away, [the deadly, fiery tempest having come upon them;] fire has fallen upon them, and they have not seen the sun." And like wax approaching a fire and

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αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὴν ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ ὄφεως." Μεμίμηνται τοῦ ὄφεως τὸ μνησίκα κον καὶ ἐπίβουλον. "Ὡσεὶ ἀσπίδος κωφῆς, καὶ βυούσης τὰ ὦτα αὐτῆς. [ʹ.] Ἥτις οὐκ εἰσακούσεται φωνῆς ἐπ αδόντων, φαρμακοῦται φαρμακευομένη παρὰ σο φοῦ." Βύουσι δὲ τὰ ὦτα τῇ ἀσπίδι παραπλη σίως, ᾗ φίλον τοῦτο ποιεῖν διὰ κακίας ὑπερβολὴν, ὥστε μὴ θέλγεσθαι ταῖς ἐπῳδαῖς, μηδὲ εἴκειν τῷ φαρμάκῳ τῷ κατασκευαζομένῳ παρὰ τοῦ καλουμένου σοφοῦ. Σοφὸν γὰρ ἐνταῦθα κατα χρηστικῶς τὸν θηρεπῳδὸν προσηγόρευσεν· ὡς τό· "Σοφοί εἰσι τοῦ κακοποιῆσαι [τὸ δὲ καλοποιῆ σαι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν·] καὶ, "Ποῦ σοφός; ποῦ γραμμα τεύς;" Οὔτε τούτους ὡς ἀληθῶς σοφοὺς ὀνομά ζει, ἀλλ' ὡς τοῦτο παρά τισιν εἶναι δοκοῦντας. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοῖς πρὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ χρησάμενος λόγοις ὁ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ, καὶ δοῦλον ἑαυτὸν ὀνομά σας, κἀκεῖνον κύριον καὶ βασιλέα, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν δείξας τῶν πραγμάτων, ὡς οὐκ ἐφίεται τῆς ἐκεί νου σφαγῆς, οὐ πέπεικε καταλῦσαι τὴν ἔχθραν· προσφυῶς αὐτὸν ἀσπίδι παρέβαλλεν, οὐ κωφευούσῃ κατὰ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ βυούσῃ τὰ ὦτα, καὶ τῆς ἐπῳδῆς ἀπωθουμένῃ τὴν προσβολήν. Τὸ δὲ, Φαρμα κοῦται φαρμακευομένη παρὰ σοφοῦ, ὁ Σύμμα χος οὕτως ἡρμήνευσεν, Ἐπαστοῦται ἐπῳδαῖς σεσοφισμένου· ὡς εἶναι δῆλον, ὅτι τὴν ἐπῳδὴν ὠνόμασε φάρμακον. [Ὡς ἐκ τούτου δήλην ποιῆ σαι τὴν μιαιφονίαν τοῦ Σαοὺλ, εἴρηται ἡμῖν ἀνω τέρω, καὶ τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν, ἐν οἵῳ ἂν ὦσιν ἀξιώματι καὶ βαθμῷ ἢ τόπῳ. Νοήσειεν δέ τις ἂν καλῶς καὶ ταῦτα εἰρῆσθαι κατὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν, Ἀριανῶν λέγω καὶ Εὐνομιανῶν καὶ Μακεδονιανῶν καὶ τῶν δοκούντων τὰ παραπλήσια ἐκείνοις δόγματα νοσεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἂν δικαίως καλέσειεν ἐπῳδοὺς καὶ ἐπαοιδούς τις. Ὅτι δὲ μήτηρ ἡ ἐν ἀκαριαίᾳ καιροῦ 80.1300 ῥοπῇ ἀποκύουσα τοὺς ἀναγεννωμένους, παρ' ὧν δῆλον τοῖς μεμυημένοις; Καὶ γὰρ εἰώθασι βαπτίζειν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάδυσιν τῶν τριῶν κατα δύσεων. Ἴστε τί λέγω, οἱ τῆς υἱοθεσίας ἠξιωμένοι. Νόσον χαλεπὴν παραδιδόασι τοῖς δῆθεν παρ' αὐτῶν βαπτιζομένοις μᾶλλον δὲ βυθιζομένοις· οἱ μὲν λέ γοντες, ∆όξα Πατρὶ δι' Υἱοῦ ἐν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι· οἱ δὲ, ∆όξα Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ ἐν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι· καὶ οὕτως τὴν ἀδιαίρετον ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχουσαν ἐν Πα τρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι προσκυνουμένην θεότητα εἰς τριθεΐαν παραλαμβάνουσιν, μᾶλλον δὲ παραδιδόασι μέγαν καὶ σμικρὸν καὶ σμικρότερον· ἀνισότητος ζυγῷ γλώττῃ μεμηνυίῃ τὴν ἀζυγώτατον, ὡς οἴονται, διατέμνοντες τῆς ἀχράντου θεότητα Τριά δος, καὶ τὴν ἐν οὐσίᾳ μιᾷ, ἐν βασιλείᾳ, ἐν κυριό τητι, ἐν θεότητι, ἐν δυνάμει, ἐν δημιουργίᾳ, καὶ ὅσα πρέπει τῇ αὐτῆς μακαριότητι. Τὸν μὲν Θεὸν καὶ βασιλέα, τὸν δὲ Κύριον καὶ ὑπουργὸν ἐκείνου καὶ ποίημα πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων παρ' αὐτοῦ γενόμενον, τὸ δὲ δοῦλον καὶ ὑπουργὸν τοῦ Υἱοῦ, τολμηρῶς οἱ δείλαιοι ἀποκαλεῖν πεφύκασι· πρὸς οὓς μάλιστα εἴρη ται ἡ προφητεία. Οὐ γὰρ πρὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ μόνον καὶ τοὺς κατ' αὐτὸν εἴρηκεν τὸ τῆς προφητείας πανάγιον Πνεῦμα διὰ τῆς σεπτῆς γλώττης τοῦ προφήτου.] ζʹ. "Ὁ Θεὸς συντρίψει τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐ τῶν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν." Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἐπόπτης ἀργὰς αὐτοῦ δείξει τὰς καθ' ἡμῶν μηχανάς. "Τὰς μύλας τῶν λεόντων συνέθλασεν ὁ Κύριος." Καὶ ἐν τῷ προτεταγμένῳ ψαλμῷ σκύμνους αὐτοὺς ὠνόμασε, καὶ ἐνταῦθα λέοντας. Τούτου χάριν καὶ ὀδόντων καὶ μυλῶν ἐμνημόνευσε. Μύλας δὲ καλεῖ τοὺς ἐνδοτέρους ὀδόν τας, οἷς λεπτύνειν εἰώθαμεν τὴν τροφήν. ∆ιὰ τούτων μέντοι κἀκείνων ἐδίδαξεν, ὡς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς τὰς παντοδαπὰς αὐτῶν διαβολὰς διαλύσει. ηʹ. "Ἐξουδενωθήσονται ὡσεὶ ὕδωρ διαπορευό μενον." Εὐκαταφρόνητοι, φησὶν, ἔσονται, ὕδατι πα ραπλησίως ἐσκεδασμένῳ, καὶ παντελῶς ἀχρήστῳ. "Ἐντενεῖ τὸ τόξον αὑτοῦ, ἕως οὗ ἀσθενήσουσιν." Οὐ παύεται γὰρ βάλλων αὐτοὺς ταῖς τιμωρίαις, μέχρις αὐτῶν καταλύσει τὴν δύναμιν," τῆ ξιν αὐτῶν καὶ διάλυσιν ἐπάγων.] θʹ. "Ὡσεὶ κηρὸς τακεὶς ἀνταναιρεθήσονται, [τῆς θανατικῆς φθασάσης αὐτοὺς διαπύρου καται γίδος·] ἔπεσε πῦρ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς, καὶ οὐκ εἶδον τὸν ἥλιον." ∆ίκην δὲ κηροῦ πυρὶ πελάζοντος καὶ