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has for him. As if I say to God: "grant my request," I offer up a prayer about prayer. "Hear me, Lord, because I have cried to you"; and I offer up a prayer about prayer; for since even the hearing of a prayer needs God's cooperation, I call upon him again as a co-worker through prayer, that he may fulfill my prayer and hear it. This very thing I ask, that you rise up to my help not unarmed, but taking up a weapon. Receive my body and my soul; for through these you will be able to help me. Often a physician of great stature is not able to heal small things or small men. Sometimes, therefore, he prepares one of his lesser students, one much inferior to him, so that he may be able to approach this man and heal him. To take up, therefore, a weapon and a shield is to take up a man, to receive the form of a servant. And many such things usually happen. This, therefore, he says: if as God he 206 offers to help me, the help is overwhelming. Having become man, help me. And so he says to him: "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your beauty and in your fairness." You have beauty and fairness; for you did not commit sin, nor did you know it. "Gird," therefore, "the sword upon your thigh." The name of the thigh often signifies the things of generation, as when it says: "every thigh will be defiled with moisture," it signifies euphemistically and decently through the thigh the servant organs of generation. For this reason also Abraham, when sending his servant for the betrothal of Rebecca: "Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear"; for since he was about to receive a virgin and lead her from a far place to a far place, he necessarily secured his chastity. But it is also possible this way: since he who is coming for the salvation of all is about to come forth from my loins, there "put your hand, and I will make you swear." And Scripture indeed names many such things reverently. Concerning the dragon, that is the devil, it says: "Behold his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly." In the case of the man it named the loins, but in the case of the woman it reverently called that organ the "navel of the belly." From the neighboring parts it indicated that of which it forbade the use. 3 Unsheathe your sword and shut up the way against those who persecute me. Multiply the sword, give us a sword against the enemies. But the living word of God is the sword. And again the word of the spirit: "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." To pour out always signifies abundance, as when it says: "I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh," it signifies through the word a lavish gift and a rich supply. "The love of God has been poured out in our hearts." And further: "your name is ointment poured out." The poured out ointment gets outside the vessel containing it and sends forth its fragrance for a very long way. When, therefore, the Savior was in Israel alone—for "in Israel great is his name"—his name was as if in a vessel. But when "how wonderful" his "name" became "in all the earth," and that was fulfilled: "As is your name, O God, so also is your praise to the ends of the earth," it has become ointment poured out. This word, therefore, signifies a lavish supply. This, therefore, he says: make each of us a sword-bearer, unsheathe a sword; for then you shut up the way against those who persecute us; for then we become armed soldiers, we approach them bearing swords, not that I may kill, but that I may suffer nothing. But what of "shut up"? -The word "shut up" signifies many things, but especially the kind of gathering of a conclusion that hinders the impulse of one wishing to use sophistry has become a shutting up. For indeed, those who debate are accustomed to say, "I have shut him up." And it signifies something else, as is found in the philosophy of Paul: "God has shut up all in disobedience that...

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αὐτῷ ἔχει. ὡς ἐὰν λέγω τῷ θεῷ· "ἐπίνευσον τῇ ἀξιώσει μου", περὶ προσευχῆς προσευχὴν ἀναπέμπω. "εἰσάκουσόν μου, κύριε, ὅτι πρὸς σὲ ἐκέκραξα"· καὶ εὐχὴν περὶ εὐχῆς ἀναπέμ πω· ἐπεὶ γὰρ συνεργίας χρῄζει θεοῦ καὶ τὸ εὐχὴν ἐπακουσθῆναι, αὐτὸν πάλιν συνεργὸν διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς καλῶ, ἵνα πληρώσῃ μου τὴν εὐχὴν καὶ εἰσακούσῃ αὐτῆς. τοῦτο αὐτὸ παρακαλῶ ἀναστῆναί σε εἰς τὴν βοήθειάν μου οὐκ ἄνοπλον, ἀλλὰ ἐπιλαβόμενον ὅπλου. τὸ ἐμὸν σῶμα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν δέξαι· διὰ τούτων γὰρ δυνήσῃ βοηθῆσαί μοι. πολλάκις ἰατρὸς πολὺ μέγεθος ἔχων οὐ δύναται μικρὰ θεραπεῦσαι ἢ μικροὺς ἀνθρώπους. ἐνίοτε οὖν ἕνα τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ παρασκευάζει τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων καὶ πολὺ ὑποβεβηκότων αὐτόν, ἵνα δυνηθῇ προσελθεῖν τῷδε καὶ θεραπεύσῃ αὐτόν. τὸ ἐπιλαβέσθαι οὖν ὅπλου καὶ θυρεοῦ τὸ ἄνθρωπον ἀναλαβεῖν ἐστιν, μορφὴν δέξασθαι δούλου. καὶ ἔστιν συνήθως πολλὰ γινόμενα τοιαῦτα. τοῦτο οὖν λέγει· ἐὰν ὡς θεὸς βοηθῆσαί 206 μοι̣ προθῇ, ὑπεραίρει ἡ βοήθεια. ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος βοήθησόν μοι. καὶ αὐτῷ γοῦν λέγει· "περίζωσαι τὴν ῥομφαίαν σου ἐπὶ τὸν μηρόν σου, δυνατέ, τῇ ὡραιότητί σου καὶ τῷ κάλλει σου". ὡραιότητα καὶ κάλλος ἔχεις· ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἐποίησας οὐδὲ ἔγνως αὐτήν. "περίζωσαι" οὖν "ἐπὶ τὸν μηρόν σου τὴν ῥομφαίαν". σημαίνει πολλάκις τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ μηροῦ τὰ γενέσεως πράγματα, ὡς ἐὰν λέγῃ· "πᾶς μηρὸς μολυνθήσεται ὑγρασίᾳ", εὐφήμως καὶ εὐσχημόνως διὰ τοῦ μηροῦ τὰ γενέσεως ὑπηρετικὰ ὄργανα σημαίνει. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἀβραὰμ ἐκπέμπων ἐπὶ μνηστείᾳ τῆς Ῥεβέκας τὸν παῖδα ἑαυτοῦ· "θὲς τὴν χεῖρά σου ὑπὸ τὸν μηρόν μου, καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε"· ε᾿̣πει`̣ γὰρ ἤμελλεν παρθένον παραλαμβάνειν καὶ ἄγειν ἐκ μακροῦ τόπου εἰς μακρὸν τόπον, ἀναγκαίως ἠσφαλίσατο α̣υ᾿̣τοῦ τὴν σωφροσύνην. δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ οὕτως· ἐπεὶ ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν μου μέλλει προέρχεσθαι ὁ ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας τῶν ὅλων ἐρχόμενος, ἐκεῖ "θὲς τὴν χεῖρά σου, καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε". καὶ πολλά γε σεμνῶς ἡ γραφὴ τοιαῦτα ὀνομάζει. περὶ τοῦ δράκοντος, τουτέστιν τοῦ διαβόλου, λέγει· "ἰδοὺ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ὀσφύος, καὶ ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ὀμφαλοῦ γαστρός". ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν ὀσφῦν ὠνόμασεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς σεμνῶς τὸ ὄργανον ἐκεῖνο "ὀμφαλὸν γαςτρὸς" εἶπεν. ἐκ τῶν πλησιαζόντων μερῶν ἐδήλωσεν οὗ ἀπεῖπεν τὴν χρῆσιν. 3 ἔκχεον ῥομφαίαν σου καὶ σύνκλεισον ἐξ ἐναντίας τῶν καταδιωκόντων με. πλήθυνον μάχαιραν, δὸς ἡμῖν μάχαιραν τὴν κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων. ὁ ζῶν δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ἐστὶν ἡ μάχαιρα. καὶ πάλιν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ πνεύματος· "καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ". τὸ ἐκχέαι δὲ τὴν δαψίλειαν ἀεὶ σημαίνει, ὡς ἐὰν λέγῃ· "ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα", τὴν δαψιλῆν δόσιν καὶ πλουσίαν χορηγίαν διὰ τῆς λέξεως σημαίνει. "ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκέχυται ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν". καὶ ἔτι· "μύρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σου". τὸ ἐκκενωθὲν μύρον ἔξω γίνεται τοῦ περιέχοντος ἄγγους καὶ ἐπὶ μήκιστον ἐκπέμπει τὴν πνοήν. ὅτε γοῦν ὁ σωτὴρ ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ μόνῳ ἦν-"ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ" γὰρ "μέγα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ"-, ὡς ἐν ἄγγει ἦν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ. ὅτε δὲ "ὡς θαυμαστὸν τὸ ὄνομα" αὐτοῦ γέγονεν "ἐν πά σῃ τῇ γῇ", καὶ πεπλήρωται ἐκεῖνο τό· "καθὼς τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὁ θεός, οὕτω καὶ ἡ αἴνεσίς σου ἐπὶ τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς", μύρον ἐκκενωθὲν γέγονεν. ἡ λέξις οὖν αὕτη δαψιλῆ χορηγίαν σημαίνει. τοῦτο οὖν λέγει· ἕκαστον ἡμῶν ποίησον μαχαιροφόρον, ἔκχεε ῥομφαίαν· τότε γὰρ συνκλείεις ἐξ ἐναντίας τῶν διωκόντων η῾̣μᾶς· λοιπὸν γὰρ ὁπλῖται γινόμεθα, ξιφήρεις αὐτοῖς προσερχόμεθα, οὐχ ἵνα ἀναιρήσω, ἀλλ' ἵνα μηδὲν πάθω. ἐπερ · τὸ "σύνκλεισον"; -τὸ "σύνκλεισον" πολλὰ σημαίνει, μάλιστα δὲ ἡ ὡσανεὶ συναγωγὴ τοῦ συνπεράσματος ἡ κωλύουσ̣α τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ θέλοντος σοφίσασθαι συνκλεισμὸς γέγονεν. εἰώθασιν γοῦν καὶ οἱ διαλεγόμενοι λέγει ὅτι "συνέκλεισα αὐτόν". σημαίνει δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τι, ὡς παρὰ τῇ Παύλου φιλοσοφίᾳ κεῖται· "συνέκλεισεν ὁ θεὸς τοὺς πάντας εἰς ἀπείθειαν ἵνα τοὺς