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Interpretations. 4.285 Zach. XIII, 2: And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land and there shall no longer be any remembrance of them; and the false prophets and the unclean spirit I will remove from the land. 4.286 When the aforesaid transfer to sprinkling and the truth occurs, then the fabrications of the heterodox, tropologically called idols, will be destroyed from the earth, with men no longer being deceived, the tropological idolatry having been refuted by the truth that has been revealed and every false prophecy and the unclean spirit that works it having been abolished, which is in man before faith in Christ. 4.287 It is possible also that it was said concerning the perceptible statues and the demons about them that they would be destroyed from the earth. That statues are signified by this name, it is possible to learn from the psalmist who says: “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, they have feet but do not walk,” and so on. 4.288 But that the demons lurking in their shrines are homonymous with them, the prophet Isaiah teaches, beginning from here: “Wail, you carved images in Jerusalem and in Samaria; for in the way I dealt with Samaria and her carved images, so I will deal with Jerusalem and her idols.” 4.289 The wailing idols, both carved and molten, are not the creations of artisans, not being of a nature to wail; for this is an activity of animate beings. For wailing is an inarticulate sound emitted by a living creature because of a passion of the soul. This meaning has been demonstrated through many proofs in the commentaries on Isaiah, with the testimony from the Wisdom of Solomon, which goes thus: “For both the ungodly and his ungodliness are equally hateful to God; for the deed will be punished together with the doer.” 4.290 And these things were said by the wise man concerning a carpenter and the wood carved by him into the form of a living creature, and just as that which does not have a soul is not of a nature to wail, as was just said, so too it cannot possibly be punished. Therefore, these things should be understood concerning demons fastened to inanimate statues. 4.291 With the idols being destroyed from the earth, the false seers and, in general, those who profess false foreknowledge are removed from it, being justly called false prophets by the divine teaching, with the unclean spirit suffering this very thing along with them. For how does the spirit of soothsayers and diviners not have the uncleanness that comes from impiety? 4.292 This phrase could also be taken to refer to the leaders of heresies, who are full of demons and deceitful spirits. For concerning them the divine Paul writes thus: “Some will depart from the sound faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars, whose own conscience is seared.” 4.293 One should not be troubled if “the unclean spirit” is said in the singular in the prophet, but “deceitful spirits” in the plural in the apostolic scripture. For the particulars, when taken together, are generally called one spirit. And it is well said that the names of the idols are to be destroyed so that there is no longer any remembrance of them, because of their boastfulness and stupidity, since they exist only in name and not in power. 4.294 Zach. XIII, 3: And it shall be, if a man prophesies any more, his father and his mother who begot him will say to him: 'You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord'; and his father and his mother who begot him shall bind him while he is prophesying. 4.295 When the false prophets and the unclean spirit have been removed from the earth, if a man from torpor and madness should still dare to prophesy, he would be so ridiculous and easily refuted, that not even his own parents would believe him, but

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θεωρήματα. 4.285 Zach. XIIΙ, 2: Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, λέγει Κύριος, ἐξολεθρεύσω τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν εἰδώλων ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται αὐτῶν μνεία· καὶ τοὺς ψευδοπροφήτας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον ἐξαρῶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. 4.286 Ὅταν ἡ προλεχθεῖσα μετακίνησις εἰς τὸν ῥαντισμὸν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν γένηται, τὸ τηνικάδε τὰ ἀναπλάσματα τῶν ἑτεροδόξων, τροπικῶς εἴδωλα καλούμενα, ὀλεθρευθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, οὐκ ἀπατωμένων ἔτι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐλεγχθείσης τῆς τροπικῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ὑπὸ τῆς φανερωθείσης ἀληθείας καὶ ἀναιρεθείσης πάσης ψευδοῦς προφητείας καὶ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος αὐτὴν ἀκαθάρτου πνεύματος, τυγχάνοντος ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ πρὸ τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν πίστεως. 4.287 ∆υνατὸν καὶ περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀφιδρυμάτων καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτὰ δαιμόνων εἰρῆσθαι ἐξολεθρεύεσθαι αὐτὰ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. Ὅτι δὲ τὰ ἀγάλματα δηλοῦται τῇδε τῇ προσηγορίᾳ, ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑμνῳδοῦ μαθεῖν ἔστιν λέγοντος· «Τὰ εἴδωλα τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον, πόδας ἔχουσιν καὶ οὐ περιπατοῦσιν», καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 4.288 Ὅτι δὲ ὁμωνυμοῦσιν αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐμφωλεύοντα τοῖς σηκοῖς αὐτῶν δαιμόνια, ὁ προφήτης Ἠσαΐας διδάσκει ἀρχόμενος ἔνθεν· «Ὀλολύξατε, τὰ γλυπτὰ ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ· ὃν τρόπον γὰρ ἐποίησα Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτῆς, οὕτω ποιήσω καὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῆς.» 4.289 Ὀλολύζοντα εἴδωλα γλυπτά τε καὶ χωνευτὰ οὐ τὰ τεχνιτῶν κατασκευάσματα τυγχάνει, οὐ πεφυκότα ὀλολύζειν· ἐμψύχων γὰρ ἡ ἐνέργεια. Ἔστιν γὰρ ὁ ὀλολυγμὸς φωνὴ ἄσημος ὑπὸ ζῴου ἐκπεμπομένη ὑπὸ πάθους ψυχικοῦ. ∆ιὰ πλειόνων ἀποδέδεικται τὸ νόημα τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς εἰς τὸν Ἠσαΐαν ὑπομνήμασιν, μετὰ μαρτυρίου τοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς Σοφίας Σαλωμῶνος, οὕτως ἔχοντος· «Ἐπ' ἴσης γὰρ μισητὰ Θεῷ ὁ ἀσεβῶν καὶ ἡ ἀσέβεια αὐτοῦ· τὸ γὰρ πραχθὲν σὺν τῷ δράσαντι κολασθήσεται.» 4.290 Εἴρηται δὲ ταῦτα τῷ σοφῷ περὶ τέκτονος ἀνθρώπου καὶ γλυφομένου ξύλου ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κατὰ μορφὴν ζῴου, καὶ ὥσπερ οὐ πέφυκεν ὀλολύζειν τὸ ψυχὴν οὐκ ἔχον, ὡς ὑπόγυον ἐλέχθη, οὕτως οὐδὲ κολασθῆναι δυνατῶς ἔχει. ∆ιὸ ταῦτα ἐκλαμβανέσθω περὶ δαιμόνων προσπεπατταλωμένων τοῖς ἀψύχοις ἀγάλμασιν. 4.291 Ὀλεθρευομένων τῶν εἰδώλων ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, ἐξαίρονται ἀπ' αὐτῆς οἱ ψευδομάντεις καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς οἱ πρόγνωσιν ψευδῆ ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, ψευδοπροφῆται ἐν δίκῃ ὑπὸ τῆς θείας παιδεύσεως καλούμενοι, τοῦτο αὐτὸ σὺν αὐτοῖς πεισομένου καὶ τοῦ ἀκαθάρτου πνεύματος. Πῶς γὰρ τὴν ἐξ ἀσεβείας ἀκαθαρσίαν οὐκ ἔχει τὸ τῶν μάντεων καὶ οἰωνοσκοπούντων πνεῦμα; 4.292 Ἐκληφθείη καὶ ἡ λέξις αὕτη περὶ τῶν προστατῶν τῶν αἱρέσεων, πλήρης τυγχανόντων δαιμονίων καὶ πνευμάτων πλάνων. Περὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν ὁ θεσπέσιος γράφει Παῦλος οὕτως· «Ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς ὑγιαινούσης πίστεως προσέχοντες πνεύμασιν πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων, ἐν ὑποκρίσει ψευδολόγων, κεκαυτηριασμένοι τὴν ἰδίαν συνείδησιν.» 4.293 Οὐ ταρακτέον εἰ ἑνικῶς τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ εἴρηται, πληθυντικῶς δὲ τὰ πλάνα πνεύματα ἐν τῇ ἀποστολικῇ γραφῇ. Τὰ γὰρ καθ' ἕκαστα ἅμα λαμβανόμενα γενικῶς ἓν καλεῖται πνεῦμα. Εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ φάναι τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν εἰδώλων ὀλεθρεύεσθαι ὡς μηκέτι μνείαν αὐτῶν εἶναι, τοῦ κόμπου καὶ τῆς βλακείας αὐτῶν, μέχρις προσηγορίας καὶ οὐχὶ δυνάμεως ὑπαρχόντων. 4.294 Zach. XIIΙ, 3: Καὶ ἔσται ἐα`̣ν προφητεύσῃ ἄνθρωπος ἔτι, καὶ ἐρεῖ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ οἱ γεννήσαντες αὐτόν· Οὐ ζήσῃ, ὅτι ψευδῆ ἐλάλησας ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· καὶ συμποδιοῦσιν αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ οἱ γεννήσαντες αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ προφητεύειν αὐτόν. 4.295 Ἐξαρθέντων ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν καὶ τοῦ ἀκαθάρτου πνεύματος, εἰ τολμήσειε ἔτι ἀπὸ κάρου καὶ μανίας ἄνθρωπος προφητεύειν, τοσοῦτον καταγέλαστος καὶ εὐέλεγκτος εἴη, ὡς μηδὲ τοὺς γονεῖς αὐτοῦ πιστεύειν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ