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I will feed them. So that the poor people will rest in peace, when they do not despise the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when they are reproved by him. But the seed of the foreigners will be destroyed by famine, suffering the lack of food as a penalty for the crushing by the yoke. 14.290 Wail, gates of cities; and let the troubled cities cry out, all the foreigners; for smoke comes from the north, and there is no one who will remain. And what will the kings of the nations answer? That the Lord has founded Zion, and through him the humble of the people will be saved. The gates of the cities (he says), wail. Still the threat is against the foreigners. And let the troubled cities cry out. Let them be filled with shouting (he says) from the disturbance arising in the inhabitants from fear. Let the gates wail, because of the approaching siege. And let the cities cry out, that is, those who dwell in the cities. However, let not even the foreigners throughout the country be quiet. For the smoke from the north will touch all alike, both cities and countrymen. For smoke comes from the north. He shows the weakness of the foreigners, that they cannot bear the attack of smoke; so far are they from enduring the fire that is kindled from the foreigners. Smoke comes from the north, and there is no one to stand. It is not (he says) in its own hypostasis, nor is the nature of smoke substantial and corporeal; for it is a pungent vapor, sent up from the smoldering things by the updraft of the fire. When the foreigners are troubled by the smoke, which is a nature without substance, what will the kings of the nations say, seeing the place of Israel in peace? What else, but that the Lord has founded Zion? and through him the humble of the people will be saved? He himself has fixed the unshakable foundations of Zion; for God himself is the craftsman and creator of the city above. But there will be saved in it not those powerful in wealth, nor those strong in body, nor those who have practiced warfare, but The humble of the people (he says); because God chose the weak things of the world, that in them he might establish the surpassing greatness of his own power. 14.291 But lest we should be entirely left behind from the examination of the saying according to spiritual interpretation, come, let us try if it is possible to receive some guidance from the interpretation of the names for the understanding of what is said. The name Philistine, we have found when translated into the Greek language, is "falling by a drink". See then if you can, by way of allegory, call drunkards and fornicators, those who give their own soul to bowls and cups, and afterwards walk more naked than a pestle (according to the proverb), these who are "falling by the drink," that is, by the immoderation of the drink. And these fall by the drink, because they are not able to ascend to the height of the kingdom of God, as Paul explicitly said: Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. For many are the falls and various the causes of our falling down from the height, and not attaining to the prize of the upward call; and one, and not the least, is the desire and zeal for drinking. Therefore the gates of these drunkards were commanded to wail; gates through which the unmixed wine, entering, draws in the swarm of evils. Therefore the ways, through which sin is accomplished, these the word commands to be turned to wailing, so that he who with the mouth accomplished the sin of drunkenness might groan through the mouth. And the cities of these gates are the very senses of the soul, in which systems of wicked thoughts and a multitude of desires and revels and drunkenness have their pastimes; which, being disturbed and thrown into confusion by the fantasy engendered in them by wine, do not have the peace that surpasses all understanding; but are always in a tossing and turmoil. For this reason they have cried out. To these now the north wind brings smoke, about which Solomon said, that The north wind is a harsh wind, but by name it is called opportune, that is the

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βοσκήσω αὐτούς. Ὥστε οἱ πτωχοὶ ἄνθρωποι ἐπ' εἰρήνης ἀναπαύσονται, ἐπὰν μὴ ὀλιγωρήσωσι παιδείας Κυρίου, μηδὲ ἐκλύωνται ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐλεγχόμενοι. Τὸ δὲ σπέρμα τῶν ἀλλοφύλων λιμῷ ἀναιρεθή σεται, δίκην τοῦ κατὰ τὸν ζυγὸν συντριμμοῦ ὑπέχον τὴν τῶν τροφῶν ἀπορίαν. 14.290 Ὀλολύξατε, πύλαι πόλεων· καὶ κεκραγέτωσαν πό λεις τεταραγμέναι, οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι πάντες· ὅτι ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ καπνὸς ἔρχεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦ εἶναι. Καὶ τί ἀποκριθή σονται βασιλεῖς ἐθνῶν; Ὅτι Κύριος ἐθεμελίωσε Σιὼν, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ σωθήσονται οἱ ταπεινοὶ τοῦ λαοῦ. Αἱ πύλαι τῶν πόλεων (φησὶν) ὀλολύξατε. Ἔτι πρὸς τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους ἡ ἀπειλή. Καὶ κεκραγέτωσαν πόλεις τεταραγ μέναι. Βοῆς ἐμπλησθήτωσαν (φησὶν) ἀπὸ τῆς ταραχῆς τῆς ἐκ τοῦ φόβου τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν ἐγγινομένης. Πύλαι μὲν ὀλολυζέτω σαν, διὰ τὴν προσαγομένην πολιορκίαν. Αἱ πόλεις δὲ κεκραγέ τωσαν, τουτέστιν οἱ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι κατοικοῦντες. Μὴ μέντοι μηδὲ οἱ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἀλλόφυλοι ἡσυχαζέτωσαν. Ὁ γὰρ ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ καπνὸς πάντων ὁμοίως ἅψεται πόλεών τε καὶ ἐγχωρίων. Καπνὸς γὰρ ἔρχεται ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ. Τὸ ἀδρανὲς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων παρίστησιν, ὅτι καπνοῦ προσβολὴν οὐ φέρουσι· τοσοῦτον ἀπέχουσι τοῦ τὸ πῦρ, τὸ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐκ καιόμενον, ὑπομεῖναι. Καπνὸς ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ ἔρχεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦ εἶναι. Οὐκ ἔστι (φησὶν) ἐν ὑποστάσει ἰδίᾳ, οὐδὲ οὐσιώδης αὐτοῦ καὶ σεσωματωμένη ἡ φύσις ἡ τοῦ καπνοῦ· ἀτμὸς γάρ ἐστι δριμὺς, ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς ἀναφορᾶς ἐκ τῶν ὑπο τυφομένων ἀναπεμπόμενος. Τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ὑπὸ τοῦ καπνοῦ ταρασσομένων, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἀνυπόστατος φύσις, τί οἱ βα σιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐροῦσιν, ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὸν τόπον Ἰσραὴλ ὁρῶντες; Τί ἄλλο γε, ἢ ὅτι Κύριος ἐθεμελίωσε τὴν Σιών; καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ σωθήσονται οἱ ταπεινοὶ τοῦ λαοῦ; Αὐτὸς τοὺς ἀσείστους θεμελίους τῆς Σιὼν ἐπήξατο· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ Θεὸς τῆς ἄνω πόλεως. Σωθή σονται δὲ ἐν αὐτῇ οὐχ οἱ δυνατοὶ χρήμασιν, οὐδὲ οἱ ἰσχυροὶ τῷ σώματι, οὐδὲ οἱ τὰ πολεμικὰ μεμελετηκότες, ἀλλ' Οἱ ταπεινοὶ τοῦ λαοῦ (φησί)· διότι τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξε λέξατο ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸ ὑπερβάλλον τῆς δυνάμεως ἑαυτοῦ συστήσῃ. 14.291 Πλὴν ἀλλ' ἵνα μήτε τῆς κατὰ θεωρίαν ἐξετάσεως τοῦ ῥητοῦ πάντη ἀπολιμπανώμεθα, φέρε, εἴ τινα δυνατὸν ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων ἑρμηνείας λαβεῖν ὁδηγίαν εἰς τὴν τῶν λεγομένων περίνοιαν, πειραθῶμεν. Τὸ Φυλιστιαῖον ὄνομα, μεταλαμβανόμενον εὕρομεν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα γλῶσσαν, πί πτοντες ποτήματι. Ὅρα οὖν εἰ δύνασαι τροπολογῶν, τοὺς μεθύσους καὶ πορνοκόπους, τοὺς εἰς τὰς φιάλας καὶ τὰ πο τήρια διδόντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν, καὶ ὕστερον γυμνοτέρους ὑπέρου περιπατοῦντας (κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν) τούτους ὀνο μάσαι τοὺς πίπτοντας τῷ ποτήματι, τουτέστι, τῇ ἀμετρίᾳ τοῦ πόματος. Πίπτουσι δὲ οὗτοι τῷ ποτήματι, διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι ἀναβῆναι εἰς τὸ ὕψος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείας, διαῤ ῥήδην εἰπόντος Παύλου· Μέθυσοι βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κλη ρονομήσουσι. Πολλὰ γὰρ τὰ πτώματα καὶ διάφοροι αἱ αἰτίαι τοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους ἡμᾶς καταπίπτειν, καὶ μὴ φθάνειν ἐπὶ τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως· μία δὲ, καὶ οὐκ ἐλαχίστη, ἡ περὶ τὸ πίνειν ἐπιθυμία τε καὶ σπουδή. Τούτων οὖν τῶν μεθυόντων αἱ πύλαι ὀλολύζειν προσετάχ θησαν· πύλαι δι' ὧν ὁ ἄκρατος εἰσερχόμενος τῶν κακῶν τὸν ἐσμὸν ἐπισύρεται. Τὰς οὖν ὁδοὺς, δι' ὧν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐπιτελεῖ ται, ταύτας τρέπεσθαι εἰς ὀλολυγὴν ὁ λόγος προστάσσει, ὥστε διὰ στόματος στενάζειν τὸν τῷ στόματι ἐπιτελέσαντα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῆς μέθης. Πόλεις δὲ τούτων τῶν πυλῶν αὐτὰ τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐστιν αἰσθητήρια, ἐν οἷς συστήματα πονηρῶν δια λογισμῶν καὶ πλῆθος ἐπιθυμιῶν καὶ κῶμοι καὶ μέθαι τὰς διατριβὰς ἔχουσιν· αἵτινες, τεταραγμέναι καὶ τεθορυβημέναι ἐκ τῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ οἴνου ἐγγινομένης αὐτοῖς φαντασίας, Τὴν μὲν εἰρήνην οὐκ ἔχουσι, τὴν ὑπερέχουσαν πάντα νοῦν· ἀεὶ δὲ ἐν σάλῳ καὶ κλόνῳ τυγχάνουσι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κεκράγασι. Ταύταις νῦν φέρει καπνὸν βορέας, περὶ οὗ εἶπεν ὁ Σολο μὼν, ὅτι Βορέας σκληρὸς ἄνεμος, ὀνόματι δὲ ἐπιδέξιος καλεῖται, τουτέστι τὸ