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by the lifting up of the serpent a healing came to those who had been bitten, so at the crucifixion of Christ a ransom has come for our souls from the bites of sin that have occurred in us. φέ2.60 And these same people bring forward this very saying as a testimony, saying that «Do you not see how the Savior said, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up?» And for this reason, they say, in another place he says, «Be wise as the serpent and innocent as the dove». And these things well-ordered by God for us as symbols of teaching, these people apply to their own deceived notion. 8. For our Lord Jesus Christ and God the Word, who was begotten of the Father before all ages without beginning and without time, is not a serpent—far from it!—but he himself came against the serpent. But if he says, «Be wise as the serpent and innocent as the dove», we must ask and know why he introduced these two figures to us for instruction, both the dove and the serpent. Now there is nothing wise in the serpent, except these two things, that when being pursued, knowing that its whole life is in its head and fearing the command spoken to it from above by God because of man, that «you will watch for his head, and he for your heel», having coiled its whole body over its head, it hides its own skull, but gives up the rest of its body with extreme cunning. Thus the only-begotten God who came forth from the Father wants us in time of persecution and in time of temptation to surrender all our things to sword and fire, but to protect our own head, that is, not to deny Christ, since «the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God», 2.61 according to the apostle. Again, the serpent has another point of wisdom, as the natural historians say concerning this animal. For when, having become thirsty, it comes forth from its lair to some water to drink, it does not take its venom along with it, but leaves it in its lair, and so coming, it takes the drink of the waters. Let us, therefore, imitate this ourselves, so that when we come to the holy church of God, or to prayer, or to the mysteries of God, we may not bring with us malice or pleasure or desire or enmity or anything else in our minds. Since how could we be able to imitate the dove, if we are not free from malice, even though the species of dove is not praised in many matters? For the species of dove is intemperate and not held back from much mingling, and is lustful and devoted to pleasure hour by hour, and in addition to these things, listless and feeble. But because of the guilelessness and long-suffering and unresentfulness of the animal, and moreover because the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, the divine Word wants us to imitate the will of the Holy Spirit and the guilelessness of the guileless dove, being wise as to the good, but innocent as to the evil. And all their theatrical display is refuted. For the holy apostle immediately defines the cunning and treacherous not in relation to anyone else more so than against the devil and the serpent, saying, «But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of Christ and righteousness». Do you see how the apostle declared as corruption and terrible cunning and deceit the things contrived by the serpent toward Eve, and did not show anything praiseworthy as having come from it. 2.62 9. From all sides, therefore, their folly is exposed and manifest to everyone who wishes to know the teaching of the truth and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit. But in order that

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ὑψώματι τοῦ ὄφεως ἴασις ἐγίνετο τοῖς δεδηγμένοις, οὕτως ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σταυρώσει λύτρα γέγονε ταῖς ἡμῶν ψυχαῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν γενομένων δηγμάτων τῆς ἁμαρτίας. φέ2.60 ρουσι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ ῥητὸν πρὸς μαρτυρίαν οἱ αὐτοὶ λέγοντες ὅτι «οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὡς εἶπεν ὁ σωτήρ, ὃν τρόπον ὕψωσε Μωυσῆς τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου;» καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ τόπῳ, φασί, λέγει ὅτι «γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς ὁ ὄφις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς ἡ περιστερά». καὶ τὰ εἰς σύμβολα διδασκαλίας ἡμῖν ἐκ θεοῦ καλῶς τεταγμένα οὗτοι εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐπίνοιαν τὴν ἠπατημένην φέρουσιν. 8. Ὁ γὰρ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς καὶ θεὸς Λόγος, ὁ ἐκ πατρὸς πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων ἀνάρχως καὶ ἀχρόνως γεννηθείς, οὐκ ὄφις μὴ γένοιτο, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοῦ ὄφεως αὐτὸς ἦλθεν. ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃ «γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς ὁ ὄφις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς ἡ περιστερά», δεῖ ἡμᾶς ἐρωτᾶν καὶ γινώσκειν διὰ τί τὰ δύο ταῦτα πρόσωπα ἡμῖν εἰς διδασκαλίαν παρεισήγαγεν, τῆς τε περιστερᾶς καὶ τοῦ ὄφεως. οὐδὲν δὲ ἐν τῷ ὄφει φρόνιμον, πλὴν τῶν δύο τούτων, ὅτι ἐν τῷ διώκεσθαι γινώσκων ὅτι ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ ἡ πᾶσα ζωὴ αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει καὶ δεδιὼς τὴν ἀνωτέρω πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰρημένην ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον προσταγὴν ὅτι «φυλάξεις αὐτοῦ κεφαλήν, αὐτὸς δέ σου πτέρναν», ὅλον τὸ σῶμα ἐνειλήσας ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ κρύπτει μὲν τὸ κρανίον ἑαυτοῦ, παραδίδωσι δὲ τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα ἐν ὑπερβολῇ πανουργίας. οὕτω θέλει ἡμᾶς ὁ μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ἐκ πατρὸς προελθὼν ἐν καιρῷ διωγμοῦ καὶ ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ τὰ πάντα ἡμῶν παραδιδόναι μαχαίρᾳ τε καὶ πυρί, φυλάττειν δὲ ἑαυτῶν τὴν κεφαλήν, τουτέστιν Χριστὸν μὴ ἀρνεῖσθαι, ἐπειδήπερ «κεφαλὴ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου Χριστός, κεφαλὴ δὲ γυναικὸς ὁ ἀνήρ, κεφαλὴ δὲ Χριστοῦ ὁ θεός», 2.61 κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον. ἕτερον πάλιν ἔχει φρονιμότητος ὁ ὄφις, ὥς φασιν οἱ φυσιολόγοι περὶ τούτου τοῦ ζῴου. ὅταν γὰρ διψήσας ἀπὸ τοῦ φωλεοῦ προέλθοι ἐπί τι ὕδωρ ἵνα πίῃ, οὐ συμπαραλαμβάνει τὸν ἰὸν μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἐν τῷ φωλεῷ καταλιμπάνει καὶ οὕτως ἐλθὼν λαμβάνει τὸ πόμα τῶν ὑδάτων. καὶ αὐτοὶ οὖν τοῦτο μιμησώμεθα, ἵνα, ὅταν ἐρχώμεθα ἐπὶ τὴν ἁγίαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίαν ἢ εἰς εὐχὴν ἢ εἰς τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ μυστήρια, μὴ φέρωμεν μεθ' ἑαυτῶν κακίαν ἢ ἡδονὴν ἢ ἐπιθυμίαν ἢ ἔχθραν ἤ τι ἕτερον ἐν ταῖς διανοίαις αὑτῶν. ἐπεὶ πῶς ἂν καὶ τὴν περιστερὰν μιμήσασθαι δυνηθείημεν, μὴ ἐκτὸς γενόμενοι κακίας, καίτοι γε τοῦ γένους τῆς περιστερᾶς ἐν πολλοῖς πράγμασιν οὐκ ἐπαινουμένου; ἀκόλαστον γὰρ γένος περιστερᾶς καὶ πολυμιξίας μὴ ἀνακοπτόμενον, λάγνον τε καὶ καθ' ὥραν ἡδονῇ προσανακείμενον, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἄτονον καὶ βληχρόν. διὰ δὲ τὸ ἄκακον καὶ μακρόθυμον καὶ ἀμνησίκακον τοῦ ζῴου, ἔτι μὴν καὶ διὰ τὸ ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς πεφάνθαι τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, μιμήσασθαι ἡμᾶς βούλεται ὁ θεῖος λόγος τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τὴν βούλησιν καὶ τῆς ἀκάκου περιστερᾶς τὴν ἀκακίαν, ὄντας μὲν ἡμᾶς φρονίμους εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἀκεραίους δὲ εἰς τὸ κακόν. καὶ λέλυται ἡ τούτων πᾶσα δραματουργία. εὐθὺς γὰρ ὁ ἅγιος ἀπόστολος κατ' ἄλλου τινὸς τὸ πανοῦργον καὶ ἐπίβουλον οὐχ ὁρίζεται περισσοτέρως ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου καὶ τοῦ ὄφεως, λέγων «φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησεν Εὔαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος καὶ ἁγνείας Χριστοῦ καὶ δικαιοσύνης». ὁρᾷς ὡς φθορὰν ἀπέφηνεν ὁ ἀπόστολος καὶ πανουργίαν δεινὴν καὶ ἀπάτην τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὄφεως πρὸς τὴν Εὔαν πεπραγματευμένα καὶ οὐκ ἐπαινετόν τι παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γεγενημένον ὑπέδειξε. 2.62 9. Πανταχόθεν τοίνυν φωρατὴ καὶ ἔκδηλος ἡ τούτων ἄνοιά ἐστι παντὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ εἰδέναι τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας διδασκαλίαν καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου γνῶσιν. ἵνα δὲ