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approached, your mother having used night and wine for the theft of your father's seed. 16.303 Then, Arnon, take more counsel. Since the previous counsels did not help you, O Arnon, nor did philosophizing much about the convoluted doctrines of every philosophy, add, if it seems good, to your counsels. It seems to challenge Arnon to unprofitable counsels with a certain mockery and irony, so that, having had her fill of her own vain counsels and having learned their uselessness, she might thus approach the sound teaching. Arnon is a Moabite place, and from one, the word points out to us the whole region of Arabia. But the name of Arnon was preferred, on account of the meaning interpreted from it; for Arnon is interpreted, 'their light'. Since, therefore, those especially who suffer from great conceit from their presumption of wisdom think that their mind lives in light, while in truth they are darkened in their understanding and alienated from God, the discourse is addressed to those who suppose themselves to be in the light of knowledge. 16.304 Then it advises: Make a covering of mourning for her always. Nadab and Abihu, having offered strange fire at the altar, were consumed by fire. And those who have not received the true light, but who receive him who transforms himself into an angel of light, if they perceive that they were in a fantasy of knowledge but were mistaken about the truth, will of necessity mourn for themselves. Therefore, the word transferred the exhortation to those who care for them, and says: Make a covering of mourning for her always. For those who work sorrow over sins, whether in life or in knowledge, so that some come to mourn blessedly, these make a covering of mourning. I have seen some who, overcome by unrestrained grief, shut themselves up in a small room and block every passage of light, and as it were punish themselves by living in darkness. Therefore, so that their usual conceit of wisdom—which in truth is darkness, but is imagined to be light—does not deceive their mind and disturb their senses, Make (it says) a covering of mourning for them, so that by shutting out the deceit of the heterodox, you may give place for the true light to shine in the hearts of those who have believed in it. Before, therefore, the day of the Lord comes, on which all the tribes of the earth will mourn, according to what is said in Zechariah (that The mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning for the pomegranate grove; and the land will mourn by tribes; the tribe of the house of David by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of Nathan by itself, and their women by themselves; all the remaining tribes, each tribe by itself, and their women by themselves), you who teach the people and turn back the sinners at every time of life, make a covering of mourning for her, so that by your word those who were previously afflicted by wickedness may be brought to blessed mourning. 16.305 They will flee in noonday darkness. The noonday state of the day seems to have a brighter and more manifest light. Since, therefore, the truth can be understood from the creation of the world by those who intelligently apply themselves to the principles of creation, those who live in the world and are illuminated from all sides by the wisdom of God, but are sick with ignorance of God, these are the ones who exist in noonday darkness, while things have their noon, but darkness exists in the souls of the ignorant. Such people, therefore, flee in noonday darkness; they were ecstatic, because the doctrines of such people differ in no way from the fantasy which madmen imagine. And ecstasy is an interpretation of noonday darkness, since even those who are carried away by some passion of their thoughts think neither that the sun is shining, nor that there is light in the air. Therefore truly an ecstasy and a madness

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προσελθόντος, νυκτὶ καὶ οἴνῳ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πατρικοῦ σπέρματος κλοπὴν τῆς μητρός σου συγχρησαμένης. 16.303 Ἔπειτα δὲ, Ἀρνῶν, πλείονα βουλεύου. Ἐπειδὴ οὐδέν σε ὤνησε τὰ πρότερα βουλεύματα, ὦ Ἀρνῶν, οὐδὲ τὸ πολλὰ περὶ δογμάτων, τῶν κατὰ πᾶσαν φιλοσοφίαν συμπεπλεγμένων, φιλοσοφῆσαι, πρόσθες, εἰ δοκεῖ, τοῖς βου λεύμασι. ∆οκεῖ κατά τινα χλεύην καὶ εἰρωνείαν προκαλεῖ σθαι ἐπὶ τὰ ἀνόνητα βουλεύματα τὴν Ἀρνῶν, ἵνα κόρον λαβοῦσα τῶν ματαίων ἑαυτῆς βουλευμάτων καὶ μαθοῦσα τὸ ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἀνωφελὲς, οὕτω προσέλθῃ τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ δι δασκαλίᾳ. Ἔστι δὲ Μωαβιτικὸν χωρίον ἡ Ἀρνῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ὅλον ἡμῖν ἐνδείκνυται τὸν τόπον τῆς Ἀραβίας ὁ λόγος. Προετιμήθη δὲ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς Ἀρνῶν, διὰ τὴν ἑρμηνευομένην ἀπ' αὐτοῦ διάνοιαν· ἑρμηνεύεται γὰρ ἡ Ἀρνῶν, φωτισμὸς αὐτῶν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν μάλιστα οἱ πολλὴν ἐκ τῆς οἰήσεως τῆς κατὰ σοφίαν ἔπαρσιν πάσχοντες, ἐν φωτὶ οἴονται διάγειν τὸν ἑαυτῶν νοῦν, κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἐσκοτισμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες καὶ ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τοῦ Θεοῦ, πρὸς τοὺς ἐν φωτὶ τῷ ἐκ τῆς γνώσεως ὑπολαμβάνοντας εἶναι τὸν λόγον ποιεῖται. 16.304 Εἶτα παραινεῖ· Ποιεῖτε σκέπην πένθους αὐτῇ διὰ παντός. Ναδὰβ καὶ Ἀβιοὺδ, ἀλλότριον πῦρ προσενέγκαντες τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ, κατεφλέγησαν. Καὶ οἱ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν μὴ δεξάμενοι, ἀλλὰ τὸν μετασχηματιζόμενον εἰς ἄγγελον φωτὸς, τοῦτον ὑποδεχόμενοι, ἐὰν αἴσθωνται, ὅτι ἐν φαν τασίᾳ μὲν γνώσεως ἦσαν, ἐσφαλμένοι δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπῆρ χον, ἀναγκαίως ἑαυτοὺς καταπενθήσουσι. ∆ιὸ μετήγαγεν ὁ λόγος τὴν παραίνεσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐπιμελουμένους αὐτῶν, καί φησι· Ποιεῖτε σκέπην πένθους αὐτῇ διὰ παντός. Οἱ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις, εἴτε κατὰ τὸν βίον, εἴτε κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν, ἐνεργαζόμενοι λύπην, ὥστε τινὰς ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸ μακαρίως πενθεῖν, οὗτοι ποιοῦσι σκέπην πένθους. Εἶδόν τινας ἐγὼ τῶν ὑπὸ λύπης ἀκράτου κατεχομένων ἀποκλείοντας ἑαυτοὺς εἰς οἰκίσκον καὶ πᾶσαν φωτὸς πάροδον ἀποφράσσοντας καὶ οἱο νεὶ τιμωρουμένους ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τῆς ἐν τῷ σκότει διαγωγῆς. Ἵνα οὖν μὴ τὸ σύνηθες, αὐτῶν ἐξαπατῶν τὴν διάνοιαν, τῆς σοφίας οἴημα, κατὰ ἀλήθειαν σκότος ὑπάρχον, φῶς δὲ εἶναι φανταζόμενον, διοχλῇ αὐτῶν ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι, Ποιήσατε (φησὶ) σκέπην πένθους αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ἐν τῷ ἀποκλεῖσαι τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων ἀπάτην, χώραν δῶτε τῷ ἀληθινῷ φωτὶ ἐλ λάμψαι ταῖς καρδίαις τῶν εἰς αὐτὸ πεπιστευκότων. Πρὶν οὖν ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου, ἐν ᾗ κόψονται πᾶσαι αἱ φυ λαὶ τῆς γῆς, κατὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ εἰρημένον (ὅτι Μεγα λυνθήσεται ὁ κοπετὸς ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ὡς κοπετὸς ῥοῶνος· καὶ κόψεται ἡ γῆ κατὰ φυλάς· φυλὴν οἴκου ∆αβὶδ καθ' ἑαυ τὴν, καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ' ἑαυτάς· φυλὴ οἴκου Νάθαν καθ' ἑαυτὴν, καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ' ἑαυτάς· πᾶσαι αἱ ὑπολελειμμέναι φυλαὶ, φυλὴ καθ' ἑαυτὴν, καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ' ἑαυτάς) ὑμεῖς, οἱ διδάσκοντες τὸν λαὸν καὶ ἐπιστρέφοντες τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας ἐν παντὶ τῷ τοῦ βίου καιρῷ, ποιεῖτε σκέπην πένθους αὐτῇ, ἵνα ἐκ τοῦ ὑμετέρου λόγου οἱ ὑπὸ τῆς κακίας πρότερον κεκακωμένοι, εἰς τὸ μα καρίως πενθεῖν ἐναχθῶσιν. 16.305 Ἐν μεσημβρινῇ σκοτίᾳ φεύξονται. ∆οκεῖ τὸ μεσημβρινὸν τῆς ἡμέρας κατάστημα λαμπρότερον ἔχειν καὶ φανότερον τὸ φῶς. Τῆς οὖν ἀληθείας ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου νοεῖσθαι δυναμένης τοῖς συνετῶς τοῖς λόγοις τῆς κτί σεως ἐπιβάλλουσιν, οἱ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ζῶντες καὶ πανταχόθεν ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας περιλαμπόμενοι, νοσοῦντες δὲ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄγνοιαν, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ μεσημβρινῇ σκοτίᾳ ὑπάρχον τες, τῶν μὲν πραγμάτων τὴν μεσημβρίαν ἐχόντων, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν ἀγνοούντων τῆς σκοτίας ἐνυπαρχούσης. Οἱ τοιοῦτοι οὖν ἐν μεσημβρινῇ σκοτίᾳ φεύγουσιν, ἐξέστησαν, διότι τῆς φαντασίας, ἣν οἱ μεμηνότες φαντασιοῦνται, οὐδὲν διαφέρει τὰ τῶν τοιούτων δόγματα. Καὶ ἑρμηνεία ἐστὶ τοῦ μεσημβρινοῦ σκότους ἡ ἔκστασις, ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ πάθει τινὶ λογισμῶν παρενεχθέντες, οὔτε τὸν ἥλιον λάμπειν οἴονται, οὔτε φῶς εἶναι περὶ τὸν ἀέρα. Ἔκστασις οὖν ὄντως καὶ μανία