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of the captivity of bonds, which is understood, to proclaim release and remission to those confined in darkness; by the passion, I mean, for sensible things; so that having gone up themselves to Judea; and I mean virtue, to build in Jerusalem; by the state, I mean, of dispassion, the temple of the Lord, that is, the knowledge receptive of wisdom.

Wise therefore and very wise is the great Zerubbabel, as one who received wisdom from God, and through it was able to oppose, conquer, and overthrow each of the things proposed for deception for the corruption of the human race by the evil spirits that fight exceedingly for the body; and through each of his own propositions to utterly destroy each of the opposing propositions; and to redeem the soul from the wicked slavery of the passions. For since they, through wine, sought to honor the ardor of carnal pleasures; and through the king, they confirmed the power of worldly glory; this man introduced the spiritual and unending pleasure through women; and through the truth, he showed the unshakable power; and he persuaded them to despise present goods, and to cling to future ones.

The propositions have this meaning, in my opinion, which is good and wise, and not unworthy of the Spirit to be written for our admonition; but if someone is able to consider the meaning of what is written on a higher level, according to the power granted to him for understanding divine things, there is no envy; because the grace of the Spirit is not by nature diminished among those who partake of it; which is especially why the passion of envy is born; even if one has more, and another less, of grace; for each one possesses the manifest energy of the Spirit according to the proportion of faith within him. So that each is a steward of grace for himself, and being of sound mind would never envy another ( 517) who is esteemed for his graces; since the disposition for receiving divine goods lies with him.

Let us come also to another mystical contemplation, which shows forth the original truth of what is written. Zerubbabel is the true and new one, and the one typically signified through the old, our Lord and God Jesus Christ; who in the confusion of our nature was conceived and carried, and born, and became a perfect man according to nature; so that He might lead our nature, having departed from confusion, up to Himself.

He who was not taken captive with us, nor colonized into the confusion of the passions. For He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; but born among us captives as a captive, and reckoned with us who are lawless; having become for love of mankind in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin. In the likeness of sinful flesh, because being God by nature, impassible, He deigned unchangeably, according to the economy, to become a man passible by nature; and for sin, because for our sins He was led to death, and for our sake He was in pain; and for our sins He was wounded, and He was bruised for our iniquities, so that we might be healed by His stripe. For the Spirit before our face, he says, Christ the Lord was taken in our corruptions, of whom we said, In His shadow we shall live among the nations.

This is the just rising of our dispersion from sin about which the Holy Spirit says through the prophet, That a just Dayspring shall rise for you. And, Behold a man, the Dayspring is His name; and from beneath Him He shall spring up; and, the Sun of righteousness, and, healing in His wings; with "from beneath" indicating the ineffable mystery of the incarnation of the Word, from which arose the salvation of all things. And the wings of the Sun of righteousness would be the two Testaments, through which the Word, flying among us, heals the wound of transgression, and that according to virtue

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νοουμένης αἰχμαλωσίας δεσμῶν, λύσιν καί ἄφεσιν κηρύξαι τοῖς καθειργμένοις ἐν τῷ σκότει· τῇ προσπαθείᾳ λέγω τῶν αἰσθητῶν· ὥστε ἀναβάντας αὐτούς εἰς τήν Ἰουδαίαν· φημί δέ τήν ἀρετήν, οἰκοδομῆσαι ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ· τῇ ἕξει λέγω τῆς ἀπαθείας, τόν ναόν Κυρίου τουτέστι τήν δεκτικήν τῆς σοφίας γνῶσιν.

Σοφός οὖν καί πάνυ σοφός ὁ μέγας ἐστί Ζοροβάβελ, οἷα παρά Θεοῦ τήν σοφίαν λαβών, καί δι᾿ αὐτῆς δυνηθείς ἑκάστῳ τῶν πρός ἀπάτην προβεβλημένων ἐπί φθορᾷ τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὑπό τῶν ὑπεραγωνιζομένων τοῦ σώματος πονηρῶν πνευμάτων, ἀντιπροβάλλεσθαι καί νικῆσαι καί ἀνατρέψαι· καί δι᾿ ἑκατέρου τῶν οἰκείων προβλημάτων τό ἑκάτερον τῶν ἀντικειμένων προβλημάτων παντελῶς ἐξαφανίσαι· καί τήν ψυχήν πονηρᾶς λυτρώσασθαι δουλείας παθῶν. Ἐπειδή γάρ ἐκεῖνοι, διά μέν τοῦ οἴνου τήν ζέσιν τιμᾶσθαι τῶν σαρκικῶν ἡδονῶν ἐπεζήτουν· διά δέ τοῦ βασιλέως, τῆς κοσμικῆς δόξης τό κράτος ἐπεκύρουν· οὗτος τήν πνευματικήν καί πέρας οὐκ ἔχουσαν διά τῶν γυναικῶν εἰσήγαγεν ἡδονήν· καί διά τῆς ἀληθείας, τό μή σαλευόμενον ἔδειξε κράτος· καί ἔπεισε, τῶν μέν παρόντων καταφρονεῖν ἀγαθῶν· τῶν δέ μελλόντων, ἀντέχεσθαι.

Ταύτην ἔχει τά προβλήματα, κατ᾿ ἐμέ φάναι, τήν ἔννοιαν, καλήν τε καί σοφήν, καί τοῦ γραφῆναι πρός νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν οὐκ ἀναξίαν τοῦ πνεύματος· εἰ δέ τις ὑψηλότερον τόν τῶν γεγραμμένων νοῦν σκοπῆσαι δυνηθῇ, κατά τήν χορηγουμένην αὐτῷ τοῦ νοεῖν τά θεῖα δύναμιν, φθόνος οὐδείς· ὅτι μηδέ πέφυκεν ἐλαττοῦσθαι τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ χάρις ἐν τοῖς συμμετέχουσι· δι᾿ ὅ μάλιστα τό τοῦ φθόνου τίκτεται πάθος· κἄν ὁ μέν, πλέον· ὁ δέ, ἔλαττον ἔχει τῆς χάριτος· ἕκαστος γάρ, κατά τήν ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ πίστεως, φανερουμένην κέκτηται τοῦ Πνεύματος τήν ἐνέργειαν. Ὥστε ταμείας ὑπάρχει τῆς χάριτος ἕκαστος, ἑαυτοῦ, καί οὔποτ᾿ ἄν εὖ φρονῶν ἄλλῳ φθονήσειεν ( 517) εὐδοκιμοῦντι ταῖς χάρισιν· ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ κειμένης τῆς δεκτικῆς τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν διαθέσεως.

Ἔλθωμεν δέ καί ἐπ᾿ ἄλλην μυστικήν θεωρίαν, τήν ἀρχικήν τῶν γεγραμμένων ἀλήθειαν προδεικνύουσαν. Ζοροβάβελ ἐστίν ἀληθινός τε καί νέος, καί διά τοῦ παλαιοῦ τυπικῶς μηνυόμενος, ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν καί Θεός Ἰησοῦς Χριστός· ὁ ἐν τῇ συγχύσει τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν συλληφθείς καί κυηθείς, καί τεχθείς, καί τέλειος κατά τήν φύσιν γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος· ἵνα πρός ἑαυτόν, τῆς συγχύσεως ἀποστᾶσαν ἀναγάγῃ τήνφύσιν.

Ὁ μή γενόμενος μέν σύν ἡμῖν αἰχμάλωτος, καί πρός τήν τῶν παθῶν ἀποικισθείς σύγχυσιν. Οὐ γάρ ἐποίησεν ἁμαρτίαν, οὐδέ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ· ἐν ἡμῖν δέ τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ὡς αἰχμάλωτος γεννηθείς, καί μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν τῶν ἀνόμων λογισθείς· διά φιλανθρωπίαν γενόμενος ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκός ἁμαρτίας, καί περί ἁμαρτίας. Ἐν ὁμοιώματι μέν σαρκός ἁμαρτίας, ὅτι φύσει Θεός ὑπάρχων ἀπαθής, ἀτρέπτως κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν φύσει παθητός γενέσθαι κατηξίωσεν ἄνθρωπος· περί ἁμαρτίας δέ, ὅτι διά τάς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἤχθη εἰς θάνατον, καί ὑπέρ ἡμῶν ὠδυνήθη· καί διά τάς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἐτραυματίσθη, καί ἐμαλακίσθη διά τάς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἰαθῶμεν. Πνεῦμα γάρ πρό προσώπου ἡμῶν, φησί, Χριστός Κύριος συνελήφθη ἐν ταῖς διαφθοραῖς ἡμῶν, οὗ εἴπαμεν, Ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ αὐτοῦ ζησόμεθα ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν.

Οὗτος ἐστιν ἡ δικαία ἀνατολή τῆς ἡμῶν ἐκ τῆς ἁμαρτίας διασπορᾶς περί ἧς διά τοῦ προφήτου φησί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, Ὅτι ἀνατελεῖται ὑμῖν Ἀνατολή δικαία. Καί, Ἰδού ἀνήρ, Ἀνατολή ὄνομα αὐτῷ· καί ὑποκάτωθεν αὐτοῦ ἀνατελεῖ· καί, Ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης, καί, ἴασις ἐν ταῖς πτέρυξιν αὐτοῦ· τοῦ ὑποκάτωθεν δηλοῦντος, τό ἀπόῤῥητον μυστήριον τῆς τοῦ Λόγου σαρκώσεως, ἐξ ἧς ἀνέτειλεν ἡ τῶν ὅλων σωτηρία. Πτέρυγες δ᾿ ἄν εἶεν τοῦ Ἡλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης, αἱ δύο ∆ιαθῆκαι, δι᾿ ὧν ἱπτάμενος ἐν ἡμῖν ὁ Λόγος, τήν πληγήν θεραπεύει παραβάσεως, καί τήν κατ᾿ ἀρετήν