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renewed the beauty of nature, showing again in nature at the resurrection the beauty of incorruptibility, exceedingly smooth and in no way roughened by anything material. This statement will be fitting both for our common nature, for the holy Church, and for the soul of each individual, which has put off through faith and a good conscience the image of the old and earthly Adam and put on the image of the heavenly one.

Therefore, it has been clearly shown that the prophet has a manifold contemplation of him according to the power of the name, with each emphasis according to the interpretation fitting appropriately to the passages of his Scripture. For(44), interpreted as 'flight of beauty,' he signifies Adam and our common nature; but called 'rest' and 'healing of God' and 'labor of God,' he signifies our Lord and God according to the power of the exposition that has been given; and indicating the 'grace' of the proclamation through the richness (14C_344> of the Spirit within it, he is called 'dove' and 'gift of God' and 'labor of God' on account of the many struggles of those who became ministers of this true calling; and hinting at the madness of the Jews against the truth, he is interpreted as 'their vexation,' which is envy at the good things of others, producing grief in those who have it; which evil turned into a second nature for the Jews, who took up hatred for God and men, and for this reason seek only the destruction of nature through blood and wanton murders.

But since in its course the account omitted the contemplation of the three days' journey—for it says: "Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a journey of three days"—let us, if it seems good, fill in the omission in a few words.

Therefore, the journey of the three days' road must be understood as the different lives of the course that is according to God, that is, the conduct befitting each general law; and by general laws I now mean the natural, the written, and that of grace; for each of these has a particular way of life and a suitable course, because it also has a different disposition engendered according to the will of those who are led by it. For one creates a different disposition for each of those under it than another(45). For example: the natural law(46), when sensation does not have the upper hand over reason, persuades all untaught to embrace what is kindred and of the same race, having nature itself as a teacher of helping those in need, and for all to wish for all that which each one thinks is pleasing for himself to have done by others. And teaching this, the Lord says: "whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them (14C_346>." For in those for whom nature is judged by reason(47), there is naturally one disposition; and for those whose disposition is the same, both the moral character and the course of life are clearly one by nature; and for those whose moral character and course of life are the same, there is clearly one and the same bond in their mutual relationship according to their will, leading all by one will to the one reason of nature, in which the division of nature that now prevails through self-love does not exist at all.

But the written law(48), restraining the disordered impulses of the more foolish by fear of punishments, habituates them, teaching them to look only to the distribution of the equal, according to which the power of justice, confirmed by time, is transformed into nature, making fear a disposition, gently and little by little strengthened by the will for the good, and habit a state, purified by the forgetting of former things and giving birth along with itself to mutual affection, by which the fulfillment of the law naturally comes to be, when all are joined to one another in love. For the fulfillment of the law is the mutual cohesion in love of all who have partaken of nature, bringing the reason of nature crowned with the longing of love and

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ὡραιότητα τῆς φύσεως ἀνενεώσατο, πάλιν τὸ κάλλος ἐν τῇ φύσει κατὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν δείξας τῆς ἀφθαρσίας ἄγαν λειότατον καὶ μηδενὶ τὸ παράπαν ὑλικῷ τραχυνόμενον. Ἁρμόσει δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν κοινὴν φύσιν τοῦτο λεγόμενον καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἁγίαν Ἐκκλησίαν καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ψυχὴν ἀποθεμένην διὰ πίστεως καὶ ἀγαθῆς συνειδήσεως τοῦ παλαιοῦ Ἀδὰμ καὶ χοϊκοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα καὶ ἐνδυσαμένην τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου.

Τοιγαροῦν δέδεικται σαφῶς ὅτι πολύτροπον ἔχει τὴν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ θεωρίαν ὁ προφήτης κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ὀνόματος, τοῖς τόποις δηλονότι τῆς αὐτοῦ Γραφῆς προσφόρως ἑκάστης ἁρμοζούσης κατὰ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν ἐμφάσεως. Σημαίνει γάρ(44), ὡς μὲν 'φυγὴ κάλλους' ἑρμηνευόμενος, τὸν Ἀδὰμ καὶ τὴν κοινὴν φύσιν, ὡς δὲ 'ἀνάπαυσις' καὶ 'ἴασις Θεοῦ' καὶ 'πόνος Θεοῦ' λεγόμενος, τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν καὶ Θεὸν κατὰ τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν τῆς ἐξηγήσεως δύναμιν· τὴν δὲ τοῦ κηρύγματος 'χάριν' διὰ τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ πλοῦτον (14Γ_344> τοῦ Πνεύματος μηνύων 'περιστερὰ' λέγεται καὶ 'δόμα Θεοῦ' καὶ 'πόνος Θεοῦ' διὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀγῶνας τῶν γενομένων ταύτης τῆς ἀληθοῦς κλήσεως λειτουργῶν· τὴν δὲ τῶν Ἰουδαίων κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπεμφαίνων μανίαν ἑρμηνεύεται 'διαπόνησις αὐτῶν,' ὅπερ ἐστὶ φθόνος ἐπ᾽ ἀλλοτρίοις ἀγαθοῖς, τίκτων λύπην τοῖς ἔχουσιν· ὅπερ κακὸν εἰς φύσιν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις μετέπεσε, τὸ πρὸς Θεὸν καὶ ἀνθρώπους μῖσος ἀνελομένοις καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μόνην τὴν δι᾽ αἵματος καὶ φόνων ἀνέδην φθορὰν ἐπιζητοῦσι τῆς φύσεως.

Ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ τρέχων ὁ λόγος τὴν περὶ τῆς πορείας τῶν τριῶν ἡμερῶν θεωρίαν παρέλειψενφησὶ γάρ· «ἡ δὲ Νινευὴ ἦν πόλις μεγάλη τῷ Θεῷ ὡσεὶ πορείας ὁδοῦ ἡμερῶν τριῶν», εἰ δοκεῖ, δι᾽ ὀλίγων τὴν ἔλλειψιν ἀναπληρώσωμεν.

Τὴν τοίνυν πορείαν τῆς ὁδοῦ τῶν τριῶν ἡμερῶν ὑποληπτέον εἶναι τοὺς διαφόρους βίους δρόμου τοῦ κατὰ Θεόν, ἤγουν τὴν ἑκάστῳ γενικῷ νόμῳ πρέπουσαν ἀγωγήν· νόμους δὲ λέγω νῦν γενικούς, τὸν φυσικὸν καὶ τὸν γραπτὸν καὶ τὸν τῆς χάριτος· ἰδιάζουσαν γὰρ τούτων ἕκαστος ἀναστροφὴν ἔχει βίου καὶ δρόμον πρόσφορον, ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν γνώμην γεννωμένην τῶν ἀγομένων διάθεσιν ἔχει διάφορον. Ἄλλην γὰρ ἄλλος ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτὸν πέφυκε δημιουργεῖν τὴν διάθεσιν(45). Οἷον· ὁ μὲν φυσικὸς νόμος(46), ὅταν οὐκ ἔχῃ πλεονεκτοῦσαν τὸν λόγον τὴν αἴσθησιν, ἀδιδάκτως ἀσπάζεσθαι πάντας πείθει τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ ὁμόφυλον, αὐτὴν ἔχοντας τὴν φύσιν τῆς τῶν δεομένων ἐπικουρίας διδάσκαλον, κἀκεῖνο βούλεσθαι πᾶσιν ἅπαντας, ὅπερ ἕκαστος ἑαυτῷ παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων γινόμενον εἶναι δοκεῖ καταθύμιον. Καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων ὁ Κύριός φησιν· «ὅσα θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ὁμοίως καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε (14Γ_346> αὐτοῖς». Ἐφ᾽ ὧν γὰρ ἡ φύσις λόγῳ βραβεύεται(47), τούτων μία πέφυκεν εἶναι διάθεσις· ὧν δὲ διάθεσις ἡ αὐτή, καὶ ὁ κατ᾽ ἦθος τρόπος καὶ ὁ τοῦ βίου δρόμος εἷς ὑπάρχειν προδήλως πέφυκεν· ὧν δὲ τρόπος ἠθῶν καὶ βίου δρόμος ἐστὶν ὁ αὐτός, εἷς δηλονότι καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς κατὰ τὴν γνώμην τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους σχέσεως ὑπάρχει δεσμός, κατὰ μίαν τὴν γνώμην ἄγων τοὺς πάντας πρὸς τὸν ἕνα λόγον τῆς φύσεως, ἐν ᾧ παντελῶς οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ νῦν κρατοῦσα τῆς φύσεως διὰ τὴν φιλαυτίαν διαίρεσις.

Ὁ δὲ γραπτὸς νόμος(48) φόβῳ τῶν ἐπιτιμιῶν ἐπέχων τὰς ἀτάκτους τῶν ἀφρονεστέρων ὁρμὰς ἐθίζει, διδάσκων πρὸς μόνην αὐτοὺς ὁρᾶν τὴν τοῦ ἴσου διανομήν, καθ᾽ ἣν τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὸ κράτος, χρόνῳ βεβαιωθέν, εἰς φύσιν μεθίσταται, ποιοῦν τὸν μὲν φόβον διάθεσιν, ἠρέμα κατὰ μικρὸν τῇ περὶ τὸ καλὸν γνώμῃ κρατυνομένην, ἕξιν δὲ τὴν συνήθειαν, τῇ λήθῃ τῶν προτέρων καθαιρομένην καὶ τὸ φιλάλληλον ἑαυτῇ συναποτίκτουσαν, καθ᾽ ὃ τοῦ νόμου γίνεσθαι τὸ πλήρωμα πέφυκεν, πάντων ἀλλήλοις κατὰ τὴν ἀγάπην συναρμοσθέντων. Πλήρωμα γὰρ νόμου καθέστηκεν ἡ κατ᾽ ἀγάπην διάλληλος συνοχὴ πάντων τῶν μετειληφότων τῆς φύσεως, φέρουσα τῷ κατ᾽ ἀγάπην πόθῳ κατεστεμμένον τὸν λόγον τῆς φύσεως καὶ