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in days God is written to have made the world; and ten signifies the perfection of virtue in the commandments; therefore sixty clearly indicates the natural capacity for receiving the divine principles in the commandments.

Therefore, the forty-three thousand three hundred sixty signify the perfect principle of virtue; and the revered mystery of theology; (548) and the true purpose of providence; and the practical power of nature informed by the virtues, with which the mind, having been distinguished in the spirit from the flesh, and from sensation, and from the world, certainly goes forth; leaving behind the confusion and commingling of these things among one another, as did those of old the Babylonian one; and he hastens to the city above, having his mind free from all relation to anything whatsoever.

And their male and female servants were seven thousand three hundred and seven. The law, speaking in the section concerning male and female servants, says that Hebrew male and female servants are to serve for six years; and in the seventh year to be released as free; but that foreign male and female servants are to serve forever; calling, I think, the fiftieth year of release “forever.” A Hebrew manservant and a Hebrew maidservant are reason and understanding serving the practical philosopher for six years, for the conception of moral seemliness and the discovery of virtuous ways. For in every practical person, reason and understanding labor like a manservant and a maidservant, conceiving and creating the ways of action according to virtue; and having, as it were, all their power set in opposition to the spirits of wickedness which are opposed to the practical life. Therefore, having fulfilled practical philosophy, which the number six of the years indicated—for it has been said that the number six signifies practical philosophy—they are released free for the spiritual life; clearly returning to the contemplation of the kindred principles within existing things, both reason and understanding; when they arrive at the seventh year; that is, the state of dispassion; according to which, having been tamed by the great labor of reason and of the understanding joined to it, the passions of the soul retreat and withdraw.

But a foreign manservant and maidservant are the irascible and the concupiscible powers, which the contemplative mind yokes perpetually to the dominion of reason for the service of the virtues through courage and moderation, not giving them release into freedom at all, until the law of nature is completely swallowed up by the law of the spirit; just as the wretched death of the flesh is by infinite life; and the entire image of the unoriginate kingdom is shown purely, having the whole form of the archetype through imitation; according to which the contemplative mind, having come into being, makes both the irascible and the concupiscible powers free; transforming the one toward the pure pleasure of divine love and its undefiled enchantment; and transferring the other toward spiritual fervor and fiery perpetual motion and sober madness; according to which, it seems, the great Paul, having become a great ray of the pure light, heard from King Agrippa in the Acts, “You are mad, Paul.” And again, he himself writing about himself to the Corinthians, “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you”; clearly calling the sober madness according to God (549) ecstasy; as it makes the sober mind within it to be outside of existing things.

But I suppose their number signifies the temporal providence of ways according to reason along with dispassion; according to which the mind, presiding over reason and understanding as they serve in the practical life like Hebrew male and female servants, defines the measures of their service according to virtue; transferring them toward contemplation; and taking care of the irascible and concupiscible powers as of foreign male and female servants, as a master of slaves, he leads them at the end to a freedom of equal honor. Making desire into a longing capable of enjoying divine things; and the irascible power, the intensity of that enjoyable longing

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ἡμέραις πεποιηκέναι τόν Θεόν τόν κόσμον γέγραπται· ὁ δέ δέκα τό τέλειον τῆς ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς ἀρετῆς δηλοῖ· ἄρα ὁ ἑξήκοντα, τήν κατά τήν φύσιν δεκτικήν τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς θείων λόγων σαφῶς παραδηλοῖ δύναμιν.

Οὐκοῦν αἱ τέσσαρες μυριάδες πρός τοῖς τρισχιλίοις τριακοσίοις ἑξήκοντα, δηλοῦσι τόν τέλειον περί ἀρετῆς λόγον· καί τό σεπτόν τῆς θεολογίας μυστήριον· (548) καί τόν ἀληθῆ τῆς προνοίας σκοπόν· καί τήν ἀρεταῖς ποιωθεῖσαν πρακτικήν τῆς φύσεως δύναμιν μεθ᾿ ὧν ὁ σαρκός, αἰσθήσεώς τε καί κόσμου τῷ πνεύματι διακρίνας τόν νοῦν, πάντως ἐξέρχεται· τήν ἐν ἀλλήλοις τούτων ἀφείς, ὡς τήν Βαβυλωνίαν οἱ πάλαι, φύρσιν καί σύγχυσιν· καί πρός τήν ἄνω πόλιν ἐπείγεται, πάσης τόν νοῦν ἔχων τῆς πρός ὁτιοῦν σχέσεως ἀνετόν.

Παῖδες δέ τούτων καί παιδίσκαι ἑπτακισχίλιοι τριακόσιοι ἑπτά. Ὁ νόμος ἐν τῷ περί παίδων καί παιδίσκων τόπῳ διαγορεύων φησί, Τούς Ἑβραίους παῖδας καί παιδίσκας ἕξ ἔτη δουλεύειν· καί τῷ ἑβδόμῳ ἀπολύεσθαι ἐλευθέρους· τούς δέ ἀλλοφύλους παῖδας καί παιδίσκας δουλεύειν εἰς τόν αἰῶνα· τό πεντηκοστόν ἔτος οἶμαι τῆς ἀφέσεως αἰῶνα καλῶν. Ἑβραῖος δέ παῖς καί Ἑβραία παιδίσκη εἰσίν, οἱ τῶ πρακτικῷ φιλοσόφῳ δουλεύοντες ἕξ ἔτη, λόγος καί διάνοια, πρός ἐπίνοιαν τῆς ἠθικῆς εὐπρεπείας καί ἀρετῆς τρόπων ἐξεύρεσιν. Παντί γάρ πρακτικῷ, παιδός καί παιδίσκης δίκην ὁ λόγος καί ἡ διάνοια μοχθοῦσι, τούς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν τῆς πράξεως τρόπους ἐπινοοῦντές τε καί δημιουργοῦντες· καί οἷον πᾶσαν ἑαυτῶν κατά τῶν ἀντικειμένων τῇ πρακτικῇ πνευμάτων τῆς πονηρίας τήν δύναμιν ἔχοντες ἀντιτεταγμένην. Πληρώσαντες οὖν τήν πρακτικήν φιλοσοφίαν, ἥν ὁ ἕξ τῶν ἐτῶν παρεδήλωσε ἀριθμός· εἴρηται γάρ ὡς ὁ ἕξ ἀριθμός τήν πρακτικήν σημαίνει φιλοσοφίαν· ἐλεύθεροι πρός τήν πενυματικήν ἀπολύονται· δῆλον ὅτι τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι συγγενῶν λόγων θεωρίαν ἐπανερχόμενοι, ὅ τε λόγος καί ἡ διάνοια· ὁπηνίκα κατά τό ἕβδομον ἔτος γένωνται· τουτέστι, τῆς ἀπαθείας τήν ἕξιν· καθ᾿ ἥν δαμασθέντα τῷ πολλῷ καμάτῳ τοῦ λόγου καί τῆς συνημμένης αὐτῷ διανοίας, ὑποχωρεῖ τῆς ψυχῆς τά πάθη καί ὑπεξίσταται.

Ἀλλόφυλος δέ παῖς καί παιδίσκη, ὁ θυμός καί ἡ ἐπιθυμία, οὕς ὑποζεύγνυσι διαπαντός τῇ δεσποτείᾳ τοῦ λόγου πρός ὑπηρεσίαν τῶν ἀρετῶν δι᾿ ἀνδρείας καί σωφροσύνης ὁ θεωρητικός νοῦς, οὐ διδούς αὐτοῖς παντελῶς τήν πρός ἐλευθερίαν ἄφεσιν, ἕως ἄν καταποθῇ τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ πνεύματος τελείως ὁ τῆς φύσεως νόμος· καθάπερ ὑπό ζωῆς ἀπείρου, σαρκός δυστήνου θάνατος· καί πᾶσα δειχθῇ καθαρῶς ἡ τῆς ἀνάρχου βασιλείας εἰκών, πᾶσαν ἔχουσα τοῦ ἀρχετύπου διά μιμήσεως τήν μορφήν· καθ᾿ ἥν γενόμενος ὁ θεωρητικός νοῦς, ἐλευθέρους ποιεῖται τόν τε θυμόν καί τήν ἐπιθυμίαν· τήν μέν, πρός τήν ἀκήρατον τοῦ θείου ἔρωτος ἡδονήν, καί τήν ἄχραντον θέλξιν μετασκευάζων· τόν δέ, πρός ζέσιν πνευματικήν καί διάπυρον ἀεικινησίαν καί σώφρονα μανίαν μεταβιβάζων· καθ᾿ ἥν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἡ μεγάλη τοῦ ἀκηράτου φωτός ἀκτίς ὁ μέγας Παῦλος γενόμενος, ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσιν ἤκουσε παρά τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀγρίππα, Μαίνῃ, Παῦλε. Καί πάλιν αὐτός περί ἑαυτοῦ πρός Κορινθίου γράφων, Εἴτε ἐξέστημεν Θεῷ, εἴτε σωφρονοῦμεν ὑμῖν· τήν κατά Θεόν (549) σώφρονα μανίαν ἔκστασιν δῆλον ὅτι καλέσας· ὡς ἔξω ποιουμένην τῶν ὄντων τόν κατ᾿ αὐτήν σώφρονα νοῦν.

Τόν δέ τούτων ἀριθμόν σημαίνειν ὑπονοῶ, τήν κατά τόν λόγον χρονικήν μετά τῆς ἀπαθείας τῶν τρόπων πρόνοιαν· καθ᾿ ἥν καί λόγῳ καί διανοίᾳ καθάπερ Ἑβραίοις παισί καί παιδίσκαις κατά τήν πρᾶξιν δουλεύουσιν ἐπικείμενος ὁ νοῦς, ὁρίζει τά μέτρα τῆς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν τούτων ὑπουργίας· μεταφέρων πρός θεωρίαν· καί θυμοῦ καί ἐπιθυμίας ὡς ἀλλοφύλων παίδων καί παιδίσκων ἐπιμελούμενος, ὡς δούλων δεσπότης, πρός τόν ἰσότιμον ἄγει κατά τό τέλος ἐλευθερίαν. Τήν μέν ἐπιθυμίαν, ποιῶν ἔφεσιν τῶν θείων ἀπολαυστικήν· τόν δέ θυμόν, τόνον ἀπολαυτικῆς ἐφέσεως