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in a Spirit of knowledge. For famine, truly, is the eclipse of goods known by experience of it, and a want and complete lack of the spiritual foods that sustain the soul. For how will someone consider the removal of things never known to him at all to be a famine (14Γ_378> or a loss? Thus, while Saul was living, there was no famine, because it was not its nature, while the letter of the law was living and ruling over the materialistically-minded Jews, for the lack of spiritual knowledge to be recognized. But when the radiance of evangelical grace shines through, and David the all-praised, who is the law according to the Spirit, receives the kingdom of the spiritually-minded, after the death of Saul, that is, after the end of the letter—for David is interpreted as 'contempt' and 'strong in sight;' for the former is said with respect to the Jews, with the letter prevailing over the spirit(18), while the latter is spoken of with respect to the Christians, with the spirit conquering the letter—then the famine of knowledge in the spirit is recognized, commonly among the faithful people and individually in the soul of each one, whenever one prefers the outwardly appearing cloak of the letter to the mystical contemplation in the spirit and, so to speak, makes the soul of Scripture less honored than the body(19). For truly the people who are faithful and have known the truth, and the soul of each one, starve, being deprived of spiritual contemplation in grace and coming under the typical servitude of the letter, not nourishing the mind with the sublimities of the thoughts, but filling the senses of passionate imagination with the corporeal representations of the scriptural symbols. Therefore a famine of divine knowledge especially occurs for three years, year after year. For everyone who does not accept the spiritual contemplation of holy Scripture has thereby both rejected the natural law according to the Jews and has been ignorant of the law in grace, according to which deification is given to those who are led by it.

Therefore the famine of three years(20) signifies the lack of knowledge that occurred in the three laws—I mean the natural, the written, and that of grace—(14Γ_380> in proportion to each, for those who do not care for their own ascent according to contemplation. For one who rejects the natural principles of beings according to contemplation, while holding only to the material symbols and contriving for them no spiritual sublimity, is completely unable to care for the intelligible science of the Scriptures. For when only the historical narrative of the scriptures prevails(21), the power of temporary and temporal things has not been removed from the mind, but the children and descendants of the dead Saul, seven in number, still live, that is, the corporeal and temporary worship of the law, from which the passionate disposition is wont to be born in those who are lovers of the body according to the reason given, having as an ally of its error the clear ordinance in the symbols. For this reason, then, I think, a famine did not occur in the days of Saul, that is, in the time of the legal worship according to the flesh, the lack of knowledge in the spirit was not recognized, but in the time of evangelical grace, during which, whenever we do not understand all Scripture spiritually after the passing of the dominion of the letter, we surely starve, not enjoying the mystical worship according to the Spirit that is fitting for Christians. But when, having come to our senses, we seek the face of the Lord like David(22), we are taught clearly that, because we did not accept the natural principles as a stepping-stone to mystical contemplation in the spirit, but still clung to the corporeal reasonings in the letter of the law, the grace of knowledge was taken away.

"And David," it says, "sought the face of the Lord." And the Lord said, "Upon Saul and upon his house is the iniquity, because he put the Gibeonites to death." David is every mind that is discerning according to Christ(23), always seeking the face of the Lord.

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ἐν Πνεύματι γνώσεως. Λιμὸς γάρ ἐστι, ὡς ἀληθῶς, ἔκλειψις τῶν κατ᾽ αὐτὴν πεῖραν ἐγνωσμένων ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἀπορία καὶ σπάνις παντελὴς τῶν τὴν ψυχὴν συγκρατούντων πνευματικῶν βρωμάτων. Πῶς γὰρ λιμὸν (14Γ_378> ἡγήσεταί τις ἢ ζημίαν τὴν τῶν καθάπαξ αὐτῷ μηδαμῶς ἐγνωσμένων ἀφαίρεσιν; Ὅθεν ζῶντος Σαοὺλ οὐ γίνεται λιμός, ὅτι μηδὲ πέφυκε, ζῶντος τοῦ κατὰ νόμον γράμματος καὶ βασιλεύοντος τῶν ὑλικῶν τὴν διάνοιαν Ἰουδαίων, τῆς πνευματικῆς γνώσεως διαγνωσθῆναι τὴν ἔνδειαν. Ὁπηνίκα δὲ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς χάριτος διαλάμψῃ τὸ σέλας, καὶ λάβῃ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν πνευματικῶν τὴν διάνοιαν ∆αβὶδ ὁ πανεύφημος, ὅς ἐστιν ὁ κατὰ Πνεῦμα νόμος, μετὰ τὸν θάνατον Σαούλ, ἤγουν μετὰ τὴν τοῦ γράμματος τελευτήνἑρμηνεύεται γὰρ ὁ ∆αβὶδ 'ἐξουδένωσις' καὶ 'ἰσχυρὸς ὁράσει·' τὸ μὲν γὰρ λέγεται κατὰ Ἰουδαίους, πλεονεκτοῦντος τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ γράμματος(18), τὸ δὲ κατὰ Χριστιανοὺς προσαγορεύεται, νικήσαντος τὸ γράμμα τοῦ πνεύματος, τηνικαῦτα διαγινώσκεται τῆς ἐν πνεύματι γνώσεως ἡ λιμός, κοινῶς μὲν ἐν τῷ πιστῷ λαῷ καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ τοῦ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἰδικῶς, ὅταν τῆς ἐν πνεύματι μυστικῆς θεωρίας τὴν ἐκτὸς προφαινομένην τοῦ γράμματος προκρίνῃ περιβολὴν καί, οἷον εἰπεῖν, τὴν ψυχὴν τῆς Γραφῆς ἀτιμοτέραν ποιῆται τοῦ σώματος(19). Λιμώττει γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας τῶν πιστῶν καὶ ἐπεγνωκότων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁ λαὸς καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἀφεμένη τῆς ἐν τῇ χάριτι πνευματικῆς θεωρίας καὶ γενομένη τῆς τυπικῆς ἐν τῷ γράμματι δουλείας, μὴ διατρέφουσα τὸν νοῦν ταῖς τῶν νοημάτων μεγαλοφυΐαις, ἀλλὰ πληροῦσα τὴν αἴσθησιν ἐμπαθοῦς φαντασίας ταῖς σωματικαῖς τῶν γραφικῶν συμβόλων διατυπώσεσιν. ∆ιὸ θείας γνώσεως μάλιστα γίνεται λιμὸς τρία ἔτη, ἐνιαυτὸς ἐχόμενος ἐνιαυτοῦ. Πᾶς γὰρ τὴν πνευματικὴν τῆς ἁγίας Γραφῆς θεωρίαν μὴ προσιέμενος τόν τε φυσικὸν ταύτῃ κατὰ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους συναπώσατο νόμον καὶ τὸν ἐν τῇ χάριτι νόμον ἠγνόησεν, καθ᾽ ὃν δίδοται τοῖς κατ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀγομένοις ἡ θέωσις.

Οὐκοῦν ἡ λιμὸς τῶν τριῶν ἐτῶν(20) δηλοῖ τὴν ἐν τοῖς τρισὶ νόμοις, τῷ τε φυσικῷ λέγω καὶ τῷ γραπτῷ καὶ τῷ τῆς χάριτος, (14Γ_380> ἀναλόγως ἑκάστῳ γενομένην τῆς γνώσεως ἔνδειαν τοῖς οὐκ ἐπιμελουμένοις τῆς αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν θεωρίαν ἀναγωγῆς. Ἐπιμελεῖσθαι γὰρ παντελῶς οὐ δύναται τῆς νοητῆς τῶν Γραφῶν ἐπιστήμης ὁ τοὺς μὲν φυσικοὺς τῶν ὄντων κατὰ τὴν θεωρίαν ἀπωθούμενος λόγους, ἀντεχόμενος δὲ μόνων τῶν ὑλικῶν συμβόλων καὶ μηδεμίαν αὐτοῖς ἐπινοῶν ὑψηγορίαν πνευματικήν. Κρατούσης γὰρ μόνης τῆς ἱστοριώδους τῶν γραφῶν ἀφηγήσεως(21), τὸ τῶν προσκαίρων καὶ χρονικῶν τῆς διανοίας οὐκ ἀπεγένετο κράτος, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι ζῶσι τὰ τέκνα τοῦ ἀποθανόντος Σαοὺλ καὶ τὰ ἔκγονα, ἑπτὰ ὄντα τὸν ἀριθμόν, τουτέστιν ἡ σωματικὴ τοῦ νόμου λατρεία καὶ πρόσκαιρος, ἐξ ἧς ἡ ἐμπαθὴς εἴωθεν ἀπογεννᾶσθαι τοῖς φιλοσωμάτοις κατὰ τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν αἰτίαν διάθεσις, ἐπίκουρον ἔχουσα τῆς πλάνης τὴν πρόδηλον ἐν τοῖς συμβόλοις διαταγήν. ∆ιὰ ταύτην οὖν οἶμαι τὴν αἰτίαν μὴ γενέσθαι λιμὸν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Σαούλ, τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς νομικῆς κατὰ σάρκα λατρείας τὴν ἔνδειαν μὴ διαγνωσθῆναι τῆς ἐν πνεύματι γνώσεως, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς χάριτος, καθ᾽ ὅν, ὅταν μὴ πᾶσαν πνευματικῶς τὴν Γραφὴν ἐκλαμβάνωμεν μετὰ τὴν πάροδον τῆς τοῦ γράμματος δυναστείας, λιμώττομεν πάντως, τῆς Χριστιανοῖς πρεπούσης μυστικῆς κατὰ Πνεῦμα λατρείας οὐκ ἀπολαύοντες. Ἐπὰν δέ, λαβόντες αἴσθησιν, κατὰ τὸν ∆αβὶδ ζητήσωμεν τὸ πρόσωπον Κυρίου(22), διδασκόμεθα σαφῶς ὅτι, διὰ τὸ μὴ παραδέξασθαι τοὺς κατὰ φύσιν λόγους πρὸς ἐπίβασιν τῆς ἐν πνεύματι μυστικῆς θεωρίας, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι τῶν ἐν τῷ γράμματι τοῦ νόμου σωματικῶν ἀντέχεσθαι λογισμῶν, ἡ χάρις ἀφῃρέθη τῆς γνώσεως.

«Καὶ ἐζήτησεν», φησίν, «∆αβὶδ τὸ πρόσωπον Κυρίου»· καὶ εἶπε Κύριος· ἐπὶ Σαοὺλ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἡ ἀδικία περὶ οὗ ἐθανάτωσε τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας». ∆αβίδ ἐστι πᾶς νοῦς κατὰ Χριστὸν διορατικός(23), ἀεὶ ζητῶν τὸ πρόσωπον Κυρίου.