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a sterile disposition, and the perfect renunciation by divine men of the relation toward sensible things according to the senses’ relationship to them, the present number.

48. What is a beast of burden, considered anagogically. 49. He says the number five is spherical, and into itself in every

composition of it made with every odd number, it is restored. For if you multiply any odd number by five, you will find the resulting number ending in five. For example, five times three, fifteen; five times five, twenty-five; five times seven, thirty-five; five times nine, forty-five. Thus, proceeding to infinity, you will find that five, being composed five times with each number, and fifty times the fifty, and five hundred times the five hundred, and five thousand times the five thousand, is restored to itself according to the resulting number, which is a property of cyclical and spherical motion. Rightly, therefore, have the wise in such matters called the number five spherical and cyclical; as never at all departing from itself in its composition with the so-called odd numbers. It also signifies general knowledge, which in no way departs from itself in its knowledge through the ceaseless motion concerning the universe, and which embraces all things by the power of the word.

50. Another precise and well-ordered theory of all that has been said, in summary.

51. By delivering from the passions through punishment, wisdom creates fear; but by stimulating the mind through the acquisition of virtues to see the things to come, it produces desire.

52. Wisdom is fear, becoming through avoidance a deprivation to those who do not desire it; and it is desire, being found as a state of enjoyable activity for those who love it.

QUESTION 16.

Again it is written in the second book of Esdras, "And when the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard, they came to find out what the sound of the trumpets was, and they learned that those from the captivity were building the temple to the Lord God of Israel. And coming to Zerubbabel and to Jeshua and to the heads of the families, they said to them, Let us build with you; for like you we hear your Lord, and to him we sacrifice, since the days of Asbacaphath king of the Assyrians, who brought us here. (577) And Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of the families of Israel said to them: It is not for you and us to build the house to our Lord God; for we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel. " What then do these things mean, and especially the envy, on account of which they did not wish those who worshipped the same God to build with them?

Answer. Judah is interpreted as confession. The meaning of this word is twofold; the one

occurring in thanksgiving for the good things that have been given; the other spoken in examination and scrutiny of things wrongly done. For confession is said to be both the enumeration with thanksgiving of the divine benefactions by those who have received them, and the declaration of things well done by the guilty. Both are productive of humility, for both he who gives thanks for good things, and he who is examined for his faults, is humbled; the one judging himself unworthy of the good things given; the other, begging to receive forgiveness for his offenses.

But Benjamin, mourning or groan of a mother, or measure of a mother, or son of the right hand, or building of the people, is interpreted according to the precise force of the Hebrew word.

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ἄγονον ἕξιν, καί τήν πρός τά αἰσθητά κατά τήν πρός αὐτά τῶν αἰσθήσεων σχέσιν τελείαν τῶν θείων ἀνδρῶν ἀποδιάθεσιν ὁ παρών ἀριθμός.

μη΄. Τί ἐστιν ὑποζύγιον κατά τήν ἀναγωγήν θεωρούμενον. μθ΄. Σφαιρικόν τόν πέντε φησίν ἀριθμόν ὑπάρχειν, καί εἰς ἑαυτόν κατά πᾶσαν

αὐτοῦ πρός πάντα περιττόν ἀριθμόν γινομένην σύνθεσιν, ἀποκαθιστάμενον. Ἑκάστῳ γάρ περιττῶ τῶν πέντε πενταπλασίονα συνθείς, εἰς πέντε λήγοντα τόν συναγόμενον εὑρήσεις ἀριθμόν. Οἷον πέντε οἱ τρεῖς, δεκαπέντε· πέντε οἱ πέντε, εἰκοσιπέντε· πέντε οἱ ἑπτά, τριακονταπέντε· πέντε οἱ ἐννέα, τεσσαρακονταπέντε. Οὕτως οὖν ἐπ᾿ ἄπειρον προϊών, εὑρήσεις ἑκάστῳ ἀριθμῷ συντιθέμενον πεντάκις πέντε, καί πεντηκοντάκις τόν πεντήκοντα· καί πεντακοσιοντάκις τόν πεντακόσια· καί πεντακισχιλιοντάκις τόν πεντακισχίλια, πρός ἑαυτόν κατά τόν συναγόμενον ἀριθμόν ἀποκαθιστάμενν ὅπερ κυκλικῆς ἴδιον καί σφαιρικῆς ὑπάρχει κινήσεως. Εἰκότως οὖν σφαιρικόν τε καί κυκλικόν οἱ τά τοιαῦτα σοφοί τόν πέντε κεκλήκασιν ἀριθμόν· ὡς μηδέποτε παντελῶς ἑαυτοῦ κατά τήν πρός τούς λεγομένους περιττούς ἀριθμούς σύνθεσιν ἐξιστάμενον. Σημαίνει δέ καί τήν γενικήν ἐπιστήμην, τήν μηδαμῶς τῇ περί τό πᾶν ἀλήκτῳ κινήσει κατά τήν γνῶσιν ἑαυτῆς ἐξισταμένην, καί πάντα δυνάμει τοῦ λόγου περιλαμβάνουσαν.

ν΄. Ἄλλη πάντων τῶν εἰρημένων κατ᾿ ἐπιτομήν ἀκριβής τε καί εὐδιάθετος θεωρία.

να΄. ∆ιά κολάσεως παθῶν ἀπαλλάσσουσα, φόβον ἡ σοφία ποιεῖ· τῆ δέ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐπικτήσει τόν νοῦν ἐρεθίζουσα βλέπειν τά μέλλοντα, πόθον ἐργάζεται.

νβ΄. Ἡ σοφία φόβος ἐστί, κατά τήν ἀποφυγήν γινομένη στέρησις τοῖς οὐκ ὀρεγομένοις αὐτῆς· καί πόθος ἐστίν, ἕξις ἀπολαυστικῆς ἐνεργείας εὑρισκομένη τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτήν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Ιστ΄.

Πάλιν γέγραπται ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ Ἔσδρα, "Καί ἀκούσαντες οἱ ἐχθροί τῆς φυλῆς Ἰούδα καί Βενιαμίν, ἐληλύθασιν ἐπιγνῶναι τίς ἡ φωνή τῶν σαλπίγγων, καί ἐπέγνωσαν, ὅτι οἱ ἐκ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας οἰκοδομοῦσι τόν ναόν τῷ Κυρίῳ Θεῷ Ἰσραήλ. Καί προσελθόντες τῷ Ζοροβάβελ καί τῶ Ἰησοῦ καί τοῖς ἡγουμένοις τῶν πατριῶν, λέγουσιν αὐτοῖς, Συνοικοδομήσωμεν ὑμῖν· ὁμοίως γάρ ὑμῖν ἀκούομεν Κυρίου ὑμῶν, καί αὐτῷ ἐπιθύομεν, ἀφ᾿ ἡμερῶν Ἀσβακαφάθ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων, ὅς μετήγαγεν ἡμᾶς ἐνταῦθα. (577) Καί εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ζαροβάβελ καί Ἰησοῦς καί οἱ ἡγούμενοι τῶν πατριῶν Ἰσραήλ· Οὐχ ἡμῖν καί ὑμῖν τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι τόν οἶκον Κυρίῳ Θεῷ ἡμῶν· ἡμεῖς γάρ μόνοι οἰκοδομήσομεν τῷ Κυρίῳ Θεῷ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. " Τί ἄρα σημαίνει ταῦτα, καί μάλιστα ὁ φθόνος, δι᾿ ὅν οὐκ ἠθέλησαν συνοικοδομῆσαι αὐτοῖς τούς τῷ αὐτῶ θρησκεύοντας Θεῷ;

Ἀπόκρισις. Ἰούδας ἐξομολόγησις ἑρμηνεύεται. ∆ιττός δέ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης ὁ λόγος· ὁ μέν

ἐπ᾿ εὐχαριστίᾳ τῶν δεδωρημένων ἀγαθῶν γινόμενος· ὁ δέ ἐπ᾿ ἐλέγχῳ καί ἐτασμῷ τῶν κακῶς πεπραγμένων λεγόμενος. Ἐξομολόγησις γάρ λέγεται, καί ἡ παρά τῶν εὖ πεπονθότων μετ᾿ εὐχαριστίας τῶν θείων εὐεργεσιῶν ἀπαρίθμησις, καί ἡ τῶν καλῶς πεπραγμένων παρά ὑπαιτίων ἐξαγόρευσις. Ἀμφότερα δέ ταπεινώσεως ὑπάρχει ποιητικά, ὁ τε γάρ ἐπ᾿ ἀγαθοῖς εὐχαριστῶν ὁμοῦ, καί ὁ ἐπ᾿ ἐγκλήμασιν ἐταζόμενος ταπεινοῦται· ὁ μέν ἑαυτόν κρίνων ἀνάξιον τῶν δοθέντων καλῶν· ὁ δέ, λαβεῖν ἄφεσιν τῶν πλημμεληθέντων δεόμενος.

Βενιαμίν δέ, πένθος ἤ στεναγμός μητρός, ἤ μέτρον μητρός, ἤ υἱός δεξιᾶς, ἤ οἰκοδομή λαοῦ, κατά τήν ἀκριβῆ τῆς παρ᾿ Ἑβραίοις φωνῆς ἑρμηνεύεται δύναμιν.