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and "I will not fear what man can do to me" refers to the devil because of "An enemy man did this," and it is clear that this refers to the sowing of the tares and "But you are a man and not a god, consider this." "It is good to trust in the Lord than to trust in man," and what follows; it is not only that trusting and hoping in the Lord is good when compared to trusting in man and hoping in rulers. For this is simply and properly good. But to trust and hope in man and a ruler is not good, but for those who are eager to trust in man and hope in a ruler, such instruction is brought forward, so that they may learn to trust in the God who is ever-abiding and strong and all-powerful, and not in a mortal man who is most easily corruptible. who is at times also fickle in opinion; for instead of helping, he will at times also greatly harm the one who has trusted in him; therefore, blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, remaining unashamed, according to "In you, Lord, have I hoped; may I never be put to shame." 1074 Ps 117,10-13 Unless it is said hyperbolically, what is proclaimed is impossible; for how did all the nations surround one man living in Judea, and while surrounding him, warring against him, he defended himself against them in the name of the Lord? For it itself becomes a weapon and shield and fortress for the one who bears it. But consider whether it is not possible to understand the preceding things similarly to "In the mornings I killed all the sinners of the land," by the virtuous man being surrounded by wicked spirits who suggest the ticklings of the flesh and the other passions with all the works of the flesh, and moreover impious arguments that refute the doctrines of the truth with sophistic skill. But the vigorous and strong man, armed with the name of God, will overthrow all the nations, turning them to flight, and at times even destroying them. For he who uses the name of God instead of a weapon and sword will cut off the passionate impulses along with the troubled thoughts, but also by refuting and overturning the deceitful doctrines constructed sophistically. "They surrounded me like bees a honeycomb," and what follows; the race of drones bears a resemblance to bees; for although they happen to be larger than bees in bulk, they nevertheless deceive the uninformed as if they were bees; they neither make honey nor fashion wax, nor do they have a sting to ward off those who attempt to harm the wax. On the contrary, by eating the honey they wage war against the bees themselves, causing them to use their own sting against them to kill the drones in heaps as having damaged their fruit. Therefore, allegorically, the honey-making and wax-crafting bee is the church which has honored the wisdom of God, whose labors, being a desirable and glorious worker, kings and commoners use for their health; and although she is weak in strength, in that her preaching is not in persuasive words of human wisdom, nevertheless she has her sting in the demonstration of the Spirit and of the power of God, having the word of faith, so as to destroy the heresies like drones, cutting them in two with the refutation of the truth. And the bee that honored wisdom is one, but many are those who have departed from honoring the wisdom of God, not being bees but being "as bees," whom you will not err in calling drones, surrounding like a honeycomb in order to consume the honey around it, and being burned up like a fire in thorns. For those from the heresies also kindle the fire of shameful things and desires, as Paul says, "For it is a shame even to speak of the things that are done by them in secret." And the Gospel has interpreted the thorns as pleasures. Nevertheless, even if bees surrounded the wise man like a honeycomb and were burned up like a fire in thorns, he still defended himself against them in the name of the Lord. For not only did he remain unharmed, but he also cast down all their sophistic reasoning, and also every high thing that exalts itself

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καὶ τὸ Οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ανθρωπος ἐπὶ τὸν διάβολον ἀναφέρεται διὰ τὸ ̓Εχθρὸς ανθρωπος ἐποίησε τοῦτο, φανερὸν δ' οτι τὸ ἐπισπεῖραι τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ τὸ Σὺ δὲ ει ανθρωπος καὶ οὐ θεός, συνεπίσκεψαι. ̓Αγαθὸν πεποιθέναι ἐπὶ κύριον η πεποιθέναι ἐπ' ανθρωπον, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· οὐ καθάπαξ τὸ πεποιθέναι καὶ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ κύριον συνκρινόμενον τῷ πεποιθέναι ἐπ' ανθρωπον καὶ ἐλπίζειν ἐπ' αρχοντας ἀγαθόν ἐστιν. ἁπλῶς γὰρ καὶ κυρίως ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο. τὸ δὲ ἐπ' ανθρωπον καὶ αρχοντα πεποιθέναι καὶ ἐλπίζειν οὐκ ἀγαθόν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοῦς ἐπ' ἀνθρώπῳ πεποιθέναι καὶ ἐν αρχοντι ἐλπίζειν σπουδάζοντας ἡ τοιαύτη προσάγεται παίδευσις, οπως μάθωσιν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀεὶ μένοντα καὶ ἰσχυρὸν οντα καὶ παντοδυνάμενον θεὸν πεποιθέναι καὶ μὴ ἐπ' ανθρωπον θνητὸν καὶ ῥᾷστα φθειρόμενον. εστιν οτε καὶ τῇ γνώμῃ παλίμβολον οντα· ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ βοηθεῖν εστιν οτε καὶ βλάψει μεγάλα τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῷ πεποιθότα· διὸ μακάριος ὁ πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ κύριον ἀκαταίσχυντος διαμένων, κατὰ τὸ ̓Επὶ σοί, κύριε, ηλπισα, μὴ καταισχυνθείην εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 1074 Ps 117,10-13 Εἰ μὴ ὑπερβολικῶς ειρηται, ἀδύνατον τὸ ἐπαγγελλόμενον· πῶς γὰρ ενα ανδρα ἐν τῇ ̓Ιουδαίᾳ διατρίβοντα πάντα τὰ εθνη ἐκύκλωσαν καὶ κυκλοῦντά γε αὐτὸν πολεμοῦντες, καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου ἠμύνατο αὐτούς; αὐτὸ γὰρ οπλον καὶ ἀσπὶς καὶ φρούριον τοῦ φοροῦντος αὐτὸ γίνεται. ἐπίστησον δὲ εἰ μὴ παραπλησίως τῷ Εἰς τὰς πρωΐας ἀπέκτεννον πάντας τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τῆς γῆς δυνατὸν νοῆσαι τὰ προκείμενα τῷ κυκλοῦσθαι τὸν σπουδαῖον ὑπὸ πνευμάτων πονηρῶν ὑποβαλλόντων τοὺς σαρκὸς γαργαλισμοὺς καὶ τὰ αλλα πάθη μετὰ πάντων τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς εργων, ετι μὴν λόγους ἀθέους ἀνασκευάζοντας σοφιστικῇ δεινότητι τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας δόγματα. ἀλλ' ὁ ευτονος καὶ ἰσχυρὸς καὶ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ καθωπλισμένος προσηγορίᾳ ἀνατρέψει τὰ εθνη πάντα εἰς φυγὴν τρέπων, ἐσθ' οτε δὲ καὶ ἀναιρῶν αὐτά. ὁ γὰρ ἀντὶ οπλου καὶ ξίφους χρησάμενος τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὀνόματι ἐκκόψει τὰς παθητικὰς ὁρμὰς μετὰ καὶ τῶν τεταραγμένων λογισμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ λύων καὶ ἀνατρέπων τὰ σοφιστικῶς κατεσκευασμένα ἀπατηλὰ δόγματα. ̓Εκύκλωσάν με ὡσεὶ μέλισσαι κηρίον, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ὁμοιότητα φέρει πρὸς τὰς μελίσσας κηφήνων τὸ γένος· αυται γὰρ εἰ καὶ μείζους τῶν μελισσῶν τῷ ογκῳ τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλ' ουν γε ἀπατῶσι τοὺς ἀνιστορήτους ὡς ουσαι μέλισσαι· ουτε δὲ μελισσουργοῦσιν η πλάττουσι κηρὸν οὐδ' αυ κέντρον εχουσι τὸ ἀλεξοῦν τὰ βλάπτειν ἐπιχειροῦντα τὸν κηρόν. ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου δὲ ἐσθίοντες τὸ μέλι ἐκπολεμοῦσι κατ' αὐτῶν τὰς μελίσσας ὡς χρησαμένας κατ' αὐτῶν τῷ ἰδίῳ κέντρῳ σωρηδὸν ἀναιρεῖν τοὺς κηφῆνας ὡς λυμηναμένους τῷ καρπῷ αὐτῶν. ἐστὶν ουν πρὸς ἀλληγορίαν ἡ μελισσουργοῦσα καὶ κηροπλαστοῦσα μέλιττα ἡ τιμήσασα τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίαν ἐκκλησία, ης ἐργάτιδος ουσης ποθεινῆς τυγχανούσης καὶ ἐπιδόξου τοὺς πόνους βασιλεῖς καὶ ἰδιῶται πρὸς ὑγίειαν προσφέρονται· καίπερ ουσης τῇ ῥώμῃ ἀσθενοῦς τῷ τὸ κήρυγμα αὐτῆς μὴ ἐν πειθοῖς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας λόγοις ειναι, ομως δ' εχει τὸ κέντρον ἐν ἀποδείξει πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως θεοῦ τῆς πίστεως τὸν λόγον εχουσα, ὡς καὶ ἀναιρεῖν κηφήνων δίκην τὰς αἱρέσεις διχοτομοῦσα αὐτὰς ἐλέγχῳ τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ μία μὲν ἡ τιμήσασα τὴν σοφίαν μέλισσα, πολλαὶ δὲ αἱ ἀποστᾶσαι τοῦ τιμᾶν τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ μέλισσαι ἀλλ' ὡς μέλισσαι τυγχάνουσαι, ας ειναι κηφῆνας λέγων οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεις κυκλούσας ὡς κηρίον ἐπὶ τῷ ἀναλῶσαι τὸ περὶ αὐτὸ μέλι καὶ ἐκκαυθείσας ὡσεὶ πῦρ ἐν ἀκάνθαις. ἐξάπτουσι γὰρ οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν αἱρέσεων καὶ τὸ τῶν αἰσχρῶν καὶ ἐπιθυμιῶν πῦρ, ῃ φησιν ὁ Παῦλος Τὰ γὰρ κρυφῆ γινόμενα ὑπ' αὐτῶν αἰσχρόν ἐστι καὶ λέγειν. ἀκάνθας δὲ τὰς ἡδονὰς ἡρμήνευσε τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. Ομως δὲ εἰ καὶ ἐκύκλωσαν τὸν σοφὸν ὡσεὶ κηρίον μέλισσαι καὶ ἐξεκαύθησαν ὡσεὶ πῦρ ἐν ἀκάνθαις, ἀλλ' ουν αὐτὸς τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου ἠμύνατο αὐτούς. οὐ γὰρ ἀζήμιος μόνον εμεινεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθεῖλεν αὐτῶν πάντα σοφιστικὸν λογισμόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶν υψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον