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they have understood and have seen me.” 10.8.87 Then they also divide his garments among themselves, and for his clothing they cast a lot, when each one, corrupting it in different ways at different times, draws to himself the order of the Word, that is, the words of the divine scriptures, and when they receive the opinions about him with perverse teachings, as is customary for the godless heretics to do. After all these things, having directed his prayer to his own God and Lord and Father, he adds, saying: “But you, O Lord, do not remove your help far from me.” 10.8.88 For as one abandoned for a little while for the demonstration of the contest, and having stripped for death alone without a helper, knowing well that the help from the Father would not come to him otherwise than through the resurrection from the dead, he reasonably prays at the present to find a way out of the battle line of the adversaries. Wherefore he says: “But you, O Lord, do not remove your help far from me, give heed to my help.” 10.8.89 For through your assistance "help" will come to me, for which help the entire psalm is reasonably inscribed "for the morning help." Therefore, "give heed to my help," granting me the help that is almost now at the dawn of the resurrection from the dead, which I hope to obtain, when, not having removed it far from me, you "deliver my soul from the sword, and my only-begotten from the hand of the dog," when "you save me from the lion's mouth, and my humiliation from the horns of the unicorns." 10.8.90 By which things I think he alludes to the chthonic powers, the nature of which it would not be for us to distinguish and divide, how one of them, being a "sword," was raised against the soul of our Savior, and another, being a "dog," put forth its death-bringing hand to death to seize it. 10.8.91 Wherefore he says: "Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only-begotten from the hand of the dog." And another wicked power, a leader of the beasts there, called a "lion," having opened the wide and gaping mouth of death, rushed to devour his soul along with the others descending into Hades, just as long ago "death, having prevailed, swallowed up," being none other than the lion here that opened its mouth against our Savior, from which he also beseeches the Father to be saved, saying: "Save me from the lion's mouth." 10.8.92 There might be some other wicked and God-fighting powers acting against the unicorn of God and attempting to lead him astray in opposition, from which also the unicorn of God, he our Lord, having only the Father as his horn, deems his humiliation worthy to be delivered, saying: "and from the horns of the unicorns my humiliation." And what humiliation other than this very one, according to which "being in the form of God" he humbled himself and "emptied himself," "becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross"? But indeed, having descended so far and reached this point, I mean down to the "sword" in Hades, and the "hand" of the so-called "dog" there—whence it is likely that the children of the Greeks, having misheard something of this sort, depict a dog of death, and this a three-headed one—and having come even to the throat of the aforementioned "lion," and having laid his "humiliation" under the adversarial and God-fighting unicorns, and having established on this at last the entire economy of his emptying and humiliation, and then, having prayed finally to obtain the assistance and help from the Father, he adds: "But you, O Lord, do not remove your help far from me, give heed to my help." 10.8.94 And having said this, he does not for long find the Father unresponsive, who neither removed it far nor delayed for the briefest moment, but by his very deeds all but saying to him, "While you are still speaking," I will say, "behold, I am here." And indeed, perceiving this, and having obtained the Father's help, just as he had prayed, from then on he begins the hymn of victory, making the psalm "for the morning help," in which

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κατενόησαν καὶ ἐπεῖδόν με». 10.8.87 τότε δὲ καὶ διαμερίζονται τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν αὐτοῦ βάλλουσι κλῆρον, ὅτε τὸν τοῦ λόγου κόσμον, ἤτοι τὰς λέξεις τῶν θείων γραφῶν, ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ἕκαστος διαφθείρων ἐπισπᾶται, καὶ ὅτε τὰς περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξας διαστρόφοις διδασκαλίαις ἀπολαμβάνουσιν, ὁποῖα σύνηθες τοῖς ἀθέοις αἱρεσιώταις ποιεῖν. Ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θεὸν καὶ κύριον καὶ πατέρα τὴν εὐχὴν ἀποτείνας ἐπιφέρει λέγων· «σὺ δέ, κύριε, μὴ μακρύνῃς τὴν βοήθειάν μου». 10.8.88 ὡς γὰρ εἰς βραχὺ καταλειφθεὶς πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐπίδειξιν, καὶ μόνος δίχα βοηθοῦ πρὸς τὸν θάνατον ἀποδυσάμενος, εὖ εἰδὼς τὴν βοήθειαν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς οὐκ ἄλλως αὐτῷ γενήσεσθαι ἢ διὰ τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως, εἰκότως ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εὔχεται διεξόδου τυχεῖν τῆς τῶν ἀντιπάλων παρατάξεως. διό φησιν· «σὺ δέ, κύριε, μὴ μακρύνῃς τὴν βοήθειάν μου, εἰς τὴν ἀντίληψίν μου πρόσχες». 10.8.89 διὰ γὰρ τῆς σῆς βοηθείας ἡ «ἀντίληψίς» μοι γενήσεται, δι' ἣν ἀντίληψιν ὁ πᾶς εἰκότως προγέγραπται ψαλμὸς «ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀντιλήψεως τῆς ἑωθινῆς». «εἰς τὴν ἀντίληψιν» τοιγαροῦν «πρόσχες», παρέχων μοι τὴν ὅσον οὔπω κατὰ τὴν ἕω τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως ἀντίληψιν, ἧς ἐλπίζω τεύξεσθαι, ἐπάν, μὴ μακρύνας μου αὐτήν, «ῥύσῃ ἀπὸ ῥομφαίας τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς κυνὸς τὴν μονογενῆ μου», ἐπάν «σώσῃς με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος, καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου». 10.8.90 δι' ὧν ἡγοῦμαι αὐτὸν τὰς καταχθονίους αἰνίττεσθαι δυνάμεις ὧν οὐ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἂν εἴη τὸ εἶδος διαστείλασθαι καὶ διελεῖν, ὅπως ἡ μέν τις αὐτῶν «ῥομφαία» οὖσα ἀνετείνετο κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, ἡ δέ τις «κύων» οὖσα θανάτῳ τὴν θανατηφόρον χεῖρα προυβάλλετο εἰς τὸ καθάψασθαι αὐτῆς 10.8.91 διό φησιν· «ῥῦσαι ἀπὸ ῥομφαίας τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς κυνὸς τὴν μονογενῆ μου», ἄλλη δέ τις πονηρὰ καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖσε θηρίων ἡγουμένη δύναμις, «λέων» προσαγορευομένη, τὸ πλατὺ καὶ ἀχανὲς τοῦ θανάτου στόμα διανοίξασα, μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν εἰς ᾅδου κατιόντων καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ ψυχὴν καταπιεῖν ὥρμητο, ὥσπερ οὖν πάλαι πρότερον «κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας», οὐχ ἕτερος ὢν τοῦ ἐνταῦθα λέοντος τοῦ τὸ στόμα κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀνεῴξαντος, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ αὐτοῦ σωθῆναι τὸν πατέρα παρακαλεῖ λέγων· «σῶσόν με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος». 10.8.92 εἶεν δ' ἂν καὶ ἄλλαι τινὲς πονηραὶ καὶ θεομάχοι δυνάμεις τῷ μονοκέρωτι τοῦ θεοῦ ἀντιπράττουσαι καὶ ἀντιπαρεξάγειν αὐτὸν ἐπιχειροῦσαι, ἀφ' ὧν καὶ αὐτῶν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ μονόκερως, αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, μόνον τὸν πατέρα κέρας ἔχων, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ταπείνωσιν ῥυσθῆναι ἀξιοῖ, λέγων· «καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου». ποίαν δὲ ταπείνωσιν ἢ ταύτην αὐτήν, καθ' ἣν «ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων» ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ «ἐκένωσεν», «γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ»; ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον κατελθὼν καὶ μέχρι τούτου φθάσας, λέγω δὴ μέχρι τῆς ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ «ῥομφαίας», καὶ τῆς «χειρὸς» τοῦ αὐτόθι λεγομένου «κυνός» ὅθεν καὶ παῖδας Ἑλλήνων εἰκὸς τοιοῦτόν τινα, παρακούσαντας, κύνα θανάτου καὶ τοῦτον τρικέφαλον ἀναζωγραφεῖν καὶ μέχρι δὲ τῶν φαρύγγων τοῦ προδεδηλωμένου «λέοντος» ἐλθών, καὶ «τὴν ταπείνωσιν» αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἀντιπάλοις καὶ θεομάχοις μονοκέρωσιν ὑποστρώσας, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτό γε τέλος τὴν πᾶσαν οἰκονομίαν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κενώσεώς τε καὶ ταπεινώσεως στήσας, κἄπειτα εὐξάμενος ἤδη λοιπὸν τυχεῖν τῆς βοηθείας καὶ τῆς παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀντιλήψεως, ἐπιλέγει· «σὺ δέ, κύριε, μὴ μακρύνῃς τὴν βοήθειάν μου, εἰς τὴν ἀντίληψίν μου πρόσχες». 10.8.94 καὶ τοῦτ' εἰπὼν οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν ἐπηκόου τοῦ πατρὸς τυγχάνει, μὴ μακρυνθέντος μηδὲ τὸ βραχύτατον ὑπερθεμένου, αὐτοῖς δὲ ἔργοις μονονουχὶ φήσαντος αὐτῷ «ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου», ἐρῶ, «ἰδοὺ πάρειμι». Καὶ δὴ τοῦτ' αἰσθόμενος, τῆς τε πατρικῆς βοηθείας, καθάπερ ηὔξατο, τυχών, ἐντεῦθεν λοιπὸν ἀπάρχεται τοῦ ἐπινικίου ὕμνου, «ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑωθινῆς ἀντιλήψεως» τὸν ψαλμὸν ποιούμενος, ἐν οἷς