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of the abyss you alone are master, and the surge of its waves you alone calm, placing bars and gates for it, and setting boundaries for it, so that it might not overflow and flood the inhabited world of men. This indeed is 23.1088 a very great sign of your power. For this great movement of the waters, serving as a master, swelling up to a height and being lifted up, cowers, and is dashed back upon itself, shut within its own boundaries. And just as you have bridled the waves and the threats of the sea with your command, and its heights, you have calmed both its surges and its rages; so also concerning the invisible powers, if any were ever hostile and opposed to the will of your providence, these too, since you alone are most powerful above all, you have scattered, and their ruler and tyrant, who is a certain boaster and arrogant one, the ruler of this age, you humbled by your own power, and made him a wounded one, striking him with the great and terrible sword, according to the prophecy that says: The Lord will bring his great and strong sword upon the dragon, the crooked serpent, the fleeing one; and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. And since another prophet taught that this wounded dragon makes its haunts upon the sea, saying: This is the great and wide sea. There are creeping things without number. This dragon, which you formed to play with it; consider whether the present word has not alluded to this very sea, saying: You rule the power of the sea, and you calm the surge of its waves; for to these things he attached the words, You have humbled the proud one as a wounded man; with the arm of your power you have scattered your enemies. For he seems to call the abode of the opposing powers, both of the demons and of the evil spirits, the sea. Therefore he also added to the word concerning the sea the things concerning the wounded one and concerning the enemies of God, clearly signifying the opposing powers and their ruler. And in another psalm it is said: You crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water. You crushed the head of the dragon, you gave him as food to the peoples of the Ethiopians; and in Job: Will you draw out the dragon with a hook, and will you put a halter about his nose, and will you bore his lip with a ring? Will he speak to you softly with entreaty and supplication, and will you take him as a perpetual servant? And next it adds: And he is king of all that are in the waters. In the same way it is said concerning the same dragon from the person of the Lord to Job: Are you not afraid, because the dust has been prepared for me? and through these preceding passages the divine Spirit has necessarily made mention of these things, teaching of the descent of the Only-begotten of God as far as the aforementioned sea. For having first spoken of him as God, and having spoken of his first dwelling among the saints, and who he is, and with whom and in what things he goes forth*, he next also shows that he himself will also rule the sea shown to us, and will humble the wounded one in it, and with the arm of his might will scatter all 23.1089 his enemies. And he says these things of necessity; for having said before, "You are mighty, O Lord, and your truth is round about you," he shows by the deeds themselves how the Lord is mighty, for the confirmation of his truth, in order to show that the promises made to David are true. The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours, the world and its fullness you have founded, the north and the sea you have created. Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in your name. The meaning of the preceding is something like this: You have indeed made, O Lord, promises to David concerning his seed and his throne which will last forever; and these you swore to David

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κύτους σὺ μόνος δεσπόζεις, καὶ τὸν σάλον τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς σὺ μόνος καταπραΰνεις, περιθεὶς αὐτῇ κλεῖθρα καὶ πύλας, καὶ ὅρια αὐτῇ πηξάμενος, ὡς ἂν μὴ ὑπερβᾶσα κατακλύσειε τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένην. Ὃ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸ ἕν τι τυγχάνει 23.1088 μέγιστον τῆς σῆς δυνάμεως δεῖγμα. Ὡς γὰρ δεσπότῃ δουλεύουσα ἡ τοσαύτη τῶν ὑδάτων κίνησις, κυρτουμένη εἰς ὕψος καὶ ἐπαιρομένη πτήσσει, καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν καταράσσεται, εἴσω τῶν οἰκείων ὅρων ἀποκεκλεισμένη. Ὥσπερ δὲ τὰ κύματα καὶ τὰς ἀπειλὰς τῆς θαλάσσης ἐχαλίνωσας τῷ σῷ προστάγματι, καὶ τὰ ὑψώματα αὐτῆς, τάς τε ὁρμὰς καὶ τοὺς θυμοὺς κατεπράϋνας· οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀοράτων δυνάμεων, εἴ τινές ποτε εἶεν ἐχθραὶ καὶ ἐναντίαι τῇ βουλῇ τῆς σῆς προνοίας, καὶ ταύτας, ἅτε μόνος καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντας ὢν δυνατώτατος, διεσκόρπισας, τόν τε τούτων ἄρχοντα καὶ τύραννον καὶ ἀλαζόνα τινὰ ὄντα καὶ ὑπερήφανον, ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, σὺ τῇ σαυτοῦ δυνάμει ἐταπείνωσας, καὶ τραυματίαν εἰργάσω, πατάξας αὐτὸν τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ τῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ τῇ φοβερᾷ, ἀκολούθως τῇ φασκούσῃ προφητείᾳ· Ἐπάξει Κύριος τὴν ῥομφαίαν τὴν μεγάλην καὶ τὴν ἰσχυρὰν ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα, ὄφιν τὸν σκολιὸν, φεύγοντα· καὶ ἀνελεῖ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ. Καὶ ἐπειδήπερ ἄλλος προφήτης τὸν τραυματίαν τοῦτον δράκοντα ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης ποιεῖσθαι τὰς διατριβὰς ἐδίδαξε, φήσας· Αὕτη ἡ θάλασσα ἡ μεγάλη καὶ εὐρύχωρος. Ἐκεῖ ἑρπετὰ ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός. ∆ράκων οὗτος ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ· ἐπίστησον μήποτε ταύτην αὐτὴν ᾐνίξατο τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ὁ παρὼν λόγος φήσας· Σὺ δεσπόζεις τοῦ κράτους τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸν δὲ σάλον τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς σὺ καταπραΰνεις· τούτοις γοῦν συνῆψε τὸ, Σὺ ἐταπείνωσας ὡς τραυματίαν ὑπερήφανον· ἐν τῷ βραχίονι τῆς δυνάμεώς σου διεσκόρπισας τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου. Τὸ γὰρ χωρίον τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων, τῶν τε δαιμόνων καὶ τῶν πνευμάτων πονηρῶν, θάλασσαν ἔοικεν ἀποκαλεῖν. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγε τῷ περὶ τῆς θαλάσσης λόγῳ τὰ περὶ τοῦ τραυματίου καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἄντικρυς τὰς ἀντικειμένας δυνάμεις καὶ τὸν τούτων ἄρχοντα σημήνας. Καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ δὲ εἴρηται ψαλμῷ· Σὺ συνέθλασας τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν δρακόντων ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος. Σὺ συνέθλασας τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ δράκοντος, ἔδωκας αὐτὸν βρῶμα λαοῖς τοῖς Αἰθίοψι· καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἰώβ· Ἄξεις δὲ δράκοντα ἐν ἀγκίστρῳ, περιθήσεις δὲ φορβαίαν περὶ τὴν ῥῖνα αὐτοῦ, ψελλίῳ δὲ τρυπήσεις τὸ χεῖλος αὐτοῦ. Λαλήσει δέ σοι δεήσει καὶ ἱκετηρίᾳ μαλακῶς, λήψῃ δὲ αὐτὸν δοῦλον αἰώνιον. Καὶ ἑξῆς ἐπάγει· Αὐτὸς δέ ἐστι βασιλεὺς πάντων τῶν ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι. Κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ εἴρηται περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ δράκοντος ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου πρὸς τὸν Ἰώβ· Οὐ δέδοικας, ὅτι ἡτοίμασταί μοι τὰ χοῦν; καὶ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ἀναγκαίως τούτων ἐμνημόνευσε τὸ θεῖον Πνεῦμα, διδάσκον τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν μέχρι τῆς δηλωθείσης θαλάσσης κάθοδον. Προθεολογήσας γοῦν αὐτὸν, καὶ τὴν πρώτην αὐτοῦ διατριβὴν τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις εἰπὼν, τίς τέ ἐστι, καὶ μεθ' ὁποίων καὶ ἐν ποίοις πρόεισιν*, ἑξῆς καὶ παρίστησιν, ὅτι δὴ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος καὶ τῆς δηλωθείσης ἡμῖν θαλάσσης κρατήσει, καὶ τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ τραυματίαν ταπεινώσει, καὶ ἐν τῷ βραχίονι τοῦ κράτους αὐτοῦ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς πρόσεστιν. 23.1089 αὐτοῦ διασκορπίσει. Λέγει δὲ ταῦτα ἀναγκαίως· προειπὼν γὰρ, ∆υνατὸς εἶ, Κύριε, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου κύκλῳ σου, παρίστησιν αὐτοῖς ἔργοις πῶς ὑπάρχει δυνατὸς ὁ Κύριος εἰς πίστωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτοῦ, ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὰς ἐπαγγελίας πρὸς τὸν ∆αυῒδ γεγενημένας ἀληθεῖς ἀποδεῖξαι. Σοί εἰσιν οὐρανοὶ, καὶ σή ἐστιν ἡ γῆ, τὴν οἰκουμένην καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας, τὸν βοῤῥᾶν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν σὺ ἔκτισας. Θαβὼρ καὶ Ἑρμῶν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ἀγαλλιάσονται. Ἡ διάνοια τῶν προκειμένων τοιαύτη τίς ἐστι· Πεποίησαι μὲν, ὦ Κύριε, πρὸς τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἐπαγγελίας περὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ εἰς αἰῶνα διαρκέσοντος θρόνου αὐτοῦ· καὶ ταύτας ὤμοσας τῷ ∆αυῒδ