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the subject-matter a certain concept of a relationship to what is beneficial rather than to what is harmful. For if Jacob, speaking of Christ, says enigmatically, “Judah is a lion’s whelp,” and somewhere in the Revelation of John it says, “behold, the lion has conquered, he who is from the tribe of Judah and from the seed of David,” the Lord therefore being compared to a lion, not according to nature, but because of the riddle and because the animal is royal, the most audacious and strongest of all animals and in all other respects most graceful, could I then not also call the one who gave birth to him a lioness? For how can a lion be born at all, if the mother is not called a lioness? But for a lioness there is no second pregnancy; therefore Mary knew no further pregnancy, the holy virgin no longer knew the union of bodies. 13. But let us also see other contemplations, that she * accompanying Jesus was always with him. “Jesus was invited to a wedding,” and “his mother was there.” And nowhere were the brothers and nowhere was Joseph. For he says, “What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come”; and he did not say “What have I to do with you, people?” Mary Magdalene was standing by, and Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary the mother of Rufus and the other Mary and Salome and others; and it did not say Joseph was 3.464 there, or James the brother of the Lord, who died being ˉˉ years old, having been a virgin; upon whose head iron never came, who did not use a bath, who did not partake of anything with a soul; who did not put on a second tunic; who used a very simple linen cloak, as it says in the gospel, “the young man fled, and left the linen cloth with which he was clothed.” For John and James and James, these three had this way of life, the two sons of Zebedee and James the son of Joseph, but brother of the Lord because of their living together, because of their being brought up together, because he had him in the rank of a brother through the genuine relationship which Joseph alone had with Mary from the time she was betrothed to him. Only this James was permitted to enter the holy of holies once a year, because he was a Nazirite and was mixed with the priesthood. For from this Mary happened to be a kinswoman of Elizabeth in two ways, and James was distinguished in the priesthood, since the two tribes alone were joined to each other, the royal to the priestly and the priestly to the royal, as also above in Exodus, Nahshon the leader from Judah takes the ancient Elizabeth, the daughter of Aaron, as his wife. Whence many of the heresies are ignorant of the genealogy of the Savior according to the flesh and because they are at a loss they disbelieve and seem to contradict the truth, saying: how can she who is from the tribe of David and Judah be a kinswoman of Elizabeth who is from Levi? 14. This James also wore a plate on his head; and once when there was a drought, he raised his hands to heaven and prayed, and immediately heaven gave rain. And he never put on a woolen garment. And his knees had become hard like a camel’s, from 3.465 always bending them before the Lord out of excessive piety. Therefore they no longer called him by his name, but “the Just” was his name. He never bathed in a bathhouse, he did not partake of anything with a soul, as has been previously shown by me above, he did not wear a sandal. And there were many things to say about the man and his virtuous way of life. You see, then, that the household was altogether most worthy. For if the sons of Joseph knew the order of virginity and the work of Nazirites, how much more did the old and honorable man know to guard a pure virgin and to honor the vessel, where the salvation of men had come to dwell? “Does not nature itself teach us” that he was an old man, very advanced in age, having become great among men, faithful in character, reverent in appearance? For the gospel says that “a man fearing God, sought to release her secretly.” And this James, the brother of the Lord and son of Joseph, dies in

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πραγματείαν ἔννοιάν τινα σχέσεως ἐπὶ τὸ συμφέρον μᾶλλον ἢ ἐπὶ τὸ βλάπτον. εἰ γὰρ «σκύμνος λεόντος Ἰούδα» αἰνίττεται Ἰακὼβ λέγων τὸν Χριστὸν καί που ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει Ἰωάννου «ἰδού, ἐνίκησεν ὁ λέων»φησίν «ὁ ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰούδα καὶ ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυίδ» λέοντι ἄρα παρεικασμένου τοῦ κυρίου, οὐχὶ κατὰ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ αἴνιγμα καὶ διὰ τὸ βασιλικὸν εἶναι τὸ ζῷον, τὸ πάντων ζῴων ἰταμώτατόν τε καὶ ἰσχυρότατον καὶ τἄλλα πάντα χαριέστατον, ἆρά γε καὶ τὴν γεννήσασαν λέαιναν εἴποιμ' ἄν. πόθεν γὰρ λέων γεννᾶται πάντως, εἰ μὴ λέαινα ἡ μήτηρ κληθήσεται; λεαίνῃ δὲ δευτέρα οὐ γίνεται κύησις· ἄρα οὐκέτι κύησιν οἶδεν ἡ Μαρία, οὐκέτι συνάφειαν σωμάτων ἡ ἁγία παρθένος. 13. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρας ἴδωμεν θεωρίας ἵν' ἡ * ἀκόλουθος τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἅμα αὐτῷ πάντοτε τυγχάνουσα. «ἐκλήθη Ἰησοῦς εἰς γάμους» καὶ «ἦν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ». καὶ οὐδαμοῦ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ οὐδαμοῦ Ἰωσήφ. φησὶ γάρ «τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι; οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου»· καὶ οὐκ εἶπε «τί ἐμοὶ καὶ ὑμῖν, ἄνθρωποι;» παρειστήκει Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ καὶ Μαρία ἡ μήτηρ Ῥούφου καὶ Μαρία ἡ ἄλλη καὶ Σαλώμη καὶ ἄλλαι· καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν, ἦν ὁ Ἰωσὴφ 3.464 ἐκεῖ ἢ ὁ Ἰάκωβος ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ κυρίου, ὃς ˉˉ ὢν ἐτῶν τελευτᾷ, παρθένος γεγονώς· ἐφ' οὗ κεφαλῆς σίδηρος οὐκ ἀνῆλθεν, ὃς οὐκ ἐκέχρητο βαλανείῳ, ὃς ἐμψύχου οὐ μετέσχεν· ὃς χιτώνιον δεύτερον οὐκ ἐνεδύσατο· ὃς τριβωνίῳ ἐκέχρητο λινῷ μονωτάτῳ, καθάπερ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ φησίν «ἔφυγεν ὁ νεανίας, καὶ ἀφῆκε τὴν σινδόνα, ἣν ἦν περιβεβλημένος». Ἰωάννης γὰρ καὶ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰάκωβος, οἱ τρεῖς οὗτοι ταύτην τὴν πολιτείαν ἐσχήκασιν, οἱ δύο μὲν παῖδες τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ ὁ παῖς τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ Ἰάκωβος, ἀδελφὸς δὲ τοῦ κυρίου διὰ τὸ ὁμοδίαιτον, διὰ τὸ σύντροφον, διὰ τὸ ἐν τάξει ἀδελφοῦ αὐτὸν ἐσχηκέναι δι' ἣν εἶχεν Ἰωσὴφ μόνον πρὸς τὴν Μαρίαν γνησιότητα ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁρμασθῆναι αὐτὴν αὐτῷ. μόνον τούτῳ τῷ Ἰακώβῳ ἐξῆν ἅπαξ εἰσιέναι τοῦ ἔτους εἰς τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, διὰ τὸ Ναζιραῖον αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ μεμίχθαι τῇ ἱερωσύνῃ. ἔνθεν γὰρ ἡ Μαρία κατὰ δύο τρόπους συγγενὴς ἐτύγχανε τῆς Ἐλισάβετ, καὶ ὁ Ἰάκωβος διέφερε τῇ ἱερωσύνῃ, ἐπειδήπερ αἱ δύο φυλαὶ συνήπτοντο μόναι πρὸς ἀλλήλας, ἥ τε βασιλικὴ τῇ ἱερατικῇ καὶ ἡ ἱερατικὴ τῇ βασιλικῇ, ὡς καὶ ἄνω ἐν τῇ ἐξόδῳ Ναασσὼν ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰούδα φύλαρχος λαμβάνει τὴν Ἐλισάβετ τὴν ἀρχαίαν, τὴν θυγατέρα Ἀαρών, ἑαυτῷ γυναῖκα. ὅθεν πολλαὶ τῶν αἱρέσεων τὴν κατὰ σάρκα γενεαλογίαν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἀγνοοῦσι καὶ διὰ τὸ ἀπορεῖν αὐτοὺς ἀπιστοῦσι καὶ δοκοῦσιν ἀντιλέγειν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, λέγοντες· πῶς ἡ ἀπὸ φυλῆς ∆αυὶδ καὶ Ἰούδα δύναται συγγενὴς εἶναι τῆς Ἐλισάβετ τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Λευί; 14. Οὗτος ὁ Ἰάκωβος καὶ πέταλον ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐφόρεσε· καὶ ποτὲ ἀβροχίας γενομένης ἐπῆρε τὰς χεῖρας εἰς οὐρανὸν καὶ προσηύξατο, καὶ εὐθὺς ὁ οὐρανὸς ἔδωκεν ὑετόν. ἐρεοῦν δὲ ἱμάτιον οὐδέποτε ἐνεδύσατο. τὰ δὲ γόνατα αὐτοῦ ἐσκληρίασαν δίκην καμήλων, ἀπὸ 3.465 τοῦ πάντοτε κάμπτειν αὐτὰ ἐνώπιον κυρίου δι' ὑπερβολὴν εὐλαβείας. τοῦτον οὖν ὀνόματι οὐκέτι ἐκάλουν, ἀλλ' ὁ δίκαιος ἦν αὐτῷ ὄνομα. οὗτος οὐδέποτε ἐν βαλανείῳ ἐλούσατο, οὗτος ἐμψύχου οὐ μετέσχε, καθὼς ἄνω μοι προδεδήλωται, οὗτος σανδάλιον οὐχ ὑπεδήσατο. καὶ πολλὰ ἦν περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς λέγειν καὶ τῆς ἐναρέτου αὐτοῦ πολιτείας. ὁρᾷς οὖν ὅτι ὁ οἶκος παντάπασιν ἀξιολογώτατος ἦν. εἰ γὰρ οἱ παῖδες τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ᾔδεισαν παρθενίας τάξιν καὶ Ναζιραίων τὸ ἔργον, πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον ὁ πρεσβύτης καὶ τίμιος ἀνὴρ ᾔδει φυλάττειν παρθένον ἁγνὴν καὶ τιμᾶν τὸ σκεῦος, ἔνθα που ἐνεδήμησεν ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρία; «οὔτε αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις διδάσκει ἡμᾶς» ὅτι ἀνὴρ μὲν ἦν πρεσβύτης, ὑπερβεβηκὼς πολὺ τῇ ἡλικίᾳ, μέγας γεγονὼς ἐν ἀνδράσι, πιστὸς τὸν τρόπον, εὐλαβὴς τὸ εἶδος; φάσκει γὰρ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὅτι «ἀνὴρ φοβούμενος τὸν θεὸν ἐζήτει λάθρα ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν». τελευτᾷ δὲ οὗτος ὁ Ἰάκωβος ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ κυρίου καὶ υἱὸς Ἰωσὴφ ἐν