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born of this holy church. For this is the first proof concerning truth and “the foundation of faith” of this one virgin and holy “dove,” and innocent one, concerning which the Lord in spirit revealed to Solomon in the Song of Songs and said, “There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and maidens of whom there is no 3.499 number; one is my dove, my perfect one,” with the addition of "my" and "my." For she is his dove and his perfect one, as the others are spoken of but are not, while she is named twice. For concerning the others he did not say, “there are eighty my concubines,” but to the queens he assigned a connection of honor through the glorious title, while concerning the concubines he declared their complete foreignness. Taking their numbers into mind, we are compelled to work them out in this place according to the anagogical method of contemplation, so as not to go too far, not speaking coldly, but in truth examining words through the true scriptures with true contemplations. For it is clear that the written number is inviolable for each hypothesis and that what is arranged in number can neither be something stale nor be measured for idleness in scripture. And the queens are the souls already previously named in the genealogy. For as many multitudes follow a king, and as the king is the head, just as in a body with many members the one man will be numbered from the head, so from the one king the whole multitude under the king will be reckoned as one. 4. The generation in Christ, therefore, is called a queen, not of the whole generation that reigned, but of the one which acknowledged the Lord, being brought through the naming of her husband to the royal dignity and rank, as for example Adam and all his generation will be numbered this queen, both his beginning and the patriarchate, having reigned with those with him, on account of the knowledge of God and the formation which he was first deemed worthy to be formed and because he first showed repentance, as the sequence holds. Then after him Seth and all humanity with him, and Enos and Cainan and Maleleel and Jared and Enoch and Methuselah and Lamech and Noah; of these saints who were enumerated in order in number according to generation, whose number is shown in Matthew. For sixty-two generations and patriarchates are contained in him through the names of the more perfect men, who had knowledge of God or who shared in the royal glory and weight through some other excellence, the catalogue of whose number is contained up to 3.500 the coming of Christ. For ten generations have passed from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to Abraham another ten, and from Abraham to David 14 generations, and from David to the captivity 14 generations, and from the captivity to Christ 14 generations, so that there are sixty-two generations from Adam to Christ, which have been numbered as sixty for the sake of brevity. For in the wilderness, though there were seventy-two trunks of palm trees, scripture named seventy. And of the seventy called to the mountain, seventy-two are found, with Eldad and Medad. And seventy-two translated in the time of Ptolemy, but for the sake of brevity we are accustomed to speak of the translation of the seventy. So also now "sixty queens," I think, is said, excluding both the number from above and the number from below, because * the very middle of the sixty for types and the anagogy of perfect contemplation. For since through six decades * it happens that the period of the six days is fulfilled * so as to join together from each generation a multitude of holy souls reigning in God according to faith. For from this also six stone water jars are found in Cana of Galilee, which, having been emptied, were filled again,

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ἁγίας ταύτης ἐκκλησίας γεννηθεῖσιν. ἀπόδειξις γὰρ αὕτη πρώτη περὶ ἀληθείας καὶ «ἑδραίωμα πίστεως» τῆς μόνης ταύτης παρθένου καὶ ἁγίας «περιστερᾶς» καὶ ἀκάκου, περὶ ἧς ὁ κύριος ἐν πνεύματι τῷ Σαλομῶντι ἀπεκάλυπτεν ἐν ᾄσματι τῶν ᾀσμάτων καὶ ἔλεγεν «ἑξήκοντά εἰσι βασίλισσαι, καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα παλλακαί, καὶ νεάνιδες ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν 3.499 ἀριθμός· μία ἐστὶ περιστερά μου, τελεία μου», μετὰ προσθήκης τοῦ μου καὶ μου. αὐτοῦ γὰρ περιστερὰ καὶ αὐτοῦ τελεία, ὡς τῶν ἄλλων λεγομένων καὶ μὴ οὐσῶν, αὐτῆς δὲ διττῶς ὀνομαζομένης. ἐπὶ γὰρ ταῖς ἄλλαις οὐκ εἶπεν, ὀγδοήκοντά εἰσι παλλακαί μου, ἀλλὰ ταῖς μὲν βασιλίσσαις διὰ τῆς ἐνδόξου ὀνομασίας τὴν συνάφειαν τῆς τιμῆς ἀπένειμεν, ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς παλλακαῖς τὸ ἀλλότριον τέλεον ἀπεφήνατο. ὧν τοὺς ἀριθμοὺς εἰς νοῦν λαμβάνοντες κατὰ τὴν ἀναγωγὴν τῆς θεωρίας ἐπεργάσασθαι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἀναγκαζόμεθα διὰ τὸ μὴ ὑπερβαίνειν, οὐ ψυχρολογοῦντες, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀληθείᾳ λόγους διὰ τῶν ἀληθινῶν γραφῶν ταῖς ἀληθιναῖς θεωρίαις ἀντεξετάζοντες. ὅτι μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς γεγραμμένος ἀπαράβατός ἐστιν ἑκάστης ὑποθέσεως καὶ οὔτε δύναται τὸ ἐν ἀριθμῷ κατατεταγμένον ἕωλόν τι εἶναι οὔτε εἰς ἀργότητα ἐν τῇ γραφῇ ἐπιμετρεῖσθαι δῆλον. βασίλισσαι δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἤδη πρότερον εἰς γενεαλογίαν ὠνομασμέναι ψυχαί. ὡς γὰρ βασιλεῖ συνέπονται πλήθη πολλά, τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως κεφαλῆς οὔσης, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ σώματος πολλῶν μελῶν ὄντων ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὁ εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀριθμηθήσεται, οὕτως ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνὸς βασιλέως τὸ πᾶν πλῆθος τὸ ὑπὸ τὸν βασιλέα εἰς ἕνα ἀναλογισθήσεται. 4. Βασίλισσα τοίνυν ἡ γενεὰ ἐν Χριστῷ κέκληται, οὐ τῆς πάσης γενεᾶς βασιλευσάσης, ἀλλὰ τῆς μιᾶς τῆς ἐπιγνούσης τὸν κύριον δι' ὀνομασίας τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς εἰς τὸ βασιλικὸν ἀξίωμα καὶ τάξιν φερομένης, ὡς οἷον εἰπεῖν Ἀδὰμ καὶ πᾶσα αὐτοῦ γενεὰ βασίλισσα αὕτη ἀριθμηθήσεται, ἥ τε αὐτοῦ ἀρχὴ καὶ ἡ πατριαρχία, βασιλεύσασαι μετὰ τῶν μετ' αὐτοῦ, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν γνῶσιν καὶ ἣν κατηξίωται πρῶτος πλάσιν πλασθῆναι καὶ ὅτι μετάνοιαν πρῶτος ἐνεδείξατο, ὡς ἔχει ἡ ἀκολουθία. εἶτα μετὰ τοῦτον Σὴθ καὶ ἡ πᾶσα μετ' αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωπότης, καὶ Ἐνὼς καὶ Καϊνὰν καὶ Μαλελεὴλ καὶ Ἰάρεδ καὶ Ἐνὼχ καὶ Μαθουσάλακαὶ Λάμεχ καὶ Νῶε· τούτων τῶν ἁγίων τῶν καταλογάδην ἐν ἀριθμῷ κατὰ γενεὰν καταριθμηθέντων, ὧν ὁ ἀριθμὸς παρὰ Ματθαίῳ δείκνυται. ἑξήκοντα γὰρ καὶ δύο γενεαί τε καὶ πατριαρχίαι παρ' αὐτῷ ἐμφέρονται διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων τῶν ἐντελεστέρων ἀνδρῶν, πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τὴν γνῶσιν ἐσχηκότων ἢ δι' ἑτέραν τινὰ ἀριστείαν τὴν βασιλικήν τε δόξαν καὶ ἐμβρίθειαν μετεσχηκότων, ὧν ὁ κατάλογος τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ ἐμφέρεται ἄχρι 3.500 τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας. καὶ γὰρ γενεαὶ παρεληλύθασιν ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἕως τοῦ Νῶε δέκα καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Νῶε ἄχρι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἄλλαι δέκα, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἄχρι ∆αυὶδ γενεαὶ ˉιˉδ, ἀπὸ δὲ ∆αυὶδ ἕως τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας γενεαὶ ˉιˉδ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἕως τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεαὶ ˉιˉδ, ὡς εἶναι ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἄχρι Χριστοῦ ἑξήκοντα δύο γενεάς, αἵτινες ἑξήκοντα διὰ τὴν συντομίαν ἠρίθμηνται. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο στελεχῶν φοινίκων ὑπαρχόντων ἑβδομήκοντα ἡ γραφὴ ὠνόμασε. καὶ εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσκεκλημένων ἑβδομήκοντα ἑβδομήκοντα δύο εὑρίσκονται σὺν τῷ Ἐλδὰδ καὶ Μωδάδ. καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἑρμηνεύσαντες ἐπὶ Πτολεμαίου, διὰ δὲ τὴν συντομίαν εἰώθαμεν λέγειν τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα τὴν ἑρμηνείαν. οὕτω καὶ νῦν ἑξήκοντα βασίλισσαι οἶμαι εἴρηνται, ἐξαιρουμένου τοῦ τε ἄνωθεν ἀριθμοῦ καὶ τοῦ κάτωθεν, διὰ τὸ * μεσαίτατον τῶν ἑξήκοντα πρὸς τύπους καὶ ἀναγωγὴν τῆς τελείας θεωρίας. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι' ἓξ δεκάδων * τὴν τῆς ἑξαημέρου πληροῦσθαι περίοδον συμβαίνει * εἰς τὸ συνάπτεσθαι ἀπὸ ἑκάστης γενεᾶς ὁσίων ψυχῶν πλῆθυν ἐν θεῷ βασιλευουσῶν κατὰ τὴν πίστιν. ἔνθεν γὰρ καὶ ἓξ ὑδρίαι εὑρίσκονται ἐν Κανᾷ τῆς Γαλιλαίας λίθιναι, αἵτινες λείψασαι πάλιν ἐπληροῦντο,