§41## ΚΕΦ. ΜΑ΄. Παίξῃ δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ ὥσπερ ὀρνέῳ;
## Chapter 41 "Will you play with him as with a bird?
ἢ δήσεις αὐτὸν ὥσπερ στρουθίον παιδίῳ; Μεγάλης καὶ ἐῤῥωμένης καὶ τελείας ψυχῆς διαγράφει τὸ τέλος, ὅτι γε ὁ δράκων αὐτῷ, ὥσπερ στρουθίον παραδέδοται παιδίῳ, μηδὲ βλάψαι τὸ παιδίον δυνάμενον, ὅτι καὶ δεδεμένον αὐτὸ ἄγει ὅπου γε βούλεται τὸ παιδίον καὶ περιφέρει· οὕτω τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου, ὡς στρουθίον ὑποχείρπον, ὁ Σατανᾶς δεδεμένος γεγένηται τοῖς νηπίοις καὶ θηλάζουσιν, ὧν ἐκ στόματος κατηρτήσατο αἶνον ὁ Θεός.
Or will you bind him as a sparrow for a child?" It describes the end of a great, strong, and perfect soul, in that the dragon is delivered to him like a sparrow to a child, unable to harm the child, and because the child leads and carries it around bound wherever he wishes; so by the grace of the Lord, like a subservient sparrow, Satan has been bound for infants and nursing babes, out of whose mouth God has prepared praise.
Ἐνσιτοῦνται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔθνη. Ὥσπερ τῶν πιστῶν βρῶμα ὁ Κύριος, οὕτως ὁ δράκων τῶν ἀσεδῶν· « Ἔδωκας γὰρ αὐτὸν βρῶμα λαοῖς τοῖς Αἰθίοψι· » τουτέστι, τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ σκότους, τοῖς ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ.
"And nations feed upon him." Just as the Lord is the food of the believers, so is the dragon the food of the impious; "For You gave him as food to the Ethiopian nations;" that is, to the sons of darkness, to those in ignorance.
Καθʼ ἕκαστον γὰρ λόγον ὅν παραδεχόμεθα, ἤτοι ἀπὸ τοῦ δράκοντος ἐσθίομεν, ἐὰν παραδεξώμεθα ἀκοὴν ματαίαν, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐὰν παραδεξώμεθα λόγον οἰκοδομοῦντα καὶ ὠφελοῦντα.
For in accordance with every word that we accept, either we eat from the dragon, if we accept a vain rumor, or from Christ, if we accept a word that builds up and benefits.
Πᾶν δὲ πλωτὸν συνελθὸν οὐ μὴ ἐνέγκωσι βύρσαν μίαν οὐρᾶς αὐτοῦ. Σαφέστερον δὲ εἰπεῖν Οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οἱ πλοίοις τοῖς σώμασι χρώμενοι, τὰ τελευταῖα τοῦ δράκοντος καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα νεκρῶσαε αὐτοὶ καθʼ ἑαυτοὺς οὐ δύνανται· θείας δὲ δυνάμεως ἐπισκοπούσης, καὶ ὅλον αὐτὸν κομίσαι καὶ νεκρῶσαι δυνάμεθα.
"Even if all navigation should come together, they would not carry one skin of his tail." To speak more clearly: men, who use their bodies as ships, are not able by themselves to put to death the last and outermost parts of the dragon; but when divine power watches over us, we are able to carry away and put to death even his whole self.
Νεκροῦμεν δὲ ἕκαστος, τὸ ὅσον ἐφʼ ἑαυτῷ, τὸν διάβολον, κατὰ τό· « Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς συντρίψει τὸν σατανᾶν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν ἐν τάχει. »
Εἰς πτύξιν θώρακος αὐτοῦ τίς ἄν εἰσέλθει, Θώραξ καὶ στῆθος ὀνομάζεται, ὅπου ἐστὶ τὸ ἡγεμοπκόν.
And we, each as far as in him lies, put to death the devil, according to: "And God will crush Satan under your feet swiftly." "Who can enter into the fold of his breastplate?" It is called breastplate and chest, where the ruling principle is.
Οὐχ ἀπλοῦς ἐστιν ὁ θώραξ αὐτοῦ· δόλιός ἐστιν, ἐπτυγμένος ἐστίν· ἅγιος δὲ ἐλέγχειν αὐτὸν δύναται, καὶ δεῖξαι, ὅτι ἔπτυκται· τῷ γὰρ ἁγίῳ οὐκ ἔπτυκται.
His breastplate is not simple; it is deceitful, it is folded; but a holy person is able to expose him, and to show that it is folded; for to the holy person it is not folded.
Πνεῦμα δὲ οὐ μὴ διέλθῃ αὐτόν. Τὸ, « οὐ μη διέλθῃ, » οὐχ ὅτι οὐ διέρχεται καὶ παρέρχεται, ἀλλʼ ὅτι οὐδὲν αὐτὸν λανθάνει· πάντας δεῖ διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐλθεῖν.
"And breath cannot pass through him." The phrase "cannot pass through" does not mean that it does not pass through and go by, but that nothing escapes him; everyone must pass through him.
Ἑαυτοὺς οὖν παρασκευάσωμεν, τοῦ μὴ κατασχεθῆναι ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.
Let us therefore prepare ourselves, so as not to be held fast by him.
Οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἶδος Ἑωσφόρου. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ γοῦν αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰσὶν Ἑωσφόροι, ἀλλʼ « εἶδος Ἑωσφόρου· » μετασχηματίζεται γὰρ εἰς ἄγγε φωτός.
"And his eyes are like the appearance of the Morning Star." Indeed, his eyes are not the Morning Star, but "the appearance of the Morning Star"; for he transforms himself into an angel of light.
Προσποιεῖται εἶναι οὐράνιος ἀστήρ· προσ λονποιεῖταισύμβολον ἡμέρας.
He pretends to be a heavenly star; he pretends to be a symbol of day.
Ὡς λαμπάδες καιόμεναι. Οἶμαι μὲν καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἀθέων δογμάτων εἰσηγητὰς εἶναι στόμα τοῦ δράκοντος· εἴη δʼ ἄν τι καὶ τροπικῶς νοούμενον παρὰ τοῦτο, ὅθεν οἱ λόγοι ἀπολλύντες.
"Like burning lamps." I think indeed that all the impious introducers of atheistic doctrines are the mouth of the dragon; but there could also be something understood figuratively besides this, from which destructive words come.
Εἴποτε ἤκουσας λόγου προφάσει Χριστιανισμοῦ κατηγοροῦντος τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ, φέρε εἰπεῖν, πρεσβεύοντος τὰ Μαρκίωνος, τὰ Οὐαλεντίνου, τὰ Βασιλείδου· ὅταν κακῶς λέγωσι τὸν Ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὅταν τι ὅμοιον, ὄψει ὅτι ἐκ στόματος τῶν τοιούτων ἐξέρχονται δαλοί.
If you have ever heard a word, under the pretext of Christianity, accusing the Creator—say, for instance, advocating the doctrines of Marcion, of Valentinus, of Basilides; when they speak evil of the Maker of heaven and earth, when they say something similar, you will see that firebrands come out of the mouth of such people.
Τηρῶμεν οὖν ἑαυτοὺς, μήποτε ἐκεῖναι λαμπάδες ἡμᾶς καύσωσι· μήποτε αἱ ἐσχάραι τοῦ πυρὸς ἡμῶν ἅψωνται.
Let us therefore guard ourselves, lest those lamps burn us, lest the hearths of fire touch us.
Ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ τρέχει ἀπώλεια. Οἷον πρόδρομός τις ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ καὶ δορυφέρει αὐτὸν ἡ ἀπώλεια· ὅπου ἐὰν ἔρχηται, προτρέχει ἡ ἀπώλεια αὐτοῦ, εἶθʼ οὕτως αὐτὸς εἰσέρχεται.
"Destruction runs before him." As it were, destruction is a kind of forerunner of his and guards him; wherever he may go, his destruction runs ahead, and then in this way he himself enters.
Ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον παραδέξηταί τις τὴν ἀπώλειαν, οὐ παραδέχεται τὸν δράκοντα· ὅταν γὰρ ἁμάρτῃ τις. τότε, κνηθόμενος τὴν ἀκοὴν, διδασκάλους ζητεῖ ἀπολούμενος· καὶ ζητῶν διδασκάλους, μετὰ τὸ ἀπολέσθαι εὑρίσκει τὸν δράκοντα, καὶ παραδέχεται τοῦτον τοσούτων κακῶν πεπληρωμένον εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν.
Unless one first accepts destruction, one does not accept the dragon; for when someone sins, then, having itching ears, he seeks teachers as one who is about to perish; and seeking teachers, after being destroyed he finds the dragon, and accepts him, filled with so many evils, into his own soul.
§42## ΚΕΦ. ΜΒ΄. Ἔδωκε δὲ ὁ Κόριος διπλᾶ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν πάντα πειρασμὸν ὑποστὰς ἆθλα λαμβάνει τῆς ὑπομονῆς αὐτοῦ πάντα διπλᾶ παρὰ τὰ πρότερον· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἆδλα δίδωσιν οὐχὶ διπλασίονα μόνον, ἀλλʼ ἑκατονταπλασίονα· οὐκ ἂν δὲ διπλάσια τῶν προτέρων ἔλαβεν, εἰ μὴ διπλασίονα τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείξατο.
## Chapter 42 "And the Lord gave double." He, therefore, who has endured every temptation receives the prizes of his endurance, all things double compared to before; but the Lord gives prizes not only double, but a hundredfold; and he would not have received double of the former things, unless he had shown double the virtue.