The Reining of the Tongue
Regarding the celebration of the feast of tabernacles, its power and excellence have been stated previously, from which it is made clear what magnitude it is to ascend into the lying festival and what kind of fall those who have lagged behind this super-greatness experience.
Not only Egyptians, but all other nations will be struck down and fall by the economy of God, so that, having perceived that they are evil, they may take up a longing to 'establish a feast among those who crowd together,' which is the feast of tabernacles. There are two understandings of this feast, which have already been stated; it is necessary to diligently execute the advancements according to virtue 'with a voice of rejoicing and salvation' through divine love, so that, having ascended through these into the house which the Savior of all has founded for all time, we may praise Him who has brought us to Himself after many advancements, each to say with faith and understanding: 'Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house and the place of the tabernacle of your glory.' For thus it is possible to say in hymn: 'I encircled myself in his tabernacle and offered a sacrifice of shouting.'
He who attains this blessed and holy way of life, even if he be Egyptian or of another nation, will come to rest, as before the fall, becoming a Jerusalemite according to the inner man, formed of the fullest and most perfect virtue.
And the sacred word declares it a great sin not to ascend to the appointed feast of booths. In the passages already treated, the spiritual feast has been expounded in various ways, and every Egyptian and every nation must ascend to it, as previously stated.e an Israelite without guile, being a Jew in secret according to the inner man (Zach. 14:20–21: On that day the thing on the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord God Almighty, and the bowls that are in the house of the Lord shall be like the pitchers before the altar, and every bowl in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the Lord God Almighty).
On the day interpreted as the holy tabernacling, into which it is fitting to ascend and to celebrate, it is proper to worship the King Lord God Almighty; that which is on the bridle of the horse shall be called holy.
To the Lord Almighty. What is this other than the ongoing word forbidding the wildness of the entrails and the lack of virtue, which the wise man protects against those being preyed upon: 'Do not become like a horse or a mule, who lack understanding, being driven by bits and bridles of their jaws that do not draw near to you.'
How is the lustful horse, being preyed upon by shameful passions, not led by the spiritual rider, so that by restraining the unrestrained bearing of the beast, it might become useful for the day of battle, as it is proverbially said: 'A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the help is from the Lord' (Proverbs 21:31).
Along with this horse-like manner, the untrained one, being allegorically a mule, is tamed, with bits and bridles of their jaws being drawn toward the best riders, so that yielding to the guidance of the bit, they may carry the rider in an orderly fashion.
This agrees with what is said from the Psalm, as the blessed James wrote in his epistle, regarding the holding of the restless tongue that has become wild through much talk that it ought not to say (James 3:6). His wording has it thus: 'We put the bit in the mouths of the horses, and we lead their whole body' (Psalm 32:9), so that there may be a straight course and a steady walk.
How much more it is fitting to rein in the tongue, that is, the word, so that it does not rush into a pit but remains harmless, as if the bit itself were dedicated to the Lord Almighty.
When the bit of the horse is sanctified, the cauldrons in the house of the Lord, in which the meat of the sacrifices is placed before the altar, shall be like bowls in which libations are priestically performed; just as having a cauldron and a bowl involves the same energy according to different thoughts, so too a libation and a sacrifice.
For just as in sensible things there is one libation and another sacrifice, and the cauldron and the bowl, so also in the intelligible things there is... differing in energy and thought. Immediately also, the Savior, being a true high priest and a lamb and a shepherd...
Greek
ἑορτάσαι τὴν τῶν σκηνῶν ἑορτὴν οἵας δυνάμεως καὶ ὑπεροχῆς ὑπάρχει εἴρηται πρότερον, ἐξ οὗ συμφανεροῦται οἵου μεγέθους ἐστὶν τὸ ἀναβῆναι εἰς τὴν ἐκκειμένην πανήγυριν καὶ οἵαν ὑφίστανται πτῶσιν οἱ τοῦ ὑπερμεγέθ̣ους τούτου ὑστερήσαντες ἑαυτούς. 5.185 Οὐ μόνοι δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα ἔθνη παταχθήσονται καὶ πεσοῦνται ο̣ἰκονομίᾳ Θεοῦ, ἵν' αἰσθηθέντες ὅτι κακοί εἰσιν πόθον ἀναλάβωσιν τοῦ «συστήσασθαι ἑορτὴν ἐν τοῖς πυκάζουσιν», τὴν τῶν σκηνῶν δηλονότι. 5.186 ∆ύο νοήσεις τῆς ἑορτῆς ταύτης ἐχούσης, αἳ πρότ̣ερον ἤδη εἴρηνται, σπουδαστέον συντόνως ἔρωτι θείῳ ἐκτελεῖν τὰς κα̣τὰ ἀρετὴν προκοπὰς «ἐν φωνῇ ἀγαλλιάσεως 165 καὶ σωτηρίας», ἵνα διὰ ταύτας ἀναβάντες εἰς ὃν ἐθεμελ̣ίωσεν οἶκον ὁ πάν̣των Σωτὴρ εἰς τοὺς α̣ἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων αἰνέσωμεν τὸν μετὰ τὰς πολλὰς προκοπὰς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀναγαγόντα, ὡς ἕκαστον εἰπεῖν πιστῶς καὶ ἐπιστημονικῶς· «Κύριε, η᾿̣γάπησα εὐπρέπειαν ο̣ἴκου σου καὶ τόπον σκηνώματος δόξης σου.» Οὕτω γὰρ δυνατὸν ὑμνῳδία̣ς τρόπῳ εἰπεῖν· «Ἐκύκλωσα ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔθυσα θυσίαν ἀλαλαγμοῦ.» 5.187 Ὁ ταύτης μακαρίας ἁγίας τε ἀγωγῆς τυχών, κἂν Αἰγύπτιος καὶ ἀπ' ἄλλου ἔθνους τυγχάνῃ, πεπαύσεται ὡς καὶ πρότερον πρὸ τῆς πτ̣ώσεως, Ἱεροσολυμίτης κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον ἀποτελούμενος ἐκ πληρεστάτης καὶ τελείας ἀρετῆς. 5.188 Καὶ ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην τυγχάνειν φησὶν ὁ ἱερὸς λόγος τὸ μὴ α᾿̣ν̣α̣βῆναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν τῶν σκηνῶν πανήγυριν. Ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν ῥητοῖς διαφόρως ἀποδοθείσης τῆς πνευματικῆς σκηνοπηγίας, κατὰ πάντας τοὺς τρόπους καὶ ἀναβατέον ἐπ' αὐτῆς πάντα Αἰγύπτιον καὶ ἔθνος, ὡς εἴρηται πρότερον. Γενήσεται γὰρ ἀληθῶς Ἰσραηλίτης δόλον οὐκ ἔχων, ἐν κρυπτῷ κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον Ἰουδαῖος ὤν. 5.189 Zach. XIV, 20–21: Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἔσται τὸ ἐπὶ τὸν χαλινὸν τοῦ ἵππου ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίω παντοκράτορι, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ λέβητες οἱ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ Κυρίου ὡς φιάλαι πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θυσια̣στηρίου, καὶ ἔσται πᾶς λέβης ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἰούδᾳ ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι. 5.190 Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἡρμηνευμένῃ τῆς ἁγίας σκηνοπηγίας, εἰς ἣν ἀναβῆναι καὶ ἑορτάσαι προσήκει ἐπὶ τῷ προσκυνῆσαι τὸν β̣ασιλέα Κύριον παντοκράτορα, τὸ ἐπὶ τὸν χαλινὸν τοῦ ἵππου ἅγιον κληθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι. Τί δὲ τοῦτο τυγχάνει ἢ ὁ ἐπέχων λόγος τὰς ἀφηνιώσας ψυχ̣ὰς̣ συνέσεως καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ἀρετῆς ἐστερημένας, ὧν τὸν οἶστρον καὶ ἀφη̣νιασμὸν ἀπαγορεύων προστάττει ὁ σοφὸς τοῖς οἰστρηλατουμένοις· «Μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς̣ ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος, οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν σύνεσις, ἐν χαλινῷ καὶ κημῷ τὰς σιαγόνας αὐτῶν ἄγξεις τῶν μὴ ἐγγιζόντων πρὸς σέ.» 5.191 Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἐπάγεται τῷ πνευματικῷ ἐπιβάτῃ «ὁ θηλυμανὴς ἵππ̣ο̣ς χρεμετίζων ἐπὶ τὴν γυναῖκα του῀̣ πλησίον» ὑπὸ αἰσχρῶν παθῶν οἰστρηλατούμενος, ἵν' ἐπισχ̣εθείσης τῆς ἀκολάστου φορᾶς ὑπὸ τοῦ πωλοδάμνου ἥμερος γίνηται ἵνα πρὸς πόλεμον χρήσιμος ἀποδειχθῇ, ὥστε̣ λεχθῆναι περὶ αὐτοῦ παροιμιωδῶς· «Ἵππος ἑτοιμάζετα̣ι̣ εἰς ἡμέραν πολέμου, παρὰ δὲ Κυρίου ἡ βοήθεια.» 5.192 Σὺν τούτῳ τῷ ἵππῳ ····τικῷ τρόπῳ, καὶ ὁ ἄγονος, ἡμίονος κατ' ἀλληγορίαν ὑπάρχων, πραΰνεται, χαλινῷ καὶ κημῷ τῶν σιαγόνων αὐτω῀̣ν ἀγχομε´̣νων πρὸς τὸν ἄριστον ἱππέα, ἵν' ὑπείκοντες τῇ ἀγωγῇ τοῦ χαλινοῦ τεταγμένως τὸν ἐπιβάτην φέρωσιν. 5.193 Τ̣ο`̣ ε̣σ̣······νει συμφέρεται τῷ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ψαλμοῦ ῥητῷ, ὡς̣ ἔγραψεν ὁ μα̣κάριος Ἰάκωβος ἐν τῇ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐπιστολῇ, τὸ ἐπε´̣χειν τὴν ἀκατάστατον γλῶτταν ἀφηνιῶσαν διὰ πολ̣υλ̣ογία̣ν ἃ μὴ χρὴ λέγουσαν. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτως αὐτοῦ ἡ λέξις· «Τῶν ἵππων εἰς τὰ στόματα βάλλομεν τὸν χαλινόν, καὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν μετάγομεν», ἵν' εὐθυδρομία καὶ εὐσταθὲς βάδισμα γένηται. 5.194 Ποσῷ μᾶλλον προσήκει χ̣αλιναγ̣ωγῆσαι τὴν γλῶτταν, δηλαδὴ τὸν λόγ̣ον, ὅπως μὴ α····· ··· ἐπισπέρχων εἰς βάραθρον ἐμπέσῃ, ἀλλα`̣ ἀβλαβὴς διαμένῃ, ὡς τὸν ἑαυτῷ χαλινὸν ἀφιερωθῆναι Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι. 5.195 Ἁγιασθέντος τοῦ χαλινοῦ τοῦ ἵππου̣, οἱ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ Κυρίου λέβητες ἐν οἷς ἕψεται τὰ κρέα τῶν θυσιῶν πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἔσονται οἷα φιάλαι ε᾿̣ν̣ αἷς σπονδαὶ ἱερατικῶς ἐπιτελοῦνται, ὡς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐνέργειαν κατ' ἄλλην καὶ ἄλλην ἐπίνοιαν λέβητα καὶ φιάλην ἔχειν, ὡσαύτως σπονδὴν καὶ θυσίαν. 5.196 Οὐ γὰρ ὥσ̣περ ἐπὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἄλλη σπονδὴ καὶ ἄλλη θυσία κ··· τὸν λέβητα καὶ τὴν φιάλην, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν νοητῶν ἔχει ·······γο̣ρ···· ὑποκείμενον ὄντα ἐνεργείᾳ καὶ ἐπινοίᾳ διαφέρουσιν̣. Αὐτ̣ίκα γοῦν καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἀληθινὸς ἀρχιερεὺς ὑπάρχων καὶ ἀμνὸς καὶ ποιμὴν
About this text
Didymus the Blind on Zechariah.
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Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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