Partial holy life = fine flour handful; unleavened; male priests eat; softness barred
Cyril: …part holy and under God life; of which an accurate under-typing is the fine flour brought up through a priest’s handful with the oil and the frankincense. For the life being consecrated to God, even if it should somehow become from part, must be wholly fragrant, and being fattened with most rich hopes. Or do you not say every good work of ours is most sweet-smelling?
Palladius: Very much so.
Cyril: And what? Is it not done by us upon good hopes?
Palladius: Yes; for the things from God will wholly follow.
Cyril: So then frankincense, and fine flour oil-wet, under-hints for us the fragrant and most rich life.
Palladius: You spoke well; but what would the as-from-part holy life become by us?
Cyril: The one neither having come unto a leaving-off of the sacred-fitting citizenship, nor going according to the very withdrawn path, of which sort somehow was John’s voice, or of the holy apostles; nor indeed falling out of being revered, through somehow having been worsted of the very underlying. Or is not the life of those in world and child-begetters, if they should choose to live through well, somehow shared to God and world, according to blessed Paul’s voice?
Palladius: It has been shared; for how not?
Cyril: So then a type of life not altogether dedicated to God, but as it were middle and looking upon both, was the partial consecration of the fine flour, having the fragrant and cheerful; which also the law says will be unto memorial of the one having brought through priestly service. And we will truly gain the lying in memory with God, through the things by which fruit-bearing we fragrance; with Christ mediating and bringing near to God, the one wholly holy, as in rank of the whole-burnt offerings; and indeed the one not such altogether through having been shared to the world, as it were some partial sacrifice. And unleavened is the sacrifice. For it would be fitting that everything whichever should become by us unto glory of God be done purely. And indeed the Savior has ordered to decline standing in mid markets making the prayers, and the unsmiling in fasts, and trumpeting disorderedly when pitying brothers. For this is leaven, profaning the sacred things. And what is done unto glory of God must have been released from charges of human-pleasing; for thus the victim would be truly unleavened and sacred. And portion and food for the priests is the leftover of the sacrifice. Every male is eaten in a holy place; the being spent of the sacred things in a holy place by the priests keeping reverence for our more mystical words; and the every male eating under-showing gracefully that softness is some unbeautiful thing and truly unholy for those chosen by God. For it finishes unhallowed, and sets out from spiritual blessing, and shows without share of the things from God apportioned to the saints (Leviticus 6:14–18) (1 Corinthians 7:32–34) (Matthew 6:2–6) (Matthew 6:16–18) (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)
Greek
μέρους ἁγίαν καὶ ὑπὸ Θεῷ ζωήν· ἧς ὑποτύπωσις ἀκριβὴς, ἡ σεμίδαλις διὰ δρακὸς ἱερέως ἀναφερομένη σὺν τῷ ἐλαίῳ καὶ τῷ λιβάνῳ. Τὴν γάρ τοι Θεῷ καθιερουμένην ζωὴν, καὶ εἰ γένοιτο τυχὸν ἐκ μέρους, εὐώδη πάντως εἶναι χρὴ, καὶ λιπαρωτάταις ἐλπίσι πιαινομένην. Ἦ οὐκ εὐοσμότατον εἶναι φὴς πᾶν ἔργον ἡμῶν ἀγαθόν;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
{ΚΥΡ.} Τί δέ; οὐκ ἐπ' ἀγαθαῖς ἐλπίσι πράττεται πρὸς ἡμῶν;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ναί· ἕψεται γὰρ πάντως τὰ παρὰ Θεοῦ.
{ΚΥΡ.} Λίβανος δὴ οὖν, καὶ σεμίδαλις ἐλαιόδευτος, τὴν εὐώδη τε καὶ λιπαρωτάτην ἡμῖν ὑπαινίττεται ζωήν.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Εὖ ἔφης· ἀλλὰ τίς ἂν γένοιτο πρὸς ἡμῶν ἡ ὡς ἐκ μέρους ἁγία ζωή;
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἡ μήτε εἰς λῆξιν πολιτείας ἥκουσα τῆς ἁγιοπρεποῦς, μήτε κατὰ τὴν ἄγαν ἀνῳκισμένην ἰοῦσα τρίβον, ὁποία τις ἦν ἡ Ἰωάννου φωνὴ τυχὸν, ἤγουν τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων· μήτε μὴ ἐκπίπτουσα τοῦ εἶναι σεπτὴ, διά γε τὸ ἡττῆσθαι τυχὸν τῆς ἄγαν ὑποκειμένης που. Ἦ οὐ τῶν ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ παιδοποιῶν ὁ βίος, εἰ διαζῇν ἕλοιντο χρηστῶς, μεμέρισταί πως Θεῷ τε καὶ κόσμῳ, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου φωνήν;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Μεμέρισται· πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
{ΚΥΡ.} Τύπος οὖν ἄρα ζωῆς τῆς οὐκ εἰσάπαν ἀνακειμένης Θεῷ, μέσης δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπ' ἄμφω βλεπούσης, ἡ μερικὴ καθιέρωσις τῆς σεμιδάλεως ἦν, τὸ εὐῶδες ἐχούσης καὶ ἱλαρόν· ἣν καὶ εἰς μνημόσυνον ἔσεσθαί φησιν ὁ νόμος, τοῦ δι' ὑπουργίας ἱερατικῆς προσκεκομικότος. Ἀποκερδανοῦμεν δὲ ἀληθῶς τὸ ἐν μνήμῃ κεῖσθαι τῇ παρὰ Θεῷ, δι' ὧν καρποφοροῦντες εὐωδιάζομεν· μεσιτεύοντος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεῷ προσάγοντος, τὸ[ν] μὲν ὁλοκλήρως ἅγιον, ὡς ἐν τάξει τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων· καὶ μέντοι τὸν μὴ τοιοῦτον εἰσάπαν διὰ τὸ μεμερίσθαι τῷ κόσμῳ, θυσίαν ὥσπερ τινὰ μερικήν. Ἄζυμος δὲ ἡ θυσία. Πρέποι γὰρ ἂν πράττεσθαι καθαρῶς, πᾶν ὅπερ ἂν γένοιτο πρὸς ἡμῶν, εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ. Καὶ γοῦν ὁ Σωτὴρ, παραιτεῖσθαι προστέταχε, τὸ ἐν μέσαις ἑστῶτα ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ποιεῖσθαι τὰς προσευχὰς, καὶ τὸ ἀμειδὲς ἐν νηστείαις, καὶ τὸ σαλπίζειν ἀκόσμως, κατοικτείροντας ἀδελφούς. Ζύμη γὰρ αὕτη, βεβηλοῦσα τὰ ἱερά. Τὸ δὲ εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ πραττόμενον, ἐγκλημάτων ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας ἀπηλλάχθαι πρέπει· εἴη γὰρ ἂν οὕτως ἄζυμον ἀληθῶς καὶ ἱερὸν τὸ θύμα. Μερὶς δὲ καὶ βρῶσις τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, τὸ κατάλοιπον τῆς θυσίας. Ἐσθίεται πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ· τοῦ μὲν ἐν ἁγίῳ τόπῳ πρὸς τῶν ἱερέων δαπανᾶσθαι τὰ ἱερὰ, τοῖς μυστικωτέροις ἡμῶν λόγοις τηροῦντος τὸ σέβας· τοῦ δὲ πᾶν ἄρσεν ἐσθίειν, ὑποδηλοῦντος ἀστείως ὡς ἀκαλλές τι χρῆμα καὶ ἀνόσιον ἀληθῶς ὁ μαλακισμὸς τοῖς ἐξειλεγμένοις παρὰ Θεοῦ. Ἀνίερον γὰρ ἀποτελεῖ, καὶ εὐλογίας ἐξίστησι τῆς πνευματικῆς, καὶ ἀμέτοχον ἀποφαίνει τῶν παρὰ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐκνενεμη
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 12 of a seventeen-book dialogue — not the whole work.
English follows Migne PG 68 (Aubert reprint). The PDF and a cleaned text of the same print were checked against each other. This page is Book 12 of seventeen. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 68 De adoratione Book 12 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 12)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 12)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.