Bird crop east; Christ turtle-dove/dove; learn meekness
Cyril: …‘he will take-away the crop with the feathers, and will cast them beside the altar according to easts unto the place of the ash, and will break it from the wings, and will not divide, and the priest will put it upon the altar upon the woods the upon the fire. A fruit-offering it is of a sacrifice, a smell of sweet-fragrance for the Lord.’ (Leviticus 1:16-17) Observe then again, how most-excellently and well-artfully the in a same-form to appear of the Christ, for the holy ones has been kept. For he is on the one hand truly the from-above and most-talkative turtle-dove himself, and likewise also the most-meek dove. And at least in the Song of the songs it has been written about him: ‘A voice of a turtle-dove was heard in the wilderness;’ (Song of Songs 2:12) and of meekness the extreme and uppermost a type as it were some and under-writing himself for us he was setting-beside, saying: ‘Learn from me that’ (Matthew 11:29)
Greek
ἀφελεῖ τὸν πρόλοβον σὺν τοῖς πτεροῖς, καὶ ἐκβαλεῖ αὐτὰ παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κατ' ἀνατολὰς εἰς τὸν τόπον τῆς σποδοῦ, καὶ ἐκκλάσει αὐτὸ ἐκ τῶν πτερύγων, καὶ οὐ διελεῖ, καὶ ἐπιθήσει αὐτὸ ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ἐπὶ τὰ ξύλα τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρός. Κάρπωμά ἐστι θυσίας, ὀσμὴ εὐωδίας τῷ Κυρίῳ.» Ἄθρει δὴ πάλιν, ὡς ἄριστά τε καὶ εὐτέχνως τὸ ἐν συμμορφίᾳ φαίνεσθαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῖς ἁγίοις τετήρηται. Ἔστι μὲν γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἡ ἄνωθέν τε καὶ λαλιστάτη τρυγὼν αὐτὸς, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ πραοτάτη περιστερά. Καὶ γοῦν ἐν μὲν τῷ Ἄσματι τῶν ᾀσμάτων γέγραπται περὶ αὐτοῦ· «Φωνὴ τρυγόνος ἠκούσθη ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ·» πραότητος δὲ τῆς ἄγαν καὶ ἀνωτάτω τύπον ὥσπερ τινὰ καὶ ὑπογραμμὸν ἑαυτὸν ἡμῖν παρετίθει, λέγων· «Μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι, καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ.» Ἀλλ' ἰδοὺ καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἁγίοις, διά τοι τὸ ἐν μορφῇ γενέσθαι Χριστοῦ, τὸ ἐν ἴσοις ὥσπερ ἀγαθοῖς εὐπρεπές τε καὶ ἀξιάγαστον εὖ μάλα τετήρηται· τρυγόνες γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὶ νοοῖντ' ἂν εἰκότως, τὸν θεῖόν τε καὶ ἱερὸν τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις ἱεῖσαι λόγον, ᾠδάς τε καὶ μέλη τὰ εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖσθαι σπουδάζουσαι. Τοιγάρτοι καὶ λέγουσιν· «Ἡ γλῶσσά μου μελετήσει τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν τὸν ἔπαινόν σου.» Καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν ἐν Χριστῷ διαζῶσι βίον, καὶ τὴν πραοτάτην τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας ἴενται τρίβον, τοῖς παίειν ἐθέλουσιν εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα, παραφέροντες καὶ τὴν ἀριστερὰν, καὶ τοῖς ἀγγαρεύουσι μίλιον, ἓν ἐθελοντὶ δωρούμενοι τὸ, εἴπερ ἕλοιντο, διαστείχειν καὶ δύο. Οὐκοῦν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας, καὶ εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα καθιεροῦσι Θεῷ, καὶ ὡς ἐν εἴδει τρυγόνων καὶ περιστερῶν. Εἶτα τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποκνίσας ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐπιτίθησι τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ, προσχεύσας τὸ αἷμα. Ἅγιος γὰρ ἀληθῶς, καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα τῶν ἱερωτάτων ἁγίων ὁ νοῦς, ἀνακεῖσθαι πρέποι τῷ πανάγνῳ Θεῷ. Ἐννοιῶν γάρ ἐστιν ἐπίμεστος ἀγαθῶν, καὶ τῆς ἀληθοῦς θεογνωσίας εὐωδιάζει τὸ μύρον «Λογισμοὶ γὰρ δικαίων, κρίματα,» κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· ἁγία δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἡ ζωὴ τῶν ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ, σαφὲς ἂν γένοιτο, διὰ τὸ δεῖν τῷ ἁγίῳ θυσιαστηρίῳ προσχεῖσθαι τὸ αἷμα. Ζωῆς γὰρ τύπος τὸ αἷμα· καὶ ἀφαιρεῖται μὲν τῶν στρουθίων ὁ πρόλοβος, τουτέστιν, ἡ φύσα, σὺν τοῖς πτεροῖς· ἐκβάλλεται δὲ ὡς ἀχρεῖον παντελῶς. Σημεῖον δ' ἂν γένοιτο καὶ τοῦτο σαφὲς, τοῦ καὶ τρυφῆς ἀνωτέρω τῆς σωματικῆς τὸν τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπεφάνθαι βίον, ὡς δοκεῖν ἤδη πως, μηδὲ τῆς τὰ σιτία χωρούσης ἐπιδεῖσθαι γαστρός. Τοιουτοσὶ γάρ πώς ἐστι τῶν ὅτι μάλιστα φιλοπονωτάτων ὁ βίος· οἳ σιτίων ὁμοῦ καὶ αὐτῆς τάχα που τῆς γαστρὸς ἀλογήσαντες, κατατήκουσι τὴν σάρκα, καὶ κατανεκροῦσιν ἡδονὰς, ἐλεύθεροι δὲ καὶ ἀπηλλαγμένοι παντὸς γεγόνασι κοσμικοῦ τε καὶ περιττοῦ. Τοῦτο γὰρ, οἶμαι, ἐστὶν ἡ τῶν πτερῶν ἀποβολή. Ἀναγκαία μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ὀρνέοις ἡ πτέρωσις· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς, τὰ δι' ὧνπερ ἂν εἰς ἰδίαν χρείαν τουτὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ὑπηρετοῖτο σῶμα· ἄμφια δὲ δὴ λέγω, καὶ τροφῆς ὄργανα, καὶ πρός γε δὴ τούτοις
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 16 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 16 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 16 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 16)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 16)
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.