Pleasure hard to leave; rod as kingdom; Adam restored in Christ
—of meat.’ Truly hard to exit is pleasure, and the wildness of passions in us is not easily tamed. And when sweat presses and toils hang over, the one promising to free would easily persuade even to think little of the sweetest things. And I think God who has knowledge of every good was then especially letting the Egyptians’ greed upon those from Israel most economically, so that they would be easy toward flight… Putting the narration well. For we will see of the human nature in him the reshaping unto the ancient, and the as-it-were metamorphosis into what we were in Adam, when first brought into being, not yet lacking the glory from above and sanctification.
Palladius: How have you spoken? for the word is unclear.
Cyril: The rod, or the scepter, would be for us a symbol of kingdom, would it not, Palladius?
Palladius: Very much so, since they also make it an oath—
Greek
θῶς δυσεξίτητον ἡδονὴ, καὶ παθῶν ἀγριότης τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν οὐκ εὐχερῶς τιθασσεύεται. Ἱδρῶτος δὲ καταθλίβοντος καὶ πόνων ἐπηρτημένων, ἀναπείσειεν ἂν εὐκόλως καὶ τῶν ἡδίστων ὑπερφρονεῖν ὁ ἀπαλλάττειν ὑπισχνούμενος· οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ ὁ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τὴν εἴδησιν ἔχων Θεὸς, δύσοιστόν τε καὶ δυσαλγῆ τότε δὴ μάλιστα τοῖς ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἐπηφίει πλεονεξίαν οἰκονομικώτατά τε λίαν, ὡς ἂν εἶεν εὔκολοι πρὸς ἀποδρομὴν, καὶ μὴ ταῖς συντρόφοις ἡδοναῖς ἐνδούμενοι, σκληροί τε γένοιντο καὶ δυσάγωγοι κομιδῇ, καὶ τὴν τοῦ καλοῦντος εἰς ἐλευθερίαν ἀτιμάζοντες χάριν, ἐθελούσιον ποιοῖντο τὴν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ θητείαν, τὸ παραυτίκα τερπνὸν, ὀλίγων ἔσθ' ὅτε προτάττοντες πόνων. Μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν ἐν ἀμείνοσι καταλογιζόμενοι τῶν παρὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ γοῦν ἀσμενέστατα τῆς τῶν πάλαι τετυραννευκότων πλεονεξίας ἐκδεδυκότες, αὐλιζόμενοί τε κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ τὰ ἄνωθέν τε καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ σιτούμενοι, τὴν τοῦ μάννα χορηγίαν φημὶ, τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τρυφῆς οὐκ ἀδακρυτὶ μνημονεύουσιν. Ἐκτεθνάναι μᾶλλον, ὡς ἦν δή που παρὰ πολὺ κρεῖττόν τε καὶ ἄμεινον αὐτοῖς, ταῖς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τραπέζαις ἐνσπαταλῶντας, ἔτι διατεινόμενοι, καὶ μειρακιωδῶς ἀνακεκραγότες· «Ὄφελον ἀπεθάνομεν πληγέντες ὑπὸ Κυρίου ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, ὅταν ἐκαθίσαμεν ἐπὶ τῶν λεβήτων τῶν κρεῶν καὶ ἠσθίομεν ἄρτους εἰς πλησμονήν!»
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Εὖ λέγεις.
{ΚΥΡ.} Οὐκοῦν ὡς ἀναγκαία τις ἔσοιτο πρὸς εὐπείθειαν αὐτοῖς ἡ θαυματουργία, Μωσῆς ἠπίστατο. Τοιγάρτοι φησίν· «Ἐὰν μὴ εἰσακούσωσί μου (ἐροῦσι γὰρ, ὅτι Οὐκ ὦπταί σοι ὁ Θεὸς), τί ἐρῶ πρὸς αὐτούς;» Ὁ δέ γε τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς μελέτησιν ὥσπερ τινὰ ποιεῖσθαι τὸ θαῦμα παραχρῆμα διεκελεύετο· προαναπείθων, οἶμαι, τῇ πείρᾳ τὸν λειτουργὸν, ὅτι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι καθάπερ αὐτῷ πρὸς ἔνδειξιν ἀκριβῆ τοῦ κεκλῆσθαι παρὰ Θεοῦ, διαρκὲς ἔσται τὸ δρώμενον· καὶ ἁρμόσαι γὰρ ἂν οὐχ ἑτέρῳ τὸ μεθιστᾷν δύνασθαι τῶν ὄντων τὰς φύσεις πρὸς ὅπερ ἂν ἕλοιτο τυχὸν, πλὴν ὅτι καὶ μόνῳ τῷ πάντων Δημιουργῷ, μήνυσιν δὲ ὥσπερ τῆς διὰ Χριστοῦ σωτηρίας αἰνιγματωδῶς τὸ παράδοξον εὖ μάλα τιθείς. Ὀψόμεθα γὰρ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως τὸν εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀναπλασμὸν, καὶ τὴν οἱονεὶ μεταμόρφωσιν, τὴν εἰς ὅπερ ἦμεν ἐν Ἀδὰμ, εὐθὺς εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρενηνεγμένοι, δόξης τε οὔπω τῆς ἄνωθεν καὶ ἁγιασμοῦ τητώμενοι.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Πῶς ἔφης; ἀσυμφανὴς γὰρ ὁ λόγος.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἡ ῥάβδος ἤτοι τὸ σκῆπτρον ἡμῖν, οὐχὶ βασιλείας σύμβολον εἴη ἂν, ὦ Παλλάδιε;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ἐπείτοι καὶ ὅρκιον αὐτὸ
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius on worship in spirit and truth. Book 2 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 2 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 2 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 2)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 2)
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.