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TOPIC: Nicene Fathers Vol 05 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 15.09.02 Fragments of Hippolytus Pt. 2
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On Proverbs. From the Commentary of St. Hippolytus on Proverbs.hyperlink
Proverbs, therefore, are words of exhortation serviceable for the whole path of life; for to those who seek their way to God, these serve as guides and signs to revive them when wearied with the length of the road. These, moreover, are the proverbs of "Solomon," that is to say, the "peacemaker," who, in truth, is Christ the Saviour. And since we understand the words of the Lord without offence, as being the words of the Lord, that no one may mislead us by likeness of name, he tells us who wrote these things, and of what people he was king, in order that the credit of the speaker may make the discourse acceptable and the hearers attentive; for they are the words of that Solomon to whom the Lord said: "I will give thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like thee upon the earth, and after thee there shall not arise any like unto thee,"hyperlink and as follows in what is written of him. Now he was the wise son of a wise father; wherefore there is added the name of David, by whom Solomon was begotten. From a child he was instructed in the sacred Scriptures, and obtained his dominion not by lot, nor by force, but by the judgment of the Spirit and the decree of God.
"To know wisdom and instruction." He who knows the wisdom of God, receives from Him also instruction, and learns by it the mysteries of the Word; and they who know the true heavenly wisdom will easily understand the words of these mysteries. Wherefore he says: "To understand the difficulties of words; "hyperlink for things spoken in strange language by the Holy Spirit become intelligible to those who have their hearts right with God.
hyperlink These things he understands of the people of the Jews, and their guilt in the blood of Christ; for they thought that He had His conversation (citizenship) on earth only.
hyperlink They will not simply obtain, but inherit. The wicked, again, even though they are exalted, are exalted only so as to have greater dishonour. For as one does not honour an ugly and mis-shapen fellow, if he exalts him, but only dishonours him the more, by making his shame manifest to a larger number; so also God exalts the wicked, in order that He may make their disgrace patent. For Pharaoh was exalted, but only to have the world as his accuser.
hyperlink It must be noted, that he names the law a good gift, on account of the man who takes gifts into his bosom unrighteously. And he forsakes the law who transgresses it; the law, namely, of which he speaks, or which he has kept.
hyperlink And what is meant by "exalt (fortify) her? "Surround her with holy thoughts; for you have need of large defence, since there are many things to imperil such a possession. But if it is in our power to fortify her, and if there are virtues in our power which exalt the knowledge of God, these will be her bulwarks,-as, for example, practice, study, and the whole chain of other virtues; and the man who observes these, honours wisdom; and the reward is, to be exalted to be with her, and to be embraced by her in the chamber of heaven.
hyperlink The heterodox are the "wicked," and the transgressors of the law are "evil men," whose "ways"-that is to say, their deeds-he bids us not enter.
hyperlink He "looks right on" who has thoughts free of passion; and he has true judgments, who is not in a state of excitement about external appearances. When he says, "Let thine eyes look right on," he means the vision of the soul; and when he gives the exhortation, "Eat honey, my son, that it may be sweet to thy palate," he uses "honey" figuratively, meaning divine doctrine, which restores the spiritual knowledge of the soul. But wisdom embraces the soul also; for, says he, "love her, that she may embrace thee." And the soul, by her embrace being made one with wisdom, is filled with holiness and purity. Yea more, the fragrant ointments of Christ are laid hold of by the soul's sense of smell.
hyperlink Virtue occupies the middle position; whence also he says, that manly courage is the mean between boldness and cowardice. And now he mentions the "right," not meaning thereby things which are right by nature, such as the virtues, but things which seem to thee to be right on account of their pleasures. Now pleasures are not simply sensual enjoyments, but also riches and luxury. And the "left" indicates envy, robberies, and the like. For "Boreas," says he, "is a bitter wind, and yet is called by name right."hyperlink For, symbolically, under Boreas he designates the wicked devil by whom every flame of evil is kindled in the earth. And this has the name "right," because an angel is called by a right (propitious) name. Do thou, says he, turn aside from evil, and God will take care of thine end; for He will go before thee, scattering thine enemies, that thou mayest go in peace.
hyperlink He shows also, by the mention of the creature (the hind), the purity of that pleasure; and by the roe he intimates the quick responsive affection of the wife. And whereas he knows many things to excite, he secures them against these, and puts upon them the indissoluble bond of affection, setting constancy before them. And as for the rest, wisdom, figuratively speaking, like a stag, can repel and crush the snaky doctrines of the heterodox. Let her therefore, says he, be with thee, like a roe, to keep all virtue fresh. And whereas a wife and wisdom are not in this respect the same, let her rather lead thee; for thus thou shalt conceive good thoughts.
hyperlink That thou mayest not say, What harm is there in the eyes, when there is no necessity that he should be perverted who looks? he shows thee that desire is a fire, and the flesh is like a garment. The latter is an easy prey, and the former is a tyrant. And when anything harmful is not only taken within, but also held fast, it will not go forth again until it has made an exit for itself. For he who looks upon a woman, even though he escape the temptation, does not come away pure of all lust. And why should one have trouble, if he can be chaste and free of trouble? See what Job says: "I made a covenant with mine eyes, that I should not think of another's wife."hyperlink Thus well does he know the power of abuse. And Paul for this reason kept "under his body, and brought it into subjection." And, figuratively speaking, he keeps a fire in his breast who permits an impure thought to dwell in his heart. And he walks upon coals who, by sinning in act, destroys his own soul.
The "cemphus"hyperlink is a kind of wild sea-bird, which has so immoderate an impulse to sexual enjoyment, that its eyes seem to fill with blood in coition; and it often blindly falls into snares, or into the hands of men.hyperlink To this, therefore, he compares the man who gives himself up to the harlot on account of his immoderate lust; or else on account of the insensate folly of the creature, for he, too, pursues his object like one senseless. And they say that this bird is so much pleased with foam, that if one should hold foam in his hand as he sails, it will sit upon his hand. And it also brings forth with pain.
hyperlink You have seen her mischief. Wait not to admit the rising of lust; for her death is everlasting. And for the rest, by her words, her arguments in sooth, she wounds, and by her sins she kills those who yield to her. For many are the forms of wickedness that lead the foolish down to hell. And the chambershyperlink of death mean either its depths or its treasure. How, then, is escape possible?
hyperlink He intends the new Jerusalem, or the sanctified flesh. By the seven pillars he means the sevenfold unity of the Holy Spirit resting upon it; as Isaiah testifies, saying, "She has slain" her "victims."
hyperlink Observe that the wise man must be useful to many; so that he who is useful only to himself cannot be wise. For great is the condemnation of wisdom if she reserves her power simply for the one possessing her. But as poison is not injurious to another body, but only to that one which takes it, so also the man who turns out wicked will injure himself, and not another. For no man of real virtue is injured by a wicked man.
hyperlink The fruit of righteousness and the tree of life is Christ. He alone, as man, fulfilled all righteousness. And with His own underived lifehyperlink He has brought forth the fruits of knowledge and virtue like a tree, whereof they that eat shall receive eternal life, and shall enjoy the tree of life in paradise, with Adam and all the righteous. But the souls of the unrighteous meet an untimely expulsion from the presence of God, by whom they shall be left to remain in the flame of torment.
hyperlink Not from men, but with the Lord, will he obtain favour.
hyperlink He asks of wisdom, who seeks to know what is the will of God. And he will show himself prudent who is sparing of his words on that which he has come to learn. If one inquires about wisdom, desiring to learn something about wisdom, while another asks nothing of wisdom, as not only wishing to learn nothing about wisdom himself, but even keeping back his neighbours from so doing, the former certainly is deemed to be more prudent than the latter.
hyperlink As to the horse-leech. There were three daughters fondly loved by sin-fornication, murder,hyperlink and idolatry. These three did not satisfy her, for she is not to be satisfied. In destroying man by these actions, sin never varies, but only grows continually. For the fourth, he continues, is never content to say "enough," meaning that it is universal lust. In naming the "fourth," he intends lust in the universal. For as the body is one, and yet has many members; so also sin, being one, contains within it many various lusts by which it lays its snares for men. Wherefore, in order to teach us this, he uses the examples of Sheol (Hades), and the love of women, and hellhyperlink (Tartarus), and the earth that is not filled with water. And water and fire, indeed, will never say, "It is enough." And the gravehyperlink (Hades) in no wise ceases to receive the souls of unrighteous men; nor does the love of sin, in the instance of the love of women, cease to be given to fornication, and it becomes the betrayer of the soul. And as Tartarus, which is situated in a doleful and dark locality, is not touched by a ray of light, so is every one who is the slave of sin in all the passions of the flesh Like the earth not filled with water he is never able to come to confession, and to the laver of regeneration, and like water and fire, never says, "It is enough."
hyperlink For as a serpent cannot mark its track upon a rock, so the devil could not find sin in the body of Christ. For the Lord says, "Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and will find nothing in me."hyperlink -For as a ship, sailing in the sea, leaves no traces of her way behind her, so neither does the Church, which is situate in the world as in a sea, leave her hope upon the earth, because she has her life reserved in heaven; and as she holds her way here only for a short time, it is not possible to trace out her course.-As the Church does not leave her hope behind in the world, her hope in the incarnation of Christ which bears us all good, she did not leave the track of death in Hades.-Of whom but of Him who is born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin?-who, in renewing the perfect man in the world, works miracles, beginning from the baptism of John, as the Evangelist also testifies: And Jesus was then beginning to be about thirty years of age. This, then, was the youthful and blooming period of the age of Him who, in journeying among the cities and districts, healed the diseases and infirmities of men.
hyperlink "The eye that mocketh at his father, and dishonours the old age of his mother." That is to say, one that blasphemes God and despises the mother of Christ, the wisdom of God,-his eyes may ravens from the caves tear out, i.e., him may unclean and wicked spirits deprive of the clear eye of gladness; and may the young eagles devour him: and such shall be trodden under the feet of the saints.
hyperlink "There be three things which I cannot understand, and the fourth I know not: the tracks of an eagle flying," i.e., Christ's ascension; "and the ways of a serpent upon a rock," i.e., that the devil did not find a trace of sin in the body of Christ; "and the ways of a ship crossing the sea," i.e., the ways of the Church, which is in this life as in a sea, and which is directed by her hope in Christ through the cross; "and the ways of a man in youth,"hyperlink -the ways of Him, namely, who is born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin. For behold, says the Scripture, a man whose name is the Rising.hyperlink
hyperlink "Such is the way of an adulterous woman, who, when she has done the deed of sin, wipeth herself, and will say that no wickedness has been done." Such is the conduct of the Church that believes on Christ, when, after committing fornication with idols, she renounces these and the devil, and is cleansed of her sins and receives forgiveness, and then asserts that she has done no wickedness.
hyperlink "By three things the earth is moved," viz., by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. "And the fourth it cannot bear," viz., the last appearing of Christ. "When a servant reigneth: "Israel was a slave in Egypt, and in the land of promise became a ruler. "And a fool when he is filled with meat: "i.e., getting the land in possession readily, and eating its fruit, and being filled, it (the people) kicked. "And a handmaid when she casts out her mistress: "i.e., the synagogue which took the life of the Lord, and crucified the flesh of Christ.
hyperlink "There be four things which are least upon the earth, and these are wiser than the wise: The ants have no strength, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." And in like manner, the Gentiles by faith in Christ prepare for themselves eternal life through good works. "And the conies,hyperlink a feeble folk, have made their houses in the rocks." The Gentiles, that is to say, are built upon Christ, the spiritual rock, which is become the head of the corner. "The spider,hyperlink that supports itself upon its hands, and is easily caught, dwells in the strongholds of kings." That is, the thief with his hands extended (on the cross), rests on the cross of Christ and dwells n Paradise, the stronghold of the three Kings-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
"The locust has no king, and yet marches out in array as by one command." The Gentiles had no king, for they were ruled by sin; but now, believing God, they engage in the heavenly warfare.
hyperlink "There be three things which go well,hyperlink and the fourth which is comely in going; "that is, the angels in heaven, the saints upon earth, and the souls of the righteous under the earth. And the fourth, viz. God, the Word Incarnate, passed in honour through the Virgin's womb; and creating our Adam anew, he passed through the gates of heaven, and became the first-fruits of the resurrection and of the ascension for all.
"The whelp of the lion is stronger than the beasts: "i.e., Christ as prophesied of by Jacob in the person of Judah. "A cock walking with high spirit among his dames: "such was Paul, when preaching boldly among the churches the word of the Christ of God. "A goat heading the herd: "such is He who was offered for the sins of the world. "And a king speaking among the people: "so Christ reigns over the nations, and speaks by prophets and apostles the word of truth.
hyperlink That is one confirmed in wickedness.hyperlink The apostle, too, says, "Them that sin, rebuke before all; "hyperlink that is to say, all but reprobate. Who are meant by the "conies,"hyperlink but we ourselves, who once were like hogs, walking in all the filthiness of the world; but now, believing in Christ, we build our houses upon the holy flesh of Christ as upon a rock?
hyperlink The shaking (of the earth) signifies the change of things upon earth.-Sin, then, which in its own nature is a slave, has reigned in the mortal body of men: once, indeed, at the time of the flood; and again in the time of the Sodomites, who, not satisfied with what the land yielded, offered violence to strangers; and a third time in the case of hateful Egypt, which, though it obtained in Joseph a man who distributed food to all, that they might not perish of famine, yet did not take well with his prosperity, but persecuted the children of Israel. "The handmaid casting out her mistress: "i.e., the Church of the Gentiles, which, though itself a slave and a stranger to the promises, cast out the free-born and lordly synagogue, and became the wife and bride of Christ. By Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the whole earth is moved. The "fourth it cannot bear: "for He came first by lawgivers, and secondly by prophets, and thirdly by the Gospel, manifesting Himself openly; and in the fourth instance He shall come as the Judge of the living and the dead, whose glory the whole creation will not be able to endure.
Another Fragment.hyperlink St. Hippolytushyperlink On Prov. IX. 1, "Wisdom Hath Builded Her House."
Christ, he means, the wisdom and power of God the Father, hath builded His house, i.e., His nature in the flesh derived from the Virgin, even as he (John) hath said beforetime, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us."hyperlink As likewise the wise prophethyperlink testifies: Wisdom that was before the world, and is the source of life, the infinite "Wisdom of God, hath builded her house" by a mother who knew no man,-to wit, as He assumed the temple of the body. "And hath raisedhyperlink her seven pillars; "that is, the fragrant grace of the all-holy Spirit, as Isaiah says: "And the seven spirits of God shall rest upon Him,"hyperlink But others say that the seven pillars are the seven divine orders which sustain the creation by His holy and inspired teaching; to wit, me prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, the hierarchs, the hermits, the saints, and the righteous. And the phrase, "She hath killed her beasts," denotes the prophets and martyrs who in every city and country are slain like sheep every day by the unbelieving, in behalf of the truth, and cry aloud, "For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we were counted as sheep for the slaughter."hyperlink And again, "She hath mingled her wine" in the bowl, by which is meant, that the Saviour, uniting his Godhead, like pure wine, with the flesh in the Virgin, was born of her at once God and man without confusion of the one in the other. "And she hath furnished her table: "that denotes the promised knowledge of the Holy Trinity; it also refers to His honoured and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever-memorable table of the spiritual divine supper. And again, "She bath sent forth her servants: "Wisdom, that is to say, has done so-Christ, to wit-summoning them with lofty announcement. "Whoso is simple, Let him turn to me," she says, alluding manifestly to the holy apostles, who traversed the whole world, and called the nations to the knowledge of Him in truth, with their lofty and divine preaching. And again, "And to those that want understanding she said"-that is, to those who have not yet obtained the power of the Holy Ghost-"Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled for you; "by which is meant, that He gave His divine flesh and honoured blood to us, to eat and to drink it for the remission of sins.
On the Song of Songs.hyperlink
1. Arise, O north wind, and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out (Canticles iv. 16). As Joseph was delighted with these spices, he is designated the King's son by God; as the Virgin Mary was anointed with them, she conceived the Word: then new secrets, and new truth, and a new kingdom, and also great and inexplicable mysteries, are made manifest.
2. And where is all this rich knowledge? and where are these mysteries? and where are the books? For the only ones extant are Proverbs, and Wisdom, and Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. What then? Does the Scripture speak falsely? God forbid. But the matter of his writings was various, as is shown in the phrase "Song of Songs; "for that indicates that in this one book he digested the contents of the 5, 000 songs.hyperlink In the days moreover of Hezekiah, there were some of the books selected for use, and others set aside. Whence the Scripture says, "These are the mixedhyperlink Proverbs of Solomon, which the friends of Hezekiah the king copied out."hyperlink And whence did they take them, but out of the books containing the 3, 000 parables and the 5, 000 songs? Out of these, then, the wise friends of Hezekiah took those portions which bore upon the edification of the Church. And the books of Solomon on the "Parables" and "Songs," in which he wrote of the physiology of plants, and all kinds of animals belonging to the dry land, and the air, and the sea, and of the cures of disease, Hezekiah did away with, because the people looked to these for the remedies for their diseases, and neglected to seek their healing from God.hyperlink
On the Prophet Isaiah.hyperlink
When Hezekiah, king of Judah, was still sick and weeping, there came an angel, and said to him: "I have seen thy tears, and I have heard thy voice. Behold, I add unto thy time fifteen years. And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord: Behold, I turn back the shadow of the degrees of the house of thy father, by which the sun has gone down, the ten degrees by which the shadow has gone down,"hyperlink so that day be a day of thirty-two hours. For when the sun had run its course to the tenth hour, it returned again. And again, when Joshua the son of Nun was fighting against the Amorites, when the sun was now inclining to its setting, and the battle was being pressed closely, Joshua, being anxious lest the heathen host should escape on the descent of night, cried out, saying, "Sun, stand thou still in Gibeon; and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon,"hyperlink until I vanquish this people. And the sun stood still, and the moon, in their places, so that day was one of twenty-four hours. And in the time of Hezekiah the moon also turned back along with the sun, that there might be no collision between the two elemental bodies, by their bearing against each other in defiance of law. And Merodach the Chaldean, king of Babylon, being struck with amazement at that time-for he studied the science of astrology, and measured the courses of these bodies carefully-on learning the cause, sent a letter and gifts to Hezekiah, just as also the wise men from the east did to Christ.
Under Egypt he meant the world, and under things made with hands its idolatry, and under the shaking its subversion and dissolution.hyperlink And the Lord, the Word, he represented as upon a light cloud, referring to that most pure tabernacle, in which setting up His throne, our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to shake error.
On Jeremiah and Ezekiel.hyperlink
What were the dimensions, then, of the temple of Solomon? Its length was sixty cubits, and its breadth twenty. And it was not turned to the east, that the worshippers might not worship the rising sun, but the Lord of the sun. And let no one marvel if, when the Scripture gives the length at forty cubits, I have said sixty. For a little after it mentions the other twenty, in describing the holy of holies, which it also names Dabir. Thus the holy place was forty cubits, and the holy of holies other twenty. And Josephus says that the temple had two storeys,hyperlink and that the whole height was one hundred and twenty cubits. For so also the book of Chronicles indicates, saying, "And Solomon began to build the house of God. In length its first measure was sixty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits, and its height one hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold."hyperlink
On Daniel. I.
Preface by the most holy Hippolytus, (Bishop) of Rome.hyperlink
As I wish to give an accurate account of the times of the captivity of the children of Israel in Babylon, and to discuss the prophecies contained in the visions of the blessed Daniel, (as well as) his manner of life from his boyhood in Babylon, I too shall proceed to bear my testimony to that holy and righteous man, a prophet and witness of Christ, who not only declared the visions of Nebuchadnezzar the king in those times, but also trained youths of like mind with himself, and raised up faithful witnesses in the world. He is horn, then, in the time of the prophetic ministry of the blessed Jeremiah, and in the reign of Jehoiakim or Eliakim. Along with the other captives, he is carried off a prisoner to Babylon. Now there are born to the blessed Josiah these five sons-Jehoahaz, Eliakim, Johanan, Zedekiah, or Jeconiah, and Sadum.hyperlink And on his father's death, Jehoahaz is anointed as king by the people at the age of twenty-three years. Against him comes up Pharaoh-Necho, in the third month of his reign; and he takes him (Jehoahaz) prisoner, and carries him into Egypt, and imposes tribute on the land to the extent of one hundred talents of silver and ten talents of gold. And in his stead he sets up his brother Eliakim as king over the land, whose name also he changed to Jehoiakim, and who was then eleven years old. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,hyperlink and carries him off prisoner to Babylon, taking with him also some of the vessels of the house in Jerusalem. Thrown into prison as a friend of Pharaoh, and as one set up by him over the kingdom,hyperlink he is released at length in the thirty-seventh year by Evil-Merodach king of Babylon; and he cut his hair short, and was counsellor to him, and ate at his table until the day that he died. On his removal, his son Jehoiakimhyperlink reigns three years.hyperlink And against him came up Nebuchadnezzar, and transports him and ten thousand of the men of his people to Babylon, and sets up in his stead his father's brother, whose name he changed also to Zedekiah; and after making agreement with him by oath and treaty, he returns to Babylon. This (Zedekiah), after a reign of eleven years, revolted from him and went over to Pharaoh king of Egypt. And in the tenth year Nebuchadnezzar came against him from (he land of the Chaldeans, and surrounded the city with a stockade, and environed it all round, and completely shut it up. In this way the larger number of them perished by famine, and others perished by the sword, and some were taken prisoners, and the city was burned with fire, and the temple and the wall were destroyed. And the army of the Chaldeans seized all the treasure that was found in the house of the Lord, and all the vessels of gold and silver; and all the brass, Nebuzaradan, chief of the slaughterers,hyperlink stripped off, and carried it to Babylon. And the army of the Chaldeans pursued Zedekiah himself as he fled by night along with seven hundred men, and surprised him in Jericho, and brought him to the king of Babylon at Reblatha. And the king pronounced judgment upon him in wrath, because he had violated the oath of the Lord, and the agreement he had made with him; and he slew his sons before his face, and put out Zedekiah's eyes. And he cast him into chains of iron, and carried him to Babylon; and there he remained grinding at the mill until the day of his death. And when he died, they took his body and cast it behind the wall of Nineveh. In his case is fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah, saying, "(As) I live, saith the Lord, though Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah should become the signet upon my right hand, yet will I pluck thee thence; and I will give thee into the hands of them that seek thy life, of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hands of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into a country where thou wast not born; and there ye shall die. But to the land which they desire in their souls, I will not send thee back. Dishonoured is Jeconias, like an unserviceable vessel, of which there is no use, since he is cast out and expelled into a land which he knew not. O earth, hear the word of the Lord. Write this man, a man excommunicate; for no man of his seed shall prosper (grow up), sitting upon the throne of David, ruling any more in Judah."hyperlink Thus the captivity in Babylon befell them after the exodus from Egypt. When the whole people, then, was transported, and the city made desolate. and the sanctuary destroyed, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled which He spake by the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "The sanctuary shall be desolate seventy years; "hyperlink then we find that the blessed Daniel prophesied in Babylon, and appeared as the vindicator of Susanna.
1. In speaking of a "lioness from the sea,"hyperlink he meant the rising of the kingdom of Babylon, and that this was the "golden head of the image." And in speaking of its "eagle wings," be meant that king Nebuchadnezzar was exalted and that his glory was lifted up against God. Then he says "its wings were plucked off," i.e., that his glory was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, "A man's heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet of a man," mean that he came to himself again, and recognised that he was but a man, and gave the glory to God. Then after the lioness he sees a second beast, "like a bear," which signified the Persians. For after the Babylonians the Persians obtained the power. And in saying that "it had three ribs in its mouth," he pointed to the three nations, Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were expressed in the image by the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, "a leopard," which means the Greeks; for after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast "had four wings of a fowl, and four heads," he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander, when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, "The fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws of brass." Who, then, are meant by this but the Romans, whose kingdom, the kingdom that still stands, is expressed by the iron? "for," says he, "its legs are of iron."
2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which "part shall be of iron and part of clay mixed together? "By the toes of the feet he meant, mystically, the ten kings that rise out of that kingdom. As Daniel says, "I considered the beast; and, lo, (there were) ten horns behind, among which shall come up another little horn springing from them; "by which none other is meant than the antichrist that is to rise; and he shall set up the kingdom of Judah. And in saying that "three horns" were "plucked up by the roots" by this one, he indicates the three kings of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, whom this one will slay in the array of war. And when he has conquered all, he will prove himself a terrible and savage tyrant, and will cause tribulation and persecution to the saints, exalting himself against them. And after him, it remains that "the stone" shall come from heaven which "smote the image" and shivered it, and subverted all the kingdoms, and gave the kingdom to the saints of the Most High. This "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
3. As these things, then, are destined to come to pass, and as the toes of the image turn out to be democracies,hyperlink and the ten horns of the beast are distributed among ten kings, let us look at what is before us more carefully, and scan it, as it were, with open eye. The "golden head of the image" is identical with the "lioness," by which the Babylonians were represented. "The golden shoulders and the arms of silver" are the same with the "bear," by which the Persians and Medes are meant. "The belly and thighs of brass" are the "leopard," by which the Greeks who ruled from Alexander onwards are intended. The "legs of iron" are the "dreadful and terrible beast," by which the Romans who hold the empire now are meant. The "toes of clay and iron" are the "ten horns" which are to be. The "one other little horn springing up in their midst" is the "antichrist." The stone that "smites the image and breaks it in pieces," and that filled the whole earth, is Christ, who comes from heaven and brings judgment on the world.
4. But that we may not leave our subject at this point undemonstrated, we are obliged to discuss the matter of the times, of which a man should not speak hastily, because they are a light to him. For as the times are noted from the foundation of the world, and reckoned from Adam, they set clearly before us the matter with which our inquiry deals. For the first appearance of our Lord in the flesh took place in Bethlehem, under Augustus, in the year 5500; and He suffered in the thirty-third year. And 6, 000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day "on which God rested from all His works."hyperlink For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they "shall reign with Christ," when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse: for "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years."hyperlink Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that 6, 000 years must be fulfilled. And they are not yet fulfilled, as John says: "five are fallen; one is," that is, the sixth; "the other is not yet come."hyperlink
5. In mentioning the "other," moreover, he specifies the seventh, in which there is rest. But some one may be ready to say, How will you prove to me that the Saviour was born in the year 5500? Learn that easily, O man; for the things that took place of old in the wilderness, under Moses, in the case of the tabernacle, were constituted types and emblems of spiritual mysteries, in order that, when the truth came in Christ in these last days, you might be able to perceive that these things were fulfilled. For He says to him, "And thou shalt make the ark of imperishable wood, and shalt overlay it with pure gold within and without; and thou shalt make the length of it two cubits and a half, and the breadth thereof one cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half the height; "hyperlink which measures, when summed up together, make five cubits and a half, so that the 5500 years might be signified thereby.
6. At that time, then, the Saviour appeared and showed His own body to the world, (born) of the Virgin, who was the "ark overlaid with pure gold," with the Word within and the Holy Spirit without; so that the truth is demonstrated, and the "ark" made manifest. From the birth of Christ, then, we must reckon the 500 years that remain to make up the 6000, and thus the end shall be. And that the Saviour appeared in the world, bearing the imperishable ark, His own body, at a time which was the fifth and half, John declares: "Now it was the sixth hour,"hyperlink he says, intimating by that, one-half of the day. But a day with the Lord is 10000 years; and the half of that, therefore, is 500 years. For it was not meet that He should appear earlier, for the burden of the law still endured, nor yet when the sixth day was fulfilled (for the baptism is changed), but on the fifth and half, in order that in the remaining half time the gospel might be preached to the whole world, and that when the sixth day was completed He might end the present life.
7. Since, then, the Persians held the mastery for 330 years,hyperlink and after them the Greeks, who were yet more glorious, held it for 300 years, of necessity the fourth beast, as being strong and mightier than all that were before it, will reign 500 years. When the times are fulfilled, and the ten horns spring from the beast in the last (times), then Antichrist will appear among them. When he makes war against the saints, and persecutes them, then may we expect the manifestation of the Lord from heaven.
8. The prophet having thus instructed us with all exactness as to the certainty of the things that are to be, broke off from his present subject, and passed again to the kingdom of the Persians and Greeks, recounting to us another vision which took place, and was fulfilled in its proper time; in order that, by establishing our belief in this, he might be able to present us to God as readier believers in the things that are to be. Accordingly, what he had narrated in the first vision, he again recounts in detail for the edification of the faithful. For by the "ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward," he means Darius, the king of the Persians, who overcame all the nations; "for," says he, "these beasts shall not stand before him." And by the "he-goat that came from the west," he means Alexander the Macedonian, the king of the Greeks; and in that he "came against that very ram, and was moved with choler, and smote him upon the face, and shivered him, and cast him upon the ground, and stamped upon him," this expresses just what has happened.
9. For Alexander waged war against Darius, and overcame him, and made himself master of the whole sovereignty, after routing and destroying his camp. Then, after the exaltation of the he-goat, his horn-the great one, namely-was broken; and there arose four horns under it, toward the four winds of heaven. For, when Alexander had made himself master of all the land of Persia, and had reduced its people into subjection, he thereupon died, after dividing his kingdom into four principalities, as has been shown above. And from that time "one horn was exalted, and waxed great, even to the power of heaven; and by him the sacrifice," he says, "was disturbed, and righteousness cast down to the ground."
10. For Antiochus arose, surnamed Epiphanes, who was of the line of Alexander. And after he had reigned in Syria, and brought under him all Egypt, he went up to Jerusalem, and entered the sanctuary, and seized all the treasures in the house of the Lord, and the golden candlestick, and the table, and the altar, and made a great slaughter in the land; even as it is written: "And the sanctuary shall be trodden under foot, unto evening and unto morning, a thousand and three hundred days." For it happened that the sanctuary remained desolate during that period, three years and a half, that the thousand and three hundred days might be fulfilled; until Judas Maccabaeus arose after the death of his father Matthias, and withstood him, and destroyed the encampment of Antiochus, and delivered the city, and recovered the sanctuary, and restored it in strict accordance with the law.
11. Since, then, the angel Gabriel also recounted these things to the prophet, as they have been understood by us, as they have also taken place, and as they have been all clearly described in the books of the Maccabees, let us see further what he says on the other weeks. For when he read the book of Jeremiah the prophet, in which it was written that the sanctuary would be desolate seventy years, he made confession with fastings and supplications, and prayed that the people might return sooner from their captivity to the city Jerusalem. Thus, then, he speaks in his account: "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was king over the realm of the Chaldeans, I Daniel understood in the books the number of the years, as the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishment of the desolation of Jerusalem in seventy years," etc.
12. After his confession and supplication, the angel says to him, "Thou art a manhyperlink greatly beloved: "for thou desirest to see things of which thou shalt be informed by me; and in their own time these things will be fulfilled; and he touched me, saying, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, to seal up sins and to blot out transgressions, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy; and thou shalt know and understand, that from the going forth of words for the answer, and for the building of Jerusalem, unto Christ the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks."
13. Having mentioned therefore seventy weeks, and having divided them into two parts, in order that what was spoken by him to the prophet might be better understood, he proceeds thus, "Unto Christ the Prince shall be seven weeks," which make forty-nine years. It was in the twenty-first year that Daniel saw these things in Babylon. Hence, the forty-nine years added to the twenty-one, make up the seventy years, of which the blessed Jeremiah spake: "The sanctuary shall be desolate seventy years from the captivity that befell them under Nebuchadnezzar; and after these things the people will return, and sacrifice and offering will be presented, when Christ is their Prince."hyperlink
14. Now of what Christ does he speak, but of Jesus the son of Josedech, who returned at that time along with the people, and offered sacrifice according to the law, in the seventieth year, when the sanctuary was built? For all the kings and priests were styled Christs, because they were anointed with the holy oil, which Moses of old prepared. These, then, bore the name of the Lord in their own persons, showing aforetime the type, and presenting the image until the perfect King and Priest appeared from heaven, who alone did the will of the Father; as also it is written in Kings: "And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do all things according to my heart."hyperlink
Footnotes
80 Mai, Bibliotheca nova Patrum, vii. ii. 71, Rome, 1854.
81 1 Kings iii. 12.
82 Prov. 1. 3.
83 Ch. i. II.
84 Ch. iii. 35.
85 Prov. iv. 2.
86 Ch. iv. 8.
87 Ch. iv. 14.
88 Ch. iv. 25.
89 Ch. iv. 27.
90 This is the Septuagint translation of ch. xxvii, 16.
91 Prov. v. 19.
92 Ch. vi. 27.
93 Job xxxi. 1.
94 Prov. vii. 22. The Hebrew word, rendered "straightway" in our version, is translated pfwqeij in the Septuagint, i.e., "ensnared like a cepphus." [Quasi agnus lasciviens,according to the Vulgate.]
95 [It the "cemphus" of the text equals "cepphus" of note, then "cepphus" equals "cebus" or "cepus," which equals khboj, a sort of monkey. The "Kophim" of 1 Kings x. 22 seems to supply the root of the word. The kepfoj, however, is said to be a sea-bird "driven about by every wind," so that it is equal to a fool. So used by Aristophanes.]
96 Prov. vii. 26.
97 tameia, "magazines."
98 Ch. ix. 1.
99 Ch. ix. 12.
100 Ch. xi. 30.
101 wj autozwh.
102 Ch. xii. 2.
103 Ch. xvii. 27.
104 Ch. xxx. 15.
105 Other reading (fqonoj) = "envy."
106 [The place of torment (2 Pet. ii. 4). Vol. iv. 140.]
107 [Sheol, rather,-the receptacle of departed spirits. See vol. pp, 59 and 595; also vol. iv. p. 194.]
108 Prov. xxx. 19.
109 John xiv. 30.
110 Ch. xxx, 17.
111 Prov. xxx. 18, 19.
112 [The Authorized Version reads very differently; but our author follows the Sept., with which agrees the Vulgate.]
113 The reference probably is to Zech. vi. 12, where the word is rendered "Branch." The word in the text is antolh0.
114 Ch. xxx. 20.
115 Ch. XXX. 21-23.
116 Ch. xxx. 24-28.
117 xoirogrlloi, i.e., "grunting hogs."
118 askalabwthj, i.e., a "lizard."
119 Prov. xxx. 29, etc. [As in Vulgate.)
120 Prov. xxx. 29, etc. [As in Vulgate.)
121 Cf. xxvii. 22, the Septuagint rendering being: "Though thou shouldest disgrace and scourge a fool in the midst of the council, thou wilt not strip him of his folly." [What version did our author use?]
122 Cf. xxvii. 22, the Septuagint rendering being: "Though thou shouldest disgrace and scourge a fool in the midst of the council, thou wilt not strip him of his folly." [What version did our author use?]
123 1 Tim. v. 30.
124 Literally, "grunting hogs."
125 Ch. xxx. 21, etc. [As to version, see Burgon, Lett. from Rome, p, 34.]
126 From Gallandi.
127 [I omit here the suffix "Pope of Rome," for obvious reasons, He was papa of Portus at a time when all bishops were so called but this is a misleading absurdity, borrowed from the Galland ms.., where it could hardly have been placed earlier. A mere mediaeval blunder.]
128 John i. 14.
129 i.e., Solomon.
130 Other reading, "hewn out."
131 Isa. xi. 2.
132 Ps. xliv. 2; Rom. viii. 36.
133 Simon de Magistris, in his Acta Martyr. Ostiens., p. 274 adduces the following fragment in Latin and Syriac, from a Vatican' codex, and prefaces it with these words: Hippolytus wrote on the Song of Solomon, and showed that thus early did God the Word seek His pleasure in the Church gathered from among the Gentiles, and especially in His most holy mother the Virgin; and thus the Syrians, who boasted that the Virgin was born among them, translated the Commentary of Hippolytus at a very early period from the Greek into their own tongue, of which some fragments still remain, -as, for example, one to this effect on the above words.
134 1 Kings iv. 32.
135 adiakritoi, "mixed," or "dark."
136 Prov. xxv. 1.
137 In Gallandi, from Anastasius Sinai', quest. 41, p 320.
138 In Gallandi, from a codex of the Coislin Library, Num. 193, fol. 36.
139 [Here we have the blunder (noted supra, p. 175) repeated as to Rome, which must be here taken as meaning the Roman Province, not the See. The word"Bishop," which avoids the ambiguity above noted, I have therefore put into parenthesis.]
140 Isa. xxxviii. 5, 7, 8.
141 Josh. x. 12.
142 Theodoret, in his First Dialogue.]
143 The text is evidently corrupt: Kurion de ton Logon, nefelhn de koufhn to kaqarwtaton skhnoj, etc. The reference must be to ch.xix. I.
144 Hippolytus wrote on Isaiah with the view of making the most of the favourable disposition entertained by the Emperor Alexander Severus towards the Christians, and particularly on that part where the retrogression of the sun is recorded a:i .:i n of an extension of life to Hezekiah.
145 That Hippolytus wrote on Jeremiah is recorded, so far as I know, by none of the ancients; For the quotation given in the Catenaof Greek fathers on Jer. xvii. 11is taken from his book On Antichrist, chap. 1v. Rufinus mentions that Hippolytus wrote on a certain part of the prophet Ezekiel, viz., on those chapters which contain the description of the temple of Jerusalem; and of that commentary the following fragments are preserved.-De Magistris.
146 diorofon.
147 2 Chron. iii. 1, 3, 4.
148 Simon de Margistris, Daniel secundum Septuaginta, from the Codex Chrisianus, Rome, 1772; and Mai, Script. vet. collectio nova, i. iii. ed. 1831, pp. 29-56.
149 Shallum. See 1 Chron. iii. 15.
150 2 Kings xxiv. 10.
151 2 Kings xxv. 27. Note the confusion between Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin in what follows.
152 i.e., Jehoiachin.
153 Others trimhnion/= three months.
154 arximageiroj, "chief cook."
155 Jer. xxii. 24, etc.
156 Jer. xxv. 11.
157 The same method o( explaining the two visions is also adopted by Jacobus Nisibenus, serm. v., and by his illustrious disciple Ephraem Syrus on Dan. vii. 4. [Let me again refer to Dr. Pusey's work an Daniel, as invaluable in this connection. The comments of our author on this book and on "the Antichrist," infra, deserve special attention, as from a disciple of the disciples of St. John himself.]
158 Dan. vii.
159 [True in A.D. 1885. A very pregnant testimony to our own times.]
160 This is what Photius condemned in Hippolytus. Irenaeus, however, held the same opinion (book v. c. 28 and 29). The same view is expressed yet earlier in the Epistle of Barnabas (sec. 15). It was an opinion adopted from the rabbis.
161 Ps. xc. 4.
162 Apoc. xvii. 10.
163 Ex. xxv. 10.
164 John xix. 14.
165 Migne thinks we should read diakosia triakonta, i.e., 230, as it is also in Julius Africanus, who was contemporary with Hippolytus. As to the duration of the Greek empire, Hippolytus and Africanus make it both 300 years, if we follow Jerome's version of the latter in his comment on Dan. ix. 24. Eusebius makes it seventy years longer in his Demonstr. Evag., viii. 2.
166 Literally, "a man of desires." [Our author plays on this word, as it' the desire o( knowledge were referred to. Our Authorized Version is better, and the rendering might be "a man of loves."]
167 Jer. xxv. 11.
168 1 Sam. ii. 35.