ON THE MIGRATION OF ABRAHAM

 I. (1) And the Lord said to Abraham, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house to a land which I will show thee and I

 II. (7) That he means by Abraham's country the body, and by his kindred the outward senses, and by his father's house uttered speech, we have now show

 III. (13) When therefore the mind begins to become acquainted with itself, and to dwell among the speculations which come under the province of the in

 IV. (17) Accordingly, the sacred scriptures command the bones of Joseph--I mean by this the only parts of such a soul as were left behind, being speci

 V. Which he who sees, marvelling at (and indeed it was Enough[Ge 42:18.] to cause astonishment), says, It is a great thing for me if my son Joseph is

 VI. (26) And why do we wonder if he exhorts the man who is led away by the force of unreasonable passions, neither to yield, nor to allow himself to b

 VII. (31) How then should any good thing be wanting when the all-accomplishing God is at all times present with his graces, which are his virgin daugh

 VIII. (36) That then which is shown is that thing so worthy of being beheld, so worthy of being contemplated, so worthy of being beloved, the perfect

 IX. (43) And Moses speaks very cautiously, inasmuch as he defines not the present time but the future in the promise which he records, when he says,

 X. (53) Therefore, after having left all mortal things, God, as I have said before, gives, as his first gift to the soul, an exhibition and an opportu

 XI. But who are they who are worthy to obtain such a mercy as this? It is plain that they are all lovers of wisdom and knowledge (58) for these are t

 XII. (64) For, says Moses, you shall not eat those animals which have a multitude of feet, being numbered among all the reptiles that are upon the

 XIII. (70) There have now been two gifts of God already mentioned: the hope of a life devoted to contemplation, and an improvement in good things in r

 XIV. (76) For this reason also the allaccomplished Moss deprecates coming to a consideration of reasonable looking and plausible arguments, from the t

 XV. (80) At all events when the conceptions are at all indistinct and ambiguous, speech is the treading as it were on empty air, and often stumbles an

 XVI. (86) What then is the fourth gift? The having a great name, for God says, I will magnify thy Name [Ge 12:2.] and the meaning of this, as it app

 XVII. (95) I also admire Leah, that woman endued with all virtue, who, at the birth of Asher, who is the symbol of that bastard wealth, which is perce

 XVIII. (101) On this account also the selfinstructed Isaac prays to the lover of wisdom, that he may be able to comprehend both those good things whic

 XIX. (106) There is, also, a fifth gift, which consists only in the bare fact of existence and it is mentioned after all the previous ones, not becau

 XX. (109) These are the good things which are given to him who is about to be wise. But let us now examine what God, for the sake of the wise man, bes

 XXI. (118) These, then, are the things which, he says, happen in the first instance to others on account of the good man, when they seek to load him w

 XXII. (124) Let us therefore pray that the mind may be in the soul like a pillar in a house, and, in like manner, that the just man may be firmly esta

 XXIII. (127) We have now, then, said enough about gifts which God is accustomed to bestow on those who are to become perfect, and through the medium o

 XXIV. (132) And he also, with a wish further to excite an irresistible desire of what is good, enjoins one to cleave to it for he says, Thou shalt f

 XXV. (139) Since, then, these things are in this state, the mind, when it is rendered perfect, will pay its proper tribute to the God who causes perfe

 XXVI. (143) This is the end of the path of those who follow the arguments and injunctions contained in the law, and who walk in the way which God lead

 XXVII. (148) We must also inquire what the meaning of the expression, He went with Lot,[Ge 12:4.] is. Now, the name Lot, being interpreted, means d

 XXVIII. And it is with particular beauty and propriety that he calls the soul of the wicked man multitude: for it is truly a company which has been co

 XXIX. (158) Some persons then repudiate this mixed and rough multitude, and raise a wall of fortification to keep it from them, rejoicing only in the

 XXX. (164) Accordingly, as I have already said, the lovers of wisdom will raise a wall of exclusion against the man who, like a drone, has resolved to

 XXXI. (168) But whoever is raised on high to such a sublime elevation will never any more allow any of the portions of his soul to dwell below among m

 XXXII. (176) And Abraham, says Moses, was seventy-five years of age, when he departed out of Charren. Now concerning the number of seventy-five ye

 XXXIII. (184) These things then having been now said for the purpose of overturning the opinion of the Chaldeans he thinks that it is desirable to le

 XXXIV. (187) Abandoning therefore your superfluous anxiety to investigate the things of heaven, dwell, as I said just now within yourselves, forsaking

 XXXV. (192) Having then in this manner learnt to accomplish the abandonment of mortal things, you shall become instructed in the proper doctrines resp

 XXXVI. (196) On which account also that disposition which is ranked in the highest class by God, by name Samuel, does not explain the just precepts of

 XXXVII. (203) This number, therefore, as I have said before, is familiar to Moses, but the number of the five outward senses is familiar to him who em

 XXXVIII. (208) I very much admire Rebecca, who is patience, because she, at that time, recommends the man who is perfect in his soul, and who has dest

 XXXIX. (216) The mind, therefore, going forth out of the places which are in Charran, is said to have travelled through the land until it came to the

IX. (43) And Moses speaks very cautiously, inasmuch as he defines not the present time but the future in the promise which he records, when he says, "Not that which I do show you, but that which I will show You;"[Ge 15:5.] as a testimony to the faith with which the soul believed in God, showing its gratitude not by what had been already done, but by its expectation of the future; (44) for being kept in a state of suspense and eagerness by good hope, and thinking that even what was not present would beyond all question be present immediately, on account of its most certain faith in him who had promised, it found a reward, the perfect good; for in another passage it is said that Abraham believed in God. And in the same way, God, when showing Moses all the land, says that, "I have show it to thy eyes, but thou shalt not enter Therein."[De 34:4.] (45) Do not then fancy that this is spoken of the death of the all-wise Moses, as some inconsiderate persons believe; for it is a piece of folly to think that slaves should have the country of virtue assigned to them in preference to the friends of God. (46) But first of all, God wishes to make it understood by you that there is one place for infants and another for full-grown men, the one being called practice and the other wisdom; and secondly, that the most beautiful of all the things in nature are rather such as can be seen as can be acquired; for how can it be possible to acquire possession of those things which are endowed in the same degree with the diviner attributes? But it is not impossible to see them, though it may not be given to all men to do so, for this may be permitted only to the purest and most acute-sighted race, to whom the father of the universe, when he displays his own works, is giving the greatest of all gifts. (47) For what life can be better than that which is devoted to speculation, or what can be more closely connected with rational existence; for which reason it is that though the voices of mortal beings are judged of by the faculty of hearing, nevertheless the scriptures present to us the words of God, to be actually visible to us like light; for in them it is said that, "All people saw the voice of God; [Ex 20:18.] they do not say, "heard it," since what took place was not a beating of the air by means of the organs of the mouth and tongue, but a most exceedingly brilliant ray of virtue, not different in any respect from the source of reason, which also in another passage is spoken of in the following manner, "Ye have seen that I spake unto you from out of Heaven,"[Ex 20:22.] not "Ye have heard," for the same reason. (48) But there are passages where he distinguishes between what is heard and what is seen, and between the sense of seeing and that of hearing, as where he says, "Ye have heard the sound of the words, but ye saw no similitude, only ye heard a Voice;"[De 4:12.] speaking here with excessive precision; for the discourse which was divided into nouns and verbs, and in short into all the different parts of speech, he has very appropriately spoken of as something to be heard; for in fact that is examined by the sense of hearing; but that which has nothing to do with either with nouns or verbs, but is the voice of God, and seen by the eye of the soul, he very properly represents as visible; (49) and having previously reminded them, "Ye saw no similitude," he proceeds to say, " Only ye heard a voice, which ye all saw;" for this must be what is understood as implied in those words. So that the words of God have for their tribunal and judge the sense of sight, which is situated in the soul; but those which are subdivided into nouns, and verbs, and other parts of speech, have for their judge the sense of hearing. (50) But as the writer being new in all kinds of knowledge, has also introduced this novelty both in his accounts of domestic and of foreign matters, saying that the voice is a thing to be judged of by the sight, which in point of fact is almost the only thing in us which is not an object of sight, with the single exception of the mind; for the things which are the objects of the rest of the outward senses are, every one of them, visible to the sight, such as colours, tastes, smells, things that are hot or cold, things that are smooth or rough, things that are soft or hard, inasmuch as it is a body, if indeed it is a body at all, nor inasmuch as they are substantial bodies. (51) And what is meant by this I will explain more distinctly: a flavour is appreciable by the sight, not inasmuch as it is flavour, but so far it is a mere substance, for in so far as it is flavour the sense of taste will judge of it; again a smell, in so far as it is a smell, will be decided upon by the nostrils, but inasmuch as it is a bodily substance, it will also be judged of by the eyes: and the other objects of sense will be tested in this manner; but voice is not appreciable by the sense of sight, neither inasmuch as it can be heard; but there are these two things in us which are wholly invisible--mind and speech; (52) but the sound that proceeds from us does not the least resemble the divine organ of voice; for one organ of voice is mingled with the air, and flies to a kindred region with itself, namely to the ears; but the divine organ consists of unmixed and unalloyed speech, which outstrips the sense of hearing by reason of its fineness, and which is discerned by a pure soul, by means of its acuteness in the faculty of sight.