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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
