De Principiis

¹¹ The way, then, as it appears to us, in which we ought to deal with the Scrip­tures, and extract from them their mean­ing, is the following, which has been ascer­tained from the Scriptures themselves. By Solomon in the Proverbs we find some such rule as this enjoined respecting the divine doctrines of Scripture: “And portray them in a threefold manner, in counsel and knowledge, to answer words of truth to them who propose them to you.” The individual ought, then, to portray the ideas of holy Scripture in a threefold manner upon his own soul; in order that the simple man may be edified by the “flesh,” as it were, of the Scripture, for so we name the obvious sense; while he who has ascended a certain way (may be edified) by the “soul,” as it were. The perfect man, again, and he who resem­bles those spoken of by the apostle, when he says, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect, but not the wisdom of the world, nor of the rulers of this world, who come to nought; but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God has ordained before the ages, unto our glory,” (may receive edification) from the spiritual law, which has a shadow of good things to come. For as man consists of body, and soul, and spirit, so in the same way does Scripture, which has been arranged to be given by God for the salvation of men. And therefore we deduce this also from a book which is despised by some— The Shepherd— in respect of the command given to Hermas to write two books, and after so doing to announce to the presbyters of the Church what he had learned from the Spirit. The words are as follows: “You will write two books, and give one to Clement, and one to Grapte. And Grapte shall admonish the widows and the orphans, and Clement will send to the cities abroad, while you will announce to the presbyters of the Church.” Now Grapte, who admonishes the widows and the orphans, is the mere letter (of Scripture), which admonishes those who are yet children in soul, and not able to call God their Father, and who are on that account styled orphans—admon­ishing, moreover, those who no longer have an unlawful bridegroom, but who remain widows, because they have not yet become worthy of the (heavenly) Bridegroom; while Clement, who is already beyond the letter, is said to send what is written to the cities abroad, as if we were to call these the “souls,” who are above (the influence of) bodily (affections) and degraded ideas,— the disciple of the Spirit himself being enjoined to make known, no longer by let­ters, but by living words, to the presbyters of the whole Church of God, who have become grey through wisdom.

12. But as there are certain passages of Scripture which do not at all contain the “corporeal” sense, as we shall show in the following (paragraphs), there are also places where we must seek only for the “soul,” as it were, and “spirit” of Scrip­ture. And perhaps on this account the water-vessels containing two or three firkins a-piece are said to lie for the purification of the Jews, as we read in the Gospel ac­cording to John: the expression darkly intimating, with respect to those who (are called) by the apostle “Jews” secretly, that they are purified by the word of Scripture, receiving sometimes two firkins, i.e., so to speak, the “psychical” and “spiritual” sense; and sometimes three firkins, since some have, in addition to those already mentioned, also the “cor­poreal” sense, which is capable of (pro­ducing) edification. And six water-vessels are reasonably (appropriate) to those who are purified in the world, which was made in six days— the perfect number. That the first “sense,” then, is profitable in this respect, that it is capable of imparting edi­fication, is testified by the multitudes of genuine and simple believers; while of that interpretation which is referred back to the “soul,” there is an illustration in Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians. The ex­pression is, “You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treads out the grain;” to which he adds, “Does God take care of oxen? Or says He it alto­gether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this was written: that he that ploughs should plough in hope, and that he who threshes, in hope of partak­ing.” And there are numerous interpre­tations adapted to the multitude which are in circulation, and which edify those who are unable to understand profounder mean­ings, and which have somewhat the same character.

13. But the interpretation is “spiritual,” when one is able to show of what heavenly things the Jews “according to the flesh” served as an example and a shadow, and of what future blessings the law contains a shadow. And, generally, we must investi­gate, according to the apostolic promise, “the wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wis­dom which God ordained before the world for the glory” of the just, which “none of the princes of this world knew.” And the same apostle says somewhere, after refer­ring to certain events mentioned as occur­ring in Exodus and Numbers, “that these things happened to them figuratively, but that they were written on our account, on whom the ends of the world have come.” And he gives an opportunity for ascertain­ing of what things these were patterns, when he says: “For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” And in another Epistle, when sketching the various mat­ters relating to the tabernacle, he used the words: “You shall make everything ac­cording to the pattern showed you in the mount.” Moreover, in the Epistle to the Galatians, as if upbraiding those who think that they read the law, and yet do not understand it, judging that those do not understand it who do not reflect that alle­gories are contained under what is written, he says: “Tell me, you that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written, Abraham had two sons; the one by the bond-maid, the other by the free woman. But he who was by the bond-maid was born according to the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants,” and so on. Now we must carefully observe each word employed by him. He says: “You who desire to be under the law,” not “You that are under the law;” and, “Do you not hearthe law?”— “hearing” being under­stood to mean “comprehending” and “knowing.” And in the Epistle to the Colossians, briefly abridging the meaning of the whole legislation, he says: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a festival, or of a new moon, or of Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come.” Moreover, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, discoursing of those who belong to the circumcision, he writes: “who serve for an ensample and shadow of heavenly things.” Now it is probable that, from these illustrations, those will entertain no doubt with respect to the five books of Moses, who have once given in their adhesion to the apostle, as divinely inspired; but do you wish to know, with regard to the rest of the his­tory, if it also happened as a pattern? We must note, then, the expression in the Epistle to the Romans, “I have left to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal,” quoted from the third book of Kings, which Paul has understood as equivalent (in meaning) to those who are Israelites according to elec­tion, because not only were the Gentiles benefited by the advent of Christ, but also certain of the race of God.