Scripture teaches through animals, plants and stones; the clean and unclean beasts
Cyril: …brings in many irrational animals, and kinds of birds and water creatures as well, to sketch human characters, and so benefits us in countless ways. And do not be surprised at this, since at times it likens us even to plants, using the natural quality of each to mark out neatly what belongs to each of us. For God said somewhere through the voice of Isaiah, hinting at the fragrance of those who through faith in Christ have blossomed anew into life (a spiritual fragrance, clearly), and at the heights they reach in virtue: ‘And I will make living water in the desert, and rivers in a waterless land’ (Isaiah 43:19–20), ‘and I will set in the waterless land the cedar and the box tree, the myrtle, the cypress and the white poplar.’ (Isaiah 41:19) And again: ‘And it shall be,’ he says, ‘that instead of the scrub a cypress shall come up, and instead of the fleabane a myrtle shall come up.’ (Isaiah 55:13) By scrub and fleabane, I think, he aptly names souls still untamed, which appear in the eyes of the Godhead like wild thorn. And at times the venerable company of the saints is also likened to stones: ‘For holy stones are rolling on the earth.’ (Zechariah 9:16) And the Savior, too, said that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven and like a grain of mustard seed (Matthew 13:31–33). So it is the custom of the divinely inspired Scripture to make human things plain through many very vivid examples.
Palladius: I agree.
Cyril: Observe, then, that Scripture, bringing forward to good purpose countless kinds of beasts, and of birds and swimming creatures too, brands some as unclean and wholly defiled, and accepts others again and clears them of reproach, so that those who serve God may rightly know what conduct would keep them from being accepted, and by wisely abstaining from what they will be far from blame and will shine, worthy of acceptance and honored by the verdict from above. The law on this matter runs as follows: ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel and say: These are the animals that you shall eat out of all the animals on the earth. Every animal that parts the hoof and is cloven-footed with two claws, and brings up the cud, among the animals, these you shall eat. But of these you shall not eat, of those that bring up the cud and of those that part the hoof and are cloven-footed: the camel, because it brings up the cud but does not part the hoof; it is unclean to you. And the hare, because it brings up the cud and does not part the hoof; it is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it brings up the cud and does not part the hoof; it is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed, but does not bring up the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall not eat of their carcasses; they are unclean to you.’ (Leviticus 11:1–8) Now Christ says most plainly: ‘It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person.’ (Matthew 15:11) And somewhere it was also said to the inspired Peter, when the sheet was let down from above by its four corners (Acts 10:11–12), in which, it is written, were all the…
Greek
ἀνθρωπίνων ἠθῶν ὑποτύπωσιν, ζῶά τε πολλὰ τῶν ἀλόγων, καὶ μὴν καὶ πτηνῶν καὶ ἐνύδρων γένη παρενεγκὼν, κατὰ μυρίους ἡμᾶς ὀνίνησι τρόπους. Καὶ μή τι θαυμάσῃς, ὅπου καὶ αὐτοῖς ἔσθ' ὅτε παρεικάζει φυτοῖς, ἀπὸ τῆς ἑκάστου ποιότητος φυσικῆς. κατασημαίνων ἀστείως τὰ ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς. Ἔφη γάρ που Θεὸς διὰ φωνῆς Ἡσαΐου, τῶν εἰς Χριστὸν διὰ πίστεως ἀνατεθαλκότων εἰς ζωὴν τὰς εὐοσμίας ὑποδηλῶν, δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τὰς πνευματικὰς, καὶ μὴν καὶ ὑψώματα τὰ εἰς ἀρετήν· «Καὶ ποιήσω ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὕδωρ ζῶν, καὶ ἐν γῇ ἀνύδρῳ ποταμοὺς, καὶ θήσω εἰς τὴν ἄνυδρον γῆν, κέδρον, καὶ πύξον, καὶ μυρσίνην, καὶ κυπάρισσον, καὶ λεύκην.» Καὶ πάλιν· «Καὶ ἔσται,» φησὶν, «ἀντὶ τῆς στοιβῆς, ἀναβήσεται κυπάρισσος· ἀντὶ δὲ κονύζης, ἀναβήσεται μυρσίνη·» στοιβὴν, οἶμαί που, καὶ κόνυζαν, τὰς ἀνημέρους ἔτι ψυχὰς, καὶ ἐν εἴδει τῆς ἀγρίας ἀκάνθης ἐκφαινομένας παρά γε τοῖς τῆς θεότητος ὀφθαλμοῖς, ὀνομάζων εὐφυῶς. Ἀλλὰ καὶ λίθοις ἔσθ' ὅτε τὸ σεπτὸν τῶν ἁγίων παρεικάζεται στίφος· «Λίθοι γὰρ ἅγιοι κυλίονται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.» Καὶ μὴν καὶ ζύμῃ προσεοικέναι καὶ κόκκῳ σινάπεως τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν ἔφασκεν ὁ Σωτήρ. Ἐκ πολλῶν οὖν ἄρα καὶ ἐναργεστάτων παραδειγμάτων καταδηλοῦν ἔθος τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ Γραφῇ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Σύμφημι.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ὅτι μυρία μὲν ὅσα κτηνῶν εἴδη, καὶ μὴν τὰ πτηνῶν καὶ τὰ νηκτῶν παρενεγκοῦσα χρησίμως, τὰ μὲν, ὡς ἀκάθαρτα καταμιαίνει παντελῶς, τὰ δὲ αὖ προσίεταί τε καὶ ἀπαλλάττει διαβολῆς, ἵν' εἰδεῖεν ὀρθῶς οἱ Θεῷ λατρεύοντες, τίνα μὲν δρῶντες, οὐκ εἰσδεχθεῖεν ἄν· τίνων δὲ νουνεχῶς ἀπεσχημένοι, μώμου μὲν ἔσονται μακρὰν, λαμπροὶ δ' ἂν εἶεν καὶ ἀξιόληπτοι, καὶ ψήφῳ τῇ ἄνωθεν τετιμημένοι. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτως ἡμῖν ὁ ἐπὶ τῷδε νόμος· «Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν καὶ Ἀαρὼν, λέγων· Λαλήσατε τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ, λέγοντες· Ταῦτα τὰ κτήνη, ἃ φάγεσθε ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πᾶν κτῆνος διχηλοῦν ὁπλὴν, καὶ ὀνυχιστῆρας ὀνυχίζον δύο χηλῶν, καὶ ἀνάγον μηρυκισμὸν ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσι, ταῦτα φάγεσθε· πλὴν ἀπὸ τούτων οὐ φάγεσθε, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναγόντων μηρυκισμὸν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν διχηλούντων τὰς ὁπλὰς, καὶ ὀνυχιζόντων ὀνυχιστῆρας· τὸν κάμηλον, ὅτι ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν, ὁπλὴν δὲ οὐ διχηλεῖ, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν, καὶ τὸν δασύποδα, ὅτι ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν καὶ ὁπλὴν οὐ διχηλεῖ, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν, καὶ τὸν χοιρογρύλλιον, ὅτι ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν, καὶ ὁπλὴν οὐ διχηλεῖ, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν, καὶ τὸν ὗν, ὅτι διχηλεῖ ὁπλὴν, τοῦτο καὶ ὀνυχίζει ὄνυχας ὁπλῆς, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν. Ἀπὸ τῶν κρεῶν αὐτῶν οὐ φάγεσθε, καὶ τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν οὐ φάγεσθε, ἀκάθαρτα ταῦτα ὑμῖν.» Ἐναργέστατα μὲν οὖν ὁ Χριστὸς, «Οὐ τὸ εἰσερχόμενον εἰς τὸ στόμα,» φησὶ, «κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.» Εἴρηται δέ που καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεσπέσιον Πέτρον, τῆς σινδόνος ἄνωθεν καθιεμένης τέσσαρσιν ἀρχαῖς, ἐν ᾗ πάντα γέγραπται τὰ