Flesh-loves vs heavenly; quail desire; seventy; meat unto cholera

to make an unbridled departure upon corruptible pleasures and unclean flesh-loves. For it is clearly hubris toward the better and saving things to choose instead the evil ones, and a most unholy vote of mind to set the more earthy things before the heavenly, although they are sick with very much abomination upon themselves; and rightly upon these the prophet Isaiah almost even weeps saying: ‘Woe, those who say the evil good, and the good evil; those who say the sweet bitter, and the bitter sweet; those who set the darkness light, and the light darkness.’ We will find those from Israel having fallen into such evil stumblings. For after the justice upon the murmuring, they were at once sick with the desire upon all the most shameful things neighbor and yoked beside. For as it were spitting around the things from beside God, and unholily being gloomy at the goods from heaven, they were necessarily provoking the judge upon themselves. For it has been written that ‘And the mixed multitude among them desired a desire, and sitting the sons of Israel were weeping, and said: Who will feed us meats? We remembered the fishes which we were eating in Egypt freely, and the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlics. Now our soul is dried up. Nothing except unto the manna are our eyes. And Moses heard,’ it says, ‘them weeping according to their peoples, each upon his door; and the Lord was wroth in anger very much, and opposite Moses it was evil.’ Or do you not say it is worthy both of the divine anger, and of condemnation as from holy men, that those already trained should come down unto this softness and reasonings of unmanliness, so as to be sick unrestrainedly with wishing to slip back into so out-of-place uncleannesses, and to have been loosened so much unto lack of self-control as to wail childishly, as it were not bearing the sharp assault of the desire?

Palladius: You speak well.

Cyril: And all-wise Moses being distressed, and having the terrible downheartedness upon this, and having cried out openly that he would never alone be strong enough to carry through the people going so easily unto madness and apostasy, God showed men as helpers and assistants of the care upon this, seventy in number, whom he was also setting more conspicuous by the Spirit’s gift; for they prophesied in the camp. And toward Moses he says: ‘And you will say to the people: Purify yourselves unto tomorrow, and you will eat meats, because you wept opposite the Lord, saying: Who will feed us meats? because it is good for us in Egypt; and the Lord will give you to eat meats, and you will eat meats. Not one day will you eat meats, nor two, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, unto a month of days you will eat, until it should come out from your nostrils, and it will be for you unto cholera, because you disobeyed the Lord who is in you, and you wept opposite him, saying: Why for us to go out