Pure olive oil = true doctrine; light outside veil for us

Cyril: …unholy heretics’ lightless and dim little myths. So then continuous and unending would the Savior’s light be seen in Churches, the teachers in them interpreting uprightly the divine and Gospel preachings. And pure is the oil; for as of lees and of every dirt the upright and true and unmixed-with-the-worse word about the divine dogmas has been altogether released, which always raises the Savior’s illumination—not itself adding something from home unto brightness for Christ (for altogether silly is thinking him to need a human), but because Christ, existing as the true light and radiance of the Father, with the teachers’ words unto uprightness appears to the understandings of those believing as what he truly is.

Palladius: And why does he say the oil is from olives? Therefore the very exact of the word perhaps travails something of the necessary contemplations.

Cyril: You think most excellently, and I will say what has come unto mind. It is not from olives alone, O Palladius, customary for those wise in these things to prepare the need of the oil, but also from however many other bastard and more earthy seeds. And the genuine will truly be from the most tested olives, and somehow counterfeit is what is as from force and craft, and as somehow not true—what is from the more earthy seeds, I mean. So then to the uncounterfeit and true word, also supplied through the wisdom from above to the worthy, one must very well liken the oil from olives. Yet what has been found from human notions and a demonic breathing-in is what is from certain ones’ craft and retail, and has a bastard use. And useless and cast-away is such a word, and altogether unprofitable unto illumination of the knowledge of Christ. Therefore also unacceptable in Churches, having neither the fragrant of the holy Spirit (‘For no one says, Lord Jesus, except in holy Spirit’), nor yet the genuine and unmuddied of the truth, and necessary unto useful benefit. And observe that the law says the oil from olives must be brought forward from the sons of Israel. For as I said having anticipated, a fruit will be from us and a spiritual gift-bearing to God—a true word, not allowing the illumination from Christ to be weak in those being initiated. And outside the veil is both the placement of the lamps and indeed also the burning. For Christ, existing as light according to nature, does not need light, but into us ourselves who are outside divinity, inasmuch as generated, he sends his own light. And as more inward than the veil was the ark, lying unto a patterning and image of Christ.

Palladius: You have spoken well.

Cyril: Then he says: ‘And the Lord spoke toward Moses: And you take spices, flower of chosen myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon the half of this, two hundred fifty, and of fragrant reed