Full download textbook at textbookfull.

com

Automotive Software Architectures: An

Introduction, 2nd ed. 2nd Edition Miroslaw Staron

https://textbookfull.com/product/automotive-software-
architectures-an-introduction-2nd-ed-2nd-edition-miroslaw-
staron/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWLOAD EBOOK

Download more textbookfull from https://textbookfull.com

More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Automotive Software Architectures An Introduction 2nd

2nd Edition Miroslaw Staron

https://textbookfull.com/product/automotive-software-
architectures-an-introduction-2nd-2nd-edition-miroslaw-staron/

Action Research in Software Engineering Theory and

Applications Miroslaw Staron

https://textbookfull.com/product/action-research-in-software-
engineering-theory-and-applications-miroslaw-staron/

The Basics of Psychotherapy An Introduction to Theory

and Practice 2nd Ed 2nd Edition Bruce E. Wampold

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-basics-of-psychotherapy-an-
introduction-to-theory-and-practice-2nd-ed-2nd-edition-bruce-e-
wampold/

Introduction to Software Testing 2nd Edition Paul

Ammann

https://textbookfull.com/product/introduction-to-software-
testing-2nd-edition-paul-ammann/
Introduction to Software Engineering 2nd Edition Ronald
J. Leach

https://textbookfull.com/product/introduction-to-software-
engineering-2nd-edition-ronald-j-leach/

Automotive Ethernet 2nd Edition Kirsten Matheus

https://textbookfull.com/product/automotive-ethernet-2nd-edition-
kirsten-matheus/

Biota Grow 2C gather 2C cook Loucas

https://textbookfull.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-
loucas/

An Introduction to Pharmacovigilance 2nd Edition

Patrick Waller

https://textbookfull.com/product/an-introduction-to-
pharmacovigilance-2nd-edition-patrick-waller/

Regression Diagnostics: An Introduction 2nd Edition

John Fox

https://textbookfull.com/product/regression-diagnostics-an-
introduction-2nd-edition-john-fox/
Miroslaw Staron

Automotive
Software
Architectures
An Introduction
Second Edition
Automotive Software Architectures
Miroslaw Staron

Automotive
Software
Architectures
An Introduction

Second Edition
Miroslaw Staron
Department of Computer Science
and Engineering
University of Gothenburg
Gothenburg, Sweden

ISBN 978-3-030-65938-7 ISBN 978-3-030-65939-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65939-4

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2017, 2021

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To my family – Sylwia, Alexander, Viktoria
and Cornelia
Foreword

“The fear of error is the error itself.” Famous philosopher G.F.W. Hegel, whose
250th birthday we currently commemorate, underlined the very necessity of inno-
vation and thinking out of the box. Innovation needs guidance but must not be
overconstrained. As engineers, we should follow critical rules but also allow error
and learn from it—in order to move forward and not administrate the past. This book
will provide guidance toward innovative automotive architectures and services—
along the lines of Hegel.
Software and IT are the major drivers of modern cars—both literally and from
a marketing perspective. Modern vehicles have more than 70 electronic control
units (ECUs), with premium cars having more than 100 such embedded computer
systems. Some functions, such as engine control or dynamics, are hard real-time
functions, with reaction times going down to a few milliseconds. Practically all
other functions, such as infotainment, demand at least soft real-time behaviors.
The complexity of automotive systems and services is growing fast. Each auto-
motive area has its own requirements for computation speed, reliability, security,
safety, flexibility, and extensibility. Automotive electronic systems map functions
such as braking, powertrain, or lighting controls to individual software systems
and physical hardware. The resulting complexity has reached a limit that demands
an architectural restart (Fig. 1). At the same time, innovative functions such as
connectivity with external infrastructures and vehicle-to-vehicle communication
demand IT backbone and cloud solutions with service-oriented architectures (SOA).
Software and IT in vehicles and their environments are evolving at a fast
pace. Multimodal mobility will connect previously separated domains like cars
and public transportation. Mobility-oriented services such as car sharing create
completely new ecosystems and business models far away from the classic “buy-
your-own-car” approach. Autonomous driving demands highly interactive services
with multisensor fusion, vastly different from the currently deployed functionally
isolated control units. Connectivity and infotainment have transformed the car into a
distributed IT system with cloud access, over-the-air functional upgrades, and high-
bandwidth access to map services, media content, other vehicles, and surrounding

vii
viii Foreword

Fig. 1 The convergence of IT and EE fuels automotive technology

infrastructure. Energy efficiency evolves the classic powertrain toward high-voltage

hybrid and electric engines.
The major driver in the 2020s is convergence. We face a fast integration of the
previously separated concepts of IT and E/E. Software engineering for automotive
systems encompasses modern embedded and cloud technologies, distributed com-
puting, real-time systems, mixed safety and security systems, and, not least, the
connection of all that to long-term sustainable business models.
Automotive engineers must master both domains, paired with functional safety
and cybersecurity. Today automotive software is spearheading IT innovation. The
everyday relevance of automotive software to today’s software engineers is high,
and it is the focus of this book to bring this message to practitioners.
Technology trends are converging across industries (Fig. 2). What used to be
a clear-cut differentiation can be summarized today by the quest for ACES, i.e.,
autonomous systems, convergence, ecology, and services. Business trends are
similar in developed and emerging economies. Ten years ago, only 2 out of 10
most valuable public companies by market capitalization were tech companies.
Today, almost all are highly driving, and driven by, software technology. Failures
to recognize future trends and challenges would be like entering the next decade
with all senses closed.
While converging to the new normal, priorities are shifting heavily. Autonomy,
until recently still a number one shooting star, has started its slowdown along the
hype cycle. At the same time, ecology gets to speed with a high focus especially of
the young generation on our future and the sustainability of our earth. Convergence
levers the two forces of competitiveness and innovation toward a sustainable
business prospective for technology companies. Services are the major driver.
Services are very appealing and we have been talking about them for many years.
It follows the Kano model at its best because a good service for a mediocre product
can create real excitement. Provide 24/7 online support and you earn a big “wow” if
you deliver.
Foreword ix

Fig. 2 Prepare for the future: ACES makes digital winners

To master this fast-growing complexity, automotive software needs a clear

architecture. Architecture evolution today is the major focus across companies,
and thus the book arrives just at the right time. The impacts of architecture are
manifold, such as systems modeling, testing, and simulation with models in the
loop; the combination of several quality requirements such as safety; service-
oriented advanced operating systems with secure communication platforms, such
as adaptive AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture); multisensor
fusion and picture recognition for ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) and
autonomous driving; distributed end-to-end security for flexible remote software
updates directly into the car’s firmware; and connectivity of cloud technologies and
IT backbones with billions of cars and their onboard devices for infotainment, online
apps, remote diagnosis, and emergency call processing.
This second edition of the already classic primer on Automotive Software
comprehensively introduces to automotive software architecture. Authored by
renowned expert Miroslaw Staron, this book provides a guided tour through
the methodology and usage of automotive software architecture. Starting with a
brief introduction to software architecture paradigms, it quickly moves to current
application domains, such as AUTOSAR. Architecture analysis with methods such
as ATAM (Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method) of the Software Engineering
Institute provides hands-on guidance, keeping in mind the current paradigm shift
from classic networking controllers toward the three-tier model of future automotive
IT.
Miroslaw Staron with his coauthors target with this book both engineers and
decision-makers in the automotive electronics and IT domain. They guide engineers,
developers, and managers along the convergence of the two worlds of IT and
embedded systems. Education however has only in rare cases dedicated programs
for engineering these converging IT and embedded systems. Business models will
evolve toward flexible service-oriented architectures and ecosystems. Reference
x Foreword

points based on industry standards such as three-tier cloud architectures, adaptive

AUTOSAR, and Ethernet connectivity facilitate reuse across companies and indus-
tries. The classic functional split is replaced by a more service-oriented architecture
and delivery model. Development in the future will be a continuous process that will
fully decouple the rather stable hardware of the car from its functionality driven
by software upgrades. Hierarchic modeling of business processes, functionality,
and architecture from a systems perspective allows early simulation while ensuring
robustness and security. Agile service delivery models combining DevOps, micro-
services, and cloud solutions will allow functional changes far beyond the traditional
V approach.
The techniques presented in this book are not supposed to be the ultimate truth.
Yet they provide direction in this fast-evolving field. It will help you as well as your
organization to grow your maturity. Our society and each of us depend on seamless
mobility, and so we need to also trust these underlying systems of infrastructure
and vehicles. Let us evolve the necessary technology, methods, and competencies
in a positive direction to stay in control of automotive software and avoid the many
pitfalls of classic IT systems. For this matter, I wish you all the best and success.
As with all architecture independent of application domain, do not forget
to deliver value and results to your markets. Your future is based on your
competitiveness—both corporate and personal. It is not those to succeed who now
shrink engineering and IT innovation, but those who navigate well in the magic
triangle of quality, competitiveness, and innovation. Thinker, politician, and novelist
Goethe got it straight: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not
enough; we must do.” This is the wake-up call to use innovation and guts to stay
competitive amidst a meager economic outlook. Business history is littered with the
skeletons of those who take neither ownership nor risks.

Stuttgart, Germany Christof Ebert

October 2020 Managing Director, Vector Consulting Services
Preface

Software is omnipresent in our society. It controls everything from the backbone

of electrical infrastructure, to telecommunication equipment to our watches. Cars
are no exception, and the amount of software in modern cars is more than in any
other consumer product. I was once asked by a colleague at a conference whether
the car would still run if we kill the electronic components. The answer was “no” as
basically all elements of modern cars are controlled by software—engine, brakes,
windshield wipers, blinkers, radio, you name it.
In the last few years, the amount of software in cars has increased as electrifi-
cation, connectivity, and autonomous drive became more prevalent in all segments.
The complexity of scenarios for autonomous driving is so large that cars cannot
drive autonomously all the time. Yet, they can drive in various scenarios without
changing lanes, and they can change lanes in certain scenarios or even park
themselves without anyone in the driver’s seat.
When this complexity grows, we face new challenges in the design of automotive
software—more functions become safety critical, more functions interact and
communication busses get overcrowded. We need to design the software with that
in mind and we need to do it in a new way.
In 2017, we published the first edition of this book, which became popular among
students and practitioners alike. Many readers connected with me and asked for
certain elements, pointed out to important new developments, and asked questions.
I’ve taken these suggestions into consideration and I, once again, managed to
convince my colleagues—Dr. Darko Durisic and Dr. Per Johannessen—to help in
revising the book.
The purpose of the book is to introduce the concept of software architecture as
one of the cornerstones of software in modern cars. The book is a result of my
work in the area of software engineering, with a particular focus on safety systems
and software measurement. Throughout my research, I have worked with multiple
companies in the automotive and telecom domains and I have noticed that over time
these domains became increasingly similar. The processes and tools for developing
software in modern cars became very similar to those used in the development
of telecommunication systems. The same is true about software architectures—

xi
xii Preface

initially very different, today they are increasingly similar in terms of architectural
styles, programming paradigms, and architectural patterns.
The book starts with a historical overview of the evolution of software in modern
cars and the description of the main challenges which drive the evolution. Chapter 2
describes the main architectural styles of automotive software and their use in cars’
software. Chapter 3 is a new addition, where we learn about the modern software
architectures—federated and centralized ones. In Chap. 4, the reader can find a
description of software development processes used to develop software on the
car manufacturer’s side. Chapter 5 introduces AUTOSAR—an important standard
in automotive software. In this edition, this chapter discusses both the classic and
adaptive AUTOSAR. Chapter 6 goes beyond simple architecture and describes the
process of detailed design of automotive software with the use of Simulink, which
helps us understand how the detailed design links to the high-level design. Chapter 7
is a new one and focuses on machine learning in automotive software development.
Chapter 8 presents a method for assessing the quality of the architecture—ATAM
(Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method)—and provides an example assessment.
Chapter 9 presents an alternative way of assessing the architecture, namely, by
using quantitative measures and indicators. In Chap. 10, we dive deeper into one
of the specific properties discussed in Chap. 11—safety—and can read about the
important standard in that area—ISO/IEC 26262. This time, this chapter contains
more information about the hardware than in the first edition of the book. Finally,
Chap. 12 presents a set of future trends that seem to emerge today that have the
potential to shape automotive software engineering in the coming years.

Gothenburg, Sweden Miroslaw Staron

October 2020
Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank the coauthors of some of the chapters in
this book—Darko Durisic, Per Johannessen, and Wilhelm Meding. I have had the
privilege of working with them for a number of years and I am deeply thankful for
their insights into the car and telecom industries.
I am greatly indebted to my family—Sylwia, Alexander, Viktoria, and
Cornelia—who support me in taking on challenges and see to it that I am successful.
They are the most fantastic family one could imagine.
I would also like to thank my publisher—Ralf Gerstner from Springer—who
has proposed the idea of the book and helped me throughout the process. Without
his encouragement and practical pointers, this book would have never happened.
After so many years, he still believes in me and provides me with precious advice.
I hope that more authors have a chance to be taken care of by such a competent and
dedicated publisher.
Many thanks to dSpace GmbH for permitting me to use images of their
equipment as part of the book. I also thank Jan Söderberg from Systemite for
providing me with figures and explanations on how the SystemWeaver tool keeps
the different construction artifacts together. Many thanks go to Volvo Cars, who
provided me with several figures in the book.
I am grateful to my colleagues from Volvo Cars who have taught me about
practicalities of the automotive industry. I have met many persons from the fantastic
team of Volvo Cars and had many great discussions about how cars are designed
today, but in particular I am indebted to Kent Niesel, Martin Nilsson, Niklas
Baumann, Anders Svensson, Hans Alminger, Ilker Dogan, Lars Rosqvist, Sajed
Miremari, Mikael Sjöstrand, and Peter Dahlslund. I would also like to thank Mark
Hirche and Malin Folke for their comments on the draft of the book.
I would also like to thank my colleagues from the research community for their
help and support in both writing this book and in my research activities leading to
this book. In particular, I would like to thank Imed Hammouda for his feedback and
comments on the ATAM evaluation chapter.

xiii
xiv Acknowledgements

Finally, I would like to thank the Software Center, Swedish Innovation Agency
Vinnova, the Swedish Strategic Research Foundation (SSF), and the Software
Center for providing me with research funding that allowed me to pursue my
research interests in the area of this book.
Contents

1 Introduction .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Software and Modern Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 History of Software in the Automotive Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Trends Shaping Automotive Software Development .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Organization of Automotive Software Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 Architecting as a Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5.1 Architecting vs. Project Management .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.2 Architecting vs. Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.6 Content of This Book .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.6.1 Chapter 2: Software Architectures . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6.2 Chapter 3: Modern Software Architectures:
Federated and Centralized . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6.3 Chapter 4: Automotive Software Development .. . . . . . . . . 14
1.6.4 Chapter 5: AUTOSAR Reference Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.6.5 Chapter 6: Detailed Design of Automotive Software.. . . 14
1.6.6 Chapter 7: Machine Learning in Automotive
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6.7 Chapter 8: Evaluation of Automotive Software
Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6.8 Chapter 9: Metrics for Software Design
and Architectures .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6.9 Chapter 10: Functional Safety of Automotive
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.6.10 Chapter 11: Current Trends in Automotive
Software Development .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.6.11 Motivating Examples in the Book .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.7 Knowledge Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.8 Where to Go Next .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
References .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

xv
xvi Contents

2 Software Architectures—Views and Documentation .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2 Common View on Architecture in General
and in the Automotive Industry in Particular . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3 Definitions .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4 High-Level Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.5 Architectural Principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.6 Architecture in the Development Process. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.7 Architectural Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.7.1 Functional View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.7.2 Physical System View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.7.3 Logical View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.7.4 Relation to the 4+1 View Model.. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.8 Architectural Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.8.1 Layered Architecture .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.8.2 Component-Based .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.8.3 Monolithic .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.8.4 Microkernel.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.8.5 Pipes and Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.8.6 Client–Server .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.8.7 Publisher–Subscriber .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.8.8 Event–Driven .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.8.9 Middleware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.8.10 Service-Oriented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.9 Describing the Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.9.1 SysML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.9.2 EAST ADL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.10 Next Steps .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.11 Further Reading .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.12 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
References .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3 Contemporary Software Architectures: Federated
and Centralized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.2 Federated Software Architectures .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.3 Centralized Software Architectures .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.4 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.4.1 Federated Architecture of a Car . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.4.2 Pipes and Filters in Autonomous Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.4.3 Infotainment Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.5 On Truck Architectures .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
References .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
be concluded from their doctrine. And by a happy utterance of
divination, not without divine help, concurring in certain prophetic
declarations, and seizing the truth in portions and aspects, in terms
not obscure, and not going beyond the explanation of the things,
they honoured it on ascertaining the appearance of relation with the
truth. Whence the Hellenic philosophy is like the torch of wick which
men kindle, artificially stealing the light from the sun. But on the
proclamation of the Word all that holy light shone forth. Then in
houses by night the stolen light is useful; but by day the fire blazes,
and all the night is illuminated by such a sun of intellectual light.
Now Pythagoras made an epitome of the statements on
righteousness in Moses, when he said, “Do not step over the
balance;” that is, do not transgress equality in distribution,
honouring justice so.
“Which friends to friends for ever,
To cities, cities—to allies, allies binds,
For equality is what is right for men;
But less to greater ever hostile grows,
And days of hate begin,”

as is said with poetic grace.

Wherefore the Lord says, “Take my yoke, for it is gentle and
light.”[760] And on the disciples, striving for the pre-eminence, He
enjoins equality with simplicity, saying “that they must become as
little children.”[761] Likewise also the apostle writes, that “no one in
Christ is bond or free, or Greek or Jew. For the creation in Christ
Jesus is new, is equality, free of strife—not grasping—just.” For envy,
and jealousy, and bitterness, stand without the divine choir.
Thus also those skilled in the mysteries forbid “to eat the heart;”
teaching that we ought not to gnaw and consume the soul by
idleness and by vexation, on account of things which happen against
one’s wishes. Wretched, accordingly, was the man whom Homer also
says, wandering alone, “ate his own heart.” But again, seeing the
Gospel supposes two ways—the apostles, too, similarly with all the
prophets—and seeing they call that one “narrow and confined”
which is circumscribed according to the commandments and
prohibitions, and the opposite one, which leads to perdition, “broad
and roomy,” open to pleasures and wrath, and say, “Blessed is the
man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, and standeth
not in the way of sinners.”[762] Hence also comes the fable of
Prodicus of Ceus about Virtue and Vice. And Pythagoras shrinks not
from prohibiting to walk on the public thoroughfares, enjoining the
necessity of not following the sentiments of the many, which are
crude and inconsistent. And Aristocritus, in the first book of his
Positions against Heracliodorus, mentions a letter to this effect:
“Atœeas king of the Scythians to the people of Byzantium: Do not
impair my revenues in case my mares drink your water;” for the
Barbarian indicated symbolically that he would make war on them.
Likewise also the poet Euphorion introduces Nestor saying,
“We have not yet wet the Achæan steeds in Simois.”

Therefore also the Egyptians place Sphinxes before their temples, to

signify that the doctrine respecting God is enigmatical and obscure;
perhaps also that we ought both to love and fear the Divine Being:
to love Him as gentle and benign to the pious; to fear Him as
inexorably just to the impious; for the sphinx shows the image of a
wild beast and of a man together.
 CHAPTER VI.
THE MYSTIC MEANING OF THE TABERNACLE AND ITS FURNITURE.

It were tedious to go over all the Prophets and the Law,

specifying what is spoken in enigmas; for almost the whole Scripture
gives its utterances in this way. It may suffice, I think, for any one
possessed of intelligence, for the proof of the point in hand, to select
a few examples.
Now concealment is evinced in the reference of the seven circuits
around the temple, which are made mention of among the Hebrews;
and the equipment on the robe, indicating by the various symbols,
which had reference to visible objects, the agreement which from
heaven reaches down to earth. And the covering and the veil were
variegated with blue, and purple, and scarlet, and linen. And so it
was suggested that the nature of the elements contained the
revelation of God. For purple is from water, linen from the earth;
blue, being dark, is like the air, as scarlet is like fire.
In the midst of the covering and veil, where the priests were
allowed to enter, was situated the altar of incense, the symbol of the
earth placed in the middle of this universe; and from it came the
fumes of incense. And that place intermediate between the inner
veil, where the high priest alone, on prescribed days, was permitted
to enter, and the external court which surrounded it—free to all the
Hebrews—was, they say, the middlemost point of heaven and earth.
But others say it was the symbol of the intellectual world, and that
of sense. The covering, then, the barrier of popular unbelief, was
stretched in front of the five pillars, keeping back those in the
surrounding space.
So very mystically the five loaves are broken by the Saviour, and
fill the crowd of the listeners. For great is the crowd that keep to the
things of sense, as if they were the only things in existence. “Cast
your eyes round, and see,” says Plato, “that none of the uninitiated
listen.” Such are they who think that nothing else exists, but what
they can hold tight with their hands; but do not admit as in the
department of existence, actions and processes of generation, and
the whole of the unseen. For such are those who keep by the five
senses. But the knowledge of God is a thing inaccessible to the ears
and like organs of this kind of people. Hence the Son is said to be
the Father’s face, being the revealer of the Father’s character to the
five senses by clothing Himself with flesh. “But if we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”[763] “For we walk by faith, not
by sight,”[764] the noble apostle says. Within the veil, then, is
concealed the sacerdotal service; and it keeps those engaged in it
far from those without.
Again, there is the veil of the entrance into the holy of holies.
Four pillars there are, the sign of the sacred tetrad of the ancient
covenants. Further, the mystic name of four letters which was affixed
to those alone to whom the adytum was accessible, is called Jave,
which is interpreted, “Who is and shall be.” The name of God, too,
among the Greeks contains four letters.
Now the Lord, having come alone into the intellectual world,
enters by His sufferings, introduced into the knowledge of the
Ineffable, ascending above every name which is known by sound.
The lamp, too, was placed to the south of the altar of incense; and
by it were shown the motions of the seven planets, that perform
their revolutions towards the south. For three branches rose on
either side of the lamp, and lights on them; since also the sun, like
the lamp, set in the midst of all the planets, dispenses with a kind of
divine music the light to those above and to those below.
The golden lamp conveys another enigma as a symbol of Christ,
not in respect of form alone, but in his casting light, “at sundry times
and divers manners,”[765] on those who believe on Him and hope,
and who see by means of the ministry of the First-born. And they
say that the seven eyes of the Lord “are the seven spirits resting on
the rod that springs from the root of Jesse.”[766]
 North of the altar of incense was placed a table, on which there
was “the exhibition of the loaves;” for the most nourishing of the
winds are those of the north. And thus are signified certain seats of
churches conspiring so as to form one body and one assemblage.
And the things recorded of the sacred ark signify the properties of
the world of thought, which is hidden and closed to the many.
And those golden figures, each of them with six wings, signify
either the two bears, as some will have it, or rather the two
hemispheres. And the name cherubim meant “much knowledge.” But
both together have twelve wings, and by the zodiac and time, which
moves on it, point out the world of sense. It is of them, I think, that
Tragedy, discoursing of Nature, says:

“Unwearied Time circles full in perennial flow,

Producing itself. And the twin-bears
On the swift wandering motions of their wings,
Keep the Atlantean pole.”

And Atlas,[767] the unsuffering pole, may mean the fixed sphere, or
better perhaps, motionless eternity. But I think it better to regard
the ark, so called from the Hebrew word Thebotha,[768] as signifying
something else. It is interpreted, one instead of one in all places.
Whether, then, it is the eighth region and the world of thought, or
God, all-embracing, and without shape, and invisible, that is
indicated, we may for the present defer saying. But it signifies the
repose which dwells with the adoring spirits, which are meant by the
cherubim.
For He who prohibited the making of a graven image, would
never Himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things.
Nor is there at all any composite thing, and creature endowed with
sensation, of the sort in heaven. But the face is a symbol of the
rational soul, and the wings are the lofty ministers and energies of
powers right and left; and the voice is delightsome glory in ceaseless
contemplation. Let it suffice that the mystic interpretation has
advanced so far.
 Now the high priest’s robe is the symbol of the world of sense.
The seven planets are represented by the five stones and the two
carbuncles, for Saturn and the Moon. The former is southern, and
moist, and earthy, and heavy; the latter aerial, whence she is called
by some Artemis, as if Aerotomos (cutting the air); and the air is
cloudy. And co-operating as they did in the production of things here
below, those that by Divine Providence are set over the planets are
rightly represented as placed on the breast and shoulders; and by
them was the work of creation, the first week. And the breast is the
seat of the heart and soul.
Differently, the stones might be the various phases of salvation;
some occupying the upper, some the lower parts of the entire body
saved. The three hundred and sixty bells, suspended from the robe,
is the space of a year, “the acceptable year of the Lord,” proclaiming
and resounding the stupendous manifestation of the Saviour.
Further, the broad gold mitre indicates the regal power of the Lord,
“since the head of the church” is the Saviour.[769] The mitre that is
on it [i.e. the head] is, then, a sign of most princely rule; and
otherwise we have heard it said, “The Head of Christ is the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[770] Moreover, there was the
breastplate, comprising the ephod, which is the symbol of work, and
the oracle (λογίον); and this indicated the Word (λόγος) by which it
was framed, and is the symbol of heaven, made by the Word,[771]
and subjected to Christ, the Head of all things, inasmuch as it moves
in the same way, and in a like manner. The luminous emerald
stones, therefore, in the ephod, signify the sun and moon, the
helpers of nature. The shoulder, I take it, is the commencement of
the hand.
The twelve stones, set in four rows on the breast, describe for us
the circle of the zodiac, in the four changes of the year. It was
otherwise requisite that the law and the prophets should be placed
beneath the Lord’s head, because in both Testaments mention is
made of the righteous. For were we to say that the apostles were at
once prophets and righteous, we should say well, “since one and the
self-same Holy Spirit works in all.”[772] And as the Lord is above the
whole world, yea, above the world of thought, so the name
engraven on the plate has been regarded to signify, above all rule
and authority; and it was inscribed with reference both to the
written commandments and the manifestation to sense. And it is the
name of God that is expressed; since, as the Son sees the goodness
of the Father, God the Saviour works, being called the first principle
of all things, which was imaged forth from the invisible God first, and
before the ages, and which fashioned all things which came into
being after itself. Nay more, the oracle[773] exhibits the prophecy
which by the Word cries and preaches, and the judgment that is to
come; since it is the same Word which prophesies, and judges, and
discriminates all things.
And they say that the robe prophesied the ministry in the flesh,
by which He was seen in closer relation to the world. So the high
priest, putting off his consecrated robe (the universe, and the
creation in the universe, were consecrated by Him assenting that,
what was made, was good), washes himself, and puts on the other
tunic—a holy-of-holies one, so to speak—which is to accompany him
into the adytum; exhibiting, as seems to me, the Levite and Gnostic,
as the chief of other priests (those bathed in water, and clothed in
faith alone, and expecting their own individual abode), himself
distinguishing the objects of the intellect from the things of sense,
rising above other priests, hasting to the entrance to the world of
ideas, to wash himself from the things here below, not in water, as
formerly one was cleansed on being enrolled in the tribe of Levi. But
purified already by the gnostic Word in his whole heart, and
thoroughly regulated, and having improved that mode of life
received from the priest to the highest pitch, being quite sanctified
both in word and life, and having put on the bright array of glory,
and received the ineffable inheritance of that spiritual and perfect
man, “which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard, and it hath
not entered into the heart of man;” and having become son and
friend, he is now replenished with insatiable contemplation face to
face. For there is nothing like hearing the Word Himself, who by
means of the Scripture inspires fuller intelligence. For so it is said,
“And he shall put off the linen robe, which he had put on when he
entered into the holy place; and shall lay it aside there, and wash his
body in water in the holy place, and put on his robe.”[774] But in one
way, as I think, the Lord puts off and puts on by descending into the
region of sense; and in another, he who through Him has believed
puts off and puts on, as the apostle intimated, the consecrated stole.
Thence, after the image of the Lord, the worthiest were chosen from
the sacred tribes to be high priests, and those elected to the kingly
office and to prophecy were anointed.
 CHAPTER VII.
THE EGYPTIAN SYMBOLS AND ENIGMAS OF SACRED THINGS.

Whence also the Egyptians did not entrust the mysteries they
possessed to all and sundry, and did not divulge the knowledge of
divine things to the profane; but only to those destined to ascend
the throne, and those of the priests that were judged the worthiest,
from their nurture, culture, and birth. Similar, then, to the Hebrew
enigmas in respect to concealment, are those of the Egyptians also.
Of the Egyptians, some show the sun on a ship, others on a
crocodile. And they signify hereby, that the sun, making a passage
through the delicious and moist air, generates time; which is
symbolized by the crocodile in some other sacerdotal account.
Further, at Diospolis in Egypt, on the temple called Pylon, there was
figured a boy as the symbol of production, and an old man as that of
decay. A hawk, on the other hand, was the symbol of God, as a fish
of hate; and, according to a different symbolism, the crocodile of
impudence. The whole symbol, then, when put together, appears to
teach this: “Oh ye who are born and die, God hates impudence.”
And there are those who fashion ears and eyes of costly material,
and consecrate them, dedicating them in the temples to the gods—
by this plainly indicating that God sees and hears all things. Besides,
the lion is with them the symbol of strength and prowess, as the ox
clearly is of the earth itself, and husbandry and food, and the horse
of fortitude and confidence; while, on the other hand, the sphinx, of
strength combined with intelligence—as it had a body entirely that of
a lion, and the face of a man. Similarly to these, to indicate
intelligence, and memory, and power, and art, a man is sculptured in
the temples. And in what is called among them the Komasiæ of the
gods, they carry about golden images—two dogs, one hawk, and
one ibis; and the four figures of the images they call four letters. For
the dogs are symbols of the two hemispheres, which, as it were, go
round and keep watch; the hawk, of the sun, for it is fiery and
destructive (so they attribute pestilential diseases to the sun); the
ibis, of the moon, likening the shady parts to that which is dark in
plumage, and the luminous to the light. And some will have it that
by the dogs are meant the tropics, which guard and watch the sun’s
passage to the south and north. The hawk signifies the equinoctial
line, which is high and parched with heat, as the ibis the ecliptic. For
the ibis seems, above other animals, to have furnished to the
Egyptians the first rudiments of the invention of number and
measure, as the oblique line did of circles.
 CHAPTER VIII.
THE USE OF THE SYMBOLIC STYLE BY POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS.

But it was not only the most highly intellectual of the Egyptians,
but also such of other barbarians as prosecuted philosophy, that
affected the symbolical style. They say, then, that Idanthuris king of
the Scythians, as Pherecydes of Syros relates, sent to Darius, on his
passing the Ister in threat of war, a symbol, instead of a letter,
consisting of a mouse, a frog, a bird, a javelin, a plough. And there
being a doubt in reference to them, as was to be expected,
Orontopagas the Chiliarch said that they were to resign the
kingdom; taking dwellings to be meant by the mouse, waters by the
frog, air by the bird, land by the plough, arms by the javelin. But
Xiphodres interpreted the contrary; for he said, “If we do not take
our flight like birds, or like mice get below the earth, or like frogs
beneath the water, we shall not escape their arrows; for we are not
lords of the territory.”
It is said that Anacharsis the Scythian, while asleep, held his
secret parts with his left hand, and his mouth with his right, to
intimate that both ought to be mastered, but that it was a greater
thing to master the tongue than voluptuousness.
And why should I linger over the barbarians, when I can adduce
the Greeks as exceedingly addicted to the use of the method of
concealment? Androcydes the Pythagorean says the far-famed so-
called Ephesian letters were of the class of symbols. For he said that
ἄσκιον (shadowless) meant darkness, for it has no shadow; and
κατάσκιον (shadowy) light, since it casts with its rays the shadow;
and λίξ is the earth, according to an ancient appellation; and τετράς
is the year, in reference to the seasons; and δαμναμενεύς is the sun,
which overpowers (δαμάζων); and τὰ αἴσια is the true voice. And
then the symbol intimates that divine things have been arranged in
harmonious order—darkness to light, the sun to the year, and the
earth to nature’s processes of production of every sort. Also
Dionysius Thrax, the grammarian, in his book, Respecting the
Exposition of the Symbolical Signification in Circles, says expressly,
“Some signified actions not by words only, but also by symbols: by
words, as is the case of what are called the Delphic maxims,
‘Nothing in excess,’ ‘Know thyself,’ and the like; and by symbols, as
the wheel that is turned in the temples of the gods, derived from the
Egyptians, and the branches that are given to the worshippers. For
the Thracian Orpheus says:
“Whatever works of branches are a care to men on earth,
Not one has one fate in the mind, but all things
Revolve around; and it is not lawful to stand at one point,
But each one keeps an equal part of the race as they began.”

The branches either stand as the symbol of the first food, or they
are that the multitude may know that fruits spring and grow
universally, remaining a very long time; but that the duration of life
allotted to themselves is brief. And it is on this account that they will
have it that the branches are given; and perhaps also that they may
know, that as these, on the other hand, are burned, so also they
themselves speedily leave this life, and will become fuel for fire.
Very useful, then, is the mode of symbolic interpretation for many
purposes; and it is helpful to the right theology, and to piety, and to
the display of intelligence, and the practice of brevity, and the
exhibition of wisdom. “For the use of symbolical speech is
characteristic of the wise man,” appositely remarks the grammarian
Didymus, “and the explanation of what is signified by it.” And indeed
the most elementary instruction of children embraces the
interpretation of the four elements; for it is said that the Phrygians
call water Bedu, as also Orpheus says:
“And bright water is poured down, the Bedu of the nymphs.”

Dion Thytes also seems to write similarly:

“And taking Bedu, pour it on your hands, and turn to divination.”

On the other hand, the comic poet, Philydeus, understands by Bedu
the air, as being (Biodoros) life-giver, in the following lines:

“I pray that I may inhale the salutary Bedu,

Which is the most essential part of health;
Inhale the pure, the unsullied air.”

In the same opinion also concurs Neanthes of Cyzicum, who

writes that the Macedonian priests invoke Bedu, which they interpret
to mean the air, to be propitious to them and to their children. And
Zaps some have ignorantly taken for fire (from ζέσιν, boiling); for so
the sea is called, as Euphorion, in his reply to Theoridas:
“And Zaps, destroyer of ships, wrecked it on the rocks.”

And Dionysius Iambus similarly:

“Briny Zaps moans about the maddened deep.”

Similarly Cratinus the younger, the comic poet:

“Zaps casts forth shrimps and little fishes.”

And Simmias of Rhodes:

“Parent of the Ignetes and the Telchines briny Zaps was born.”[775]

And χθών is the earth (κεχυμένη), spread forth to bigness. And

Plectron, according to some, is the sky (πόλος), according to others,
it is the air, which strikes (πλήσσοντα) and moves to nature and
increase, and which fills all things. But these have not read
Cleanthes the philosopher, who expressly calls Plectron the sun; for
darting his beams in the east, as if striking the world, he leads the
light to its harmonious course. And from the sun it signifies also the
rest of the stars.
And the Sphinx is not the comprehension[776] of the universe,
and the revolution of the world, according to the poet Aratus; but
perhaps it is the spiritual tone which pervades and holds together
the universe. But it is better to regard it as the ether, which holds
together and presses all things; as also Empedocles says:

“But come now, first will I speak of the Sun, the first principle of all things,
From which all, that we look upon, has sprung,
Both earth, and billowy deep, and humid air;
Titan and Ether too, which binds all things around.”

And Apollodorus of Corcyra says that these lines were recited by

Branchus the seer, when purifying the Milesians from plague; for he,
sprinkling the multitude with branches of laurel, led off the hymn
somehow as follows:
“Sing Boys Hecaergus and Hecaerga.”

And the people accompanied him, saying, “Bedu,[777] Zaps, Chthon,

Plectron, Sphinx, Cnaxzbi, Chthyptes, Phlegmos, Drops.” Callimachus
relates the story in iambics. Cnaxzbi is, by derivation, the plague,
from its gnawing (κναίειν) and destroying (διαφθείρειν), and θῦψαι is
to consume with a thunderbolt. Thespis the tragic poet says that
something else was signified by these, writing thus: “Lo, I offer to
thee a libation of white Cnaxzbi, having pressed it from the yellow
nurses. Lo, to thee, O two-horned Pan, mixing Chthyptes cheese
with red honey, I place it on thy sacred altars. Lo, to thee I pour as
a libation the sparkling gleam of Bromius.” He signifies, as I think,
the soul’s first milk-like nutriment of the four-and-twenty elements,
after which solidified milk comes as food. And last, he teaches of the
blood of the vine of the Word, the sparkling wine, the perfecting
gladness of instruction. And Drops is the operating Word, which,
beginning with elementary training, and advancing to the growth of
the man, inflames and illumines man up to the measure of maturity.
The third is said to be a writing copy for children—μάρπτες σφίγξ,
κλώψ ζυνχθηδόν. And it signifies, in my opinion, that by the
arrangement of the elements and of the world, we must advance to
the knowledge of what is more perfect, since eternal salvation is
attained by force and toil; for μάρψαι is to grasp. And the harmony
of the world is meant by the Sphinx; and ζυνχθηδόν means
difficulty; and κλὼψς means at once the secret knowledge of the
Lord and day. Well! does not Epigenes, in his book on the Poetry of
Orpheus, in exhibiting the peculiarities found in Orpheus, say that by
“the curved rods” (κεραίσι) is meant “ploughs;” and by the warp
(στήμοσι), the furrows; and the woof (μίτος) is a figurative
expression for the seed; and that the tears of Zeus signify a shower;
and that the “parts” (μοῖραι) are, again, the phases of the moon, the
thirtieth day, and the fifteenth, and the new moon, and that Orpheus
accordingly calls them “white-robed,” as being parts of the light?
Again, that the Spring is called “flowery,” from its nature; and Night
“still,” on account of rest; and the Moon “Gorgonian,” on account of
the face in it; and that the time in which it is necessary to sow is
called Aphrodite by the “Theologian.”[778] In the same way, too, the
Pythagoreans figuratively called the planets the “dogs of
Persephone;” and to the sea they applied the metaphorical
appellation of “the tears of Kronus.” Myriads on myriads of
enigmatical utterances by both poets and philosophers are to be
found; and there are also whole books which present the mind of
the writer veiled, as that of Heraclitus On Nature, who on this very
account is called “Obscure.” Similar to this book is the Theology of
Pherecydes of Syrus; for Euphorion the poet, and the Causes of
Callimachus, and the Alexandra of Lycophron, and the like, are
proposed as an exercise in exposition to all the grammarians.
It is, then, proper that the Barbarian philosophy, on which it is our
business to speak, should prophesy also obscurely and by symbols,
as was evinced. Such are the injunctions of Moses: “These common
things, the sow, the hawk, the eagle, and the raven, are not to be
eaten.”[779] For the sow is the emblem of voluptuous and unclean
lust of food, and lecherous and filthy licentiousness in venery, always
prurient, and material, and lying in the mire, and fattening for
slaughter and destruction.
Again, he commands to eat that which parts the hoof and
ruminates; “intimating,” says Barnabas, “that we ought to cleave to
those who fear the Lord, and meditate in their heart on that portion
of the word which they have received, to those who speak and keep
the Lord’s statutes, to those to whom meditation is a work of
gladness, and who ruminate on the word of the Lord. And what is
the parted hoof? That the righteous walks in this world, and expects
the holy eternity to come.” Then he adds, “See how well Moses
enacted. But whence could they understand or comprehend these
things? We who have rightly understood speak the commandments
as the Lord wished; wherefore He circumcised our ears and hearts,
that we may comprehend these things. And when he says, ‘Thou
shalt not eat the eagle, the hawk, the kite, and the crow;’ he says,
‘Thou shalt not adhere to or become like those men who know not
how to procure for themselves subsistence by toil and sweat, but
live by plunder, and lawlessly.’ For the eagle indicates robbery, the
hawk injustice, and the raven greed. It is also written, ‘With the
innocent man thou wilt be innocent, and with the chosen choice, and
with the perverse thou shalt pervert.’[780] It is incumbent on us to
cleave to the saints, because they that cleave to them shall be
sanctified.”
Thence Theognis writes:
“For from the good you will learn good things;
But if you mix with the bad, you will destroy any mind you may have.”

And when, again, it is said in the ode, “For He hath triumphed

gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He cast into the sea;”[781]
the many-limbed and brutal affection, lust, with the rider mounted,
who gives the reins to pleasures, “He has cast into the sea,”
throwing them away into the disorders of the world. Thus also Plato,
in his book On the Soul, says that the charioteer and the horse that
ran off—the irrational part, which is divided in two, into anger and
concupiscence—fall down; and so the myth intimates that it was
through the licentiousness of the steeds that Phaëthon was thrown
out. Also in the case of Joseph: the brothers having envied this
young man, who by his knowledge was possessed of uncommon
foresight, stripped off the coat of many colours, and took and threw
him into a pit (the pit was empty, it had no water), rejecting the
good man’s varied knowledge, springing from his love of instruction;
or, in the exercise of the bare faith, which is according to the law,
they threw him into the pit empty of water, selling him into Egypt,
which was destitute of the divine word. And the pit was destitute of
knowledge; into which being thrown and stript of his knowledge, he
that had become unconsciously wise, stript of knowledge, seemed
like his brethren. Otherwise interpreted, the coat of many colours is
lust, which takes its way into a yawning pit. “And if one open up or
hew out a pit,” it is said, “and do not cover it, and there fall in there
a calf or ass, the owner of the pit shall pay the price in money, and
give it to his neighbour; and the dead body shall be his.”[782] Here
add that prophecy: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his
master’s crib: but Israel hath not understood me.”[783] In order,
then, that none of those, who have fallen in with the knowledge
taught by thee, may become incapable of holding the truth, and
disobey and fall away, it is said, Be thou sure in the treatment of the
word, and shut up the living spring in the depth from those who
approach irrationally, but reach drink to those that thirst for truth.
Conceal it, then, from those who are unfit to receive the depth of
knowledge, and so cover the pit. The owner of the pit, then, the
Gnostic, shall himself be punished, incurring the blame of the others
stumbling, and of being overwhelmed by the greatness of the word,
he himself being of small capacity; or transferring the worker into
the region of speculation, and on that account dislodging him from
offhand faith. “And will pay money,” rendering a reckoning, and
submitting his accounts to the “omnipotent Will.”
This, then, is the type of “the law and the prophets which were
until John;”[784] while he, though speaking more perspicuously as no
longer prophesying, but pointing out as now present, Him, who was
proclaimed symbolically from the beginning, nevertheless said, “I am
not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe.”[785] For he
confesses that he is not worthy to baptize so great a Power; for it
behoves those, who purify others, to free the soul from the body
and its sins, as the foot from the thong. Perhaps also this signified
the final exertion of the Saviour’s power toward us—the immediate, I
mean—that by His presence, concealed in the enigma of prophecy,
inasmuch as he, by pointing out to sight Him that had been
prophesied of, and indicating the Presence which had come, walking
forth into the light, loosed the latchet of the oracles of the [old]
economy, by unveiling the meaning of the symbols.
And the observances practised by the Romans in the case of wills
have a place here; those balances and small coins to denote justice,
and freeing of slaves, and rubbing of the ears. For these
observances are, that things may be transacted with justice; and
those for the dispensing of honour; and the last, that he who
happens to be near, as if a burden were imposed on him, should
stand and hear and take the post of mediator.
 CHAPTER IX.
REASONS FOR VEILING THE TRUTH IN SYMBOLS.

But, as appears, I have, in my eagerness to establish my point,

insensibly gone beyond what is requisite. For life would fail me to
adduce the multitude of those who philosophize in a symbolical
manner. For the sake, then, of memory and brevity, and of attracting
to the truth, such are the scriptures of the Barbarian philosophy.
For only to those who often approach them, and have given them
a trial by faith and in their whole life, will they supply the real
philosophy and the true theology. They also wish us to require an
interpreter and guide. For so they considered, that, receiving truth at
the hands of those who knew it well, we would be more earnest and
less liable to deception, and those worthy of them would profit.
Besides, all things that shine through a veil show the truth grander
and more imposing; as fruits shining through water, and figures
through veils, which give added reflections to them. For, in addition
to the fact that things unconcealed are perceived in one way, the
rays of light shining round reveal defects. Since, then, we may draw
several meanings, as we do from what is expressed in veiled form,
such being the case, the ignorant and unlearned man fails. But the
Gnostic apprehends. Now, then, it is not wished that all things
should be exposed indiscriminately to all and sundry, or the benefits
of wisdom communicated to those who have not even in a dream
been purified in soul, (for it is not allowed to hand to every chance
comer what has been procured with such laborious efforts); nor are
the mysteries of the word to be expounded to the profane.
They say, then, that Hipparchus the Pythagorean, being guilty of
writing the tenets of Pythagoras in plain language, was expelled
from the school, and a pillar raised for him as if he had been dead.
Wherefore also in the Barbarian philosophy they call those dead who
have fallen away from the dogmas, and have placed the mind in
subjection to carnal passions. “For what fellowship hath
righteousness and iniquity?” according to the divine apostle. “Or
what communion hath light with darkness? or what concord hath
Christ with Belial? or what portion hath the believer with the
unbeliever?”[786] For the honours of the Olympians and of mortals
lie apart. “Wherefore also go forth from the midst of them, and be
separated, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, and will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be my sons
and daughters.”[787]
It was not only the Pythagoreans and Plato, then, that concealed
many things; but the Epicureans too say that they have things that
may not be uttered, and do not allow all to peruse those writings.
The Stoics also say that by the first Zeno things were written which
they do not readily allow disciples to read, without their first giving
proof whether or not they are genuine philosophers. And the
disciples of Aristotle say that some of their treatises are esoteric, and
others common and exoteric. Further, those who instituted the
mysteries, being philosophers, buried their doctrines in myths, so as
not to be obvious to all. Did they then, by veiling human opinions,
prevent the ignorant from handling them; and was it not more
beneficial for the holy and blessed contemplation of realities to be
concealed? But it was not only the tenets of the Barbarian
philosophy, or the Pythagorean myths. But even those myths in Plato
(in the Republic, that of Hero the Armenian; and in the Gorgias, that
of Æacus and Rhadamanthus; and in the Phædo, that of Tartarus;
and in the Protagoras, that of Prometheus and Epimetheus; and
besides these, that of the war between the Atlantini and the
Athenians in the Atlanticum) are to be expounded allegorically, not
absolutely in all their expressions, but in those which express the
general sense. And these we shall find indicated by symbols under
the veil of allegory. Also the association of Pythagoras, and the
twofold intercourse with the associates which designates the
majority, hearers (ἀκουσματικοι), and the others that have a genuine
attachment to philosophy, disciples (μαθεματικοί), yet signified that
something was spoken to the multitude, and something concealed
from them. Perchance, too, the twofold species of the Peripatetic
teaching—that called probable, and that called knowable—came very
near the distinction between opinion on the one hand, and glory and
truth on the other.
“To win the flowers of fair renown from men,
Be not induced to speak aught more than right.”

The Ionic muses accordingly expressly say, “That the majority of

people, wise in their own estimation, follow minstrels and make use
of laws, knowing that many are bad, few good; but that the best
pursue glory: for the best make choice of the everlasting glory of
men above all. But the multitude cram themselves like brutes,
measuring happiness by the belly and the pudenda, and the basest
things in us.” And the great Parmenides of Elea is introduced
describing thus the teaching of the two ways:
“The one is the dauntless heart of convincing truth;
The other is in the opinions of men, in whom is no true faith.”
 CHAPTER X.
THE OPINION OF THE APOSTLES ON VEILING THE MYSTERIES OF THE FAITH.

Rightly, therefore, the divine apostle says, “By revelation the

mystery was made known to me (as I wrote before in brief, in
accordance with which, when ye read, ye may understand my
knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not
made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy
apostles and prophets.”[788] For there is an instruction of the
perfect, of which, writing to the Colossians, he says, “We cease not
to pray for you, and beseech that ye may be filled with the
knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that
ye may walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing; being fruitful in every
good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened
with all might according to the glory of His power.”[789] And again he
says, “According to the disposition of the grace of God which is given
me, that ye may fulfil the word of God; the mystery which has been
hid from ages and generations, which now is manifested to His
saints: to whom God wished to make known what is the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the nations.”[790] So that, on the
one hand, then, are the mysteries which were hid till the time of the
apostles, and were delivered by them as they received from the
Lord, and, concealed in the Old Testament, were manifested to the
saints. And, on the other hand, there is “the riches of the glory of
the mystery in the Gentiles,” which is faith and hope in Christ; which
in another place he has called the “foundation.”[791] And again, as if
in eagerness to divulge this knowledge, he thus writes: “Warning
every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man (the whole
man) perfect in Christ;” not every man simply, since no one would
be unbelieving. Nor does he call every man who believes in Christ
perfect; but he says all the man, as if he said the whole man, as if
purified in body and soul. For that the knowledge does not appertain
to all, he expressly adds: “Being knit together in love, and unto all
the riches of the full assurance of knowledge, to the
acknowledgment of the mystery of God in Christ, in whom are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.”[792] “Continue in prayer,
watching therein with thanksgiving.”[793] And thanksgiving has place
not for the soul and spiritual blessings alone, but also for the body,
and for the good things of the body. And he still more clearly reveals
that knowledge belongs not to all, by adding: “Praying at the same
time for you, that God would open to us a door to speak the mystery
of Christ, for which I am bound; that I may make it known as I
ought to speak.”[794] For there were certainly, among the Hebrews,
some things delivered unwritten. “For when ye ought to be teachers
for the time,” it is said, as if they had grown old in the Old
Testament, “ye have again need that one teach you which be the
first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have
need of milk, and not of solid food. For every one that partaketh of
milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness; for he is a babe, being
instructed with the first lessons. But solid food belongs to those who
are of full age, who by reason of use have their senses exercised so
as to distinguish between good and evil. Wherefore, leaving the first
principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection.”[795]
Barnabas, too, who in person preached the word along with the
apostle in the ministry of the Gentiles, says, “I write to you most
simply, that ye may understand.” Then below, exhibiting already a
clearer trace of gnostic tradition, he says, “What says the other
prophet Moses to them? Lo, thus saith the Lord God, Enter ye into
the good land which the Lord God sware, the God of Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob; and ye received for an inheritance that land,
flowing with milk and honey. What says knowledge? Learn, hope, it
says, in Jesus, who is to be manifested to you in the flesh. For man
is the suffering land; for from the face of the ground was the
formation of Adam. What, then, does it say in reference to the good
land, flowing with milk and honey? Blessed be our Lord, brethren,
who has put into our hearts wisdom, and the understanding of His
secrets. For the prophet says, “Who shall understand the Lord’s
parable but the wise and understanding, and he that loves his Lord?”
It is but for few to comprehend these things. For it is not in the way
of envy that the Lord announced in a Gospel, “My mystery is to me,
and to the sons of my house;”[796] placing the election in safety, and
beyond anxiety; so that the things pertaining to what it has chosen
and taken may be above the reach of envy. For he who has not the
knowledge of good is wicked: for there is one good, the Father; and
to be ignorant of the Father is death, as to know Him is eternal life,
through participation in the power of the incorrupt One. And to be
incorruptible is to participate in divinity; but revolt from the
knowledge of God brings corruption. Again the prophet says: “And I
will give thee treasures, concealed, dark, unseen; that they may
know that I am the Lord.”[797] Similarly David sings: “For, lo, Thou
hast loved truth; the obscure and hidden things of wisdom hast
Thou showed me.”[798] “Day utters speech to day”[799] (what is
clearly written), “and night to night proclaims knowledge” (which is
hidden in a mystic veil); “and there are no words or utterances
whose voices shall not be heard” by God, who said, “Shall one do
what is secret, and I shall not see him?”
Wherefore instruction, which reveals hidden things, is called
illumination, as it is the teacher only who uncovers the lid of the ark,
contrary to what the poets say, that “Zeus stops up the jar of good
things, but opens that of evil.” “For I know,” says the apostle, “that
when I come to you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of
Christ;”[800] designating the spiritual gift, and the gnostic
communication, which being present he desires to impart to them
present as “the fulness of Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery sealed in the ages of eternity, but now manifested by the
prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all the nations, in order to the obedience of faith,”
that is, those of the nations who believe that it is. But only to a few
of them is shown what those things are which are contained in the
mystery.
Rightly then, Plato, in the epistles, treating of God, says: “We
must speak in enigmas; that should the tablet come by any
mischance on its leaves either by sea or land, he who reads may
remain ignorant.” For the God of the universe, who is above all
speech, all conception, all thought, can never be committed to
writing, being inexpressible even by His own power. And this too
Plato showed, by saying: “Considering, then, these things, take care
lest some time or other you repent on account of the present things,
departing in a manner unworthy. The greatest safeguard is not to
write, but learn; for it is utterly impossible that what is written will
not vanish.”
Akin to this is what the holy Apostle Paul says, preserving the
prophetic and truly ancient secret from which the teachings that
were good were derived by the Greeks: “Howbeit we speak wisdom
among them who are perfect; but not the wisdom of this world, or
of the princes of this world, that come to nought; but we speak the
wisdom of God hidden in a mystery.”[801] Then proceeding, he thus
inculcates the caution against the divulging of his words to the
multitude in the following terms: “And I, brethren, could not speak
to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, even to babes in Christ. I
have fed you with milk, not with meat: for ye were not yet able;
neither are ye now able. For ye are yet carnal.”[802]
If, then, “the milk” is said by the apostle to belong to the babes,
and “meat” to be the food of the full-grown, milk will be understood
to be catechetical instruction—the first food, as it were, of the soul.
And meat is the mystic contemplation; for this is the flesh and the
blood of the Word, that is, the comprehension of the divine power
and essence. “Taste and see that the Lord is Christ,”[803] it is said.
For so He imparts of Himself to those who partake of such food in a
more spiritual manner; when now the soul nourishes itself, according
to the truth-loving Plato. For the knowledge of the divine essence is
the meat and drink of the divine Word. Wherefore also Plato says, in
the second book of the Republic, “It is those that sacrifice not a sow,
but some great and difficult sacrifice,” who ought to inquire
respecting God. And the apostle writes, “Christ our passover was
sacrificed for us;”[804]—a sacrifice hard to procure, in truth, the Son
of God consecrated for us.
 CHAPTER XI.
ABSTRACTION FROM MATERIAL THINGS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO ATTAIN TO
THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

Now the sacrifice which is acceptable to God is unswerving

abstraction from the body and its passions. This is the really true
piety. And is not, on this account, philosophy rightly called by
Socrates the practice of Death? For he who neither employs his eyes
in the exercise of thought, nor draws aught from his other senses,
but with pure mind itself applies to objects, practises the true
philosophy. This is, then, the import of the silence of five years
prescribed by Pythagoras, which he enjoined on his disciples; that,
abstracting themselves from the objects of sense, they might with
the mind alone contemplate the Deity. It was from Moses that the
chief of the Greeks drew these philosophical tenets. For he
commands holocausts to be skinned and divided into parts. For the
gnostic soul must be consecrated to the light, stript of the
integuments of matter, devoid of the frivolousness of the body and
of all the passions, which are acquired through vain and lying
opinions, and divested of the lusts of the flesh. But the most of men,
clothed with what is perishable, like cockles, and rolled all round in a
ball in their excesses, like hedgehogs, entertain the same ideas of
the blessed and incorruptible God as of themselves. But it has
escaped their notice, though they be near us, that God has
bestowed on us ten thousand things in which He does not share:
birth, being Himself unborn; food, He wanting nothing; and growth,
He being always equal; and long life and immortality, He being
immortal and incapable of growing old. Wherefore let no one
imagine that hands, and feet, and mouth, and eyes, and going in
and coming out, and resentments and threats, are said by the
Hebrews to be attributes of God. By no means; but that certain of
these appellations are used more sacredly in an allegorical sense,
which, as the discourse proceeds, we shall explain at the proper
time.
 “Wisdom of all medicines is the Panacea,” writes Callimachus in
the Epigrams. “And one becomes wise from another, both in past
times and at present,” says Bacchylides in the Pæans; “for it is not
very easy to find the portals of unutterable words.” Beautifully,
therefore, Isocrates writes in the Panathenaic, having put the
question, “Who, then, are well trained?” adds, “First, those who
manage well the things which occur each day, whose opinion jumps
with opportunity, and is able for the most part to hit on what is
beneficial; then those who behave becomingly and rightly to those
who approach them, who take lightly and easily annoyances and
molestations offered by others, but conduct themselves as far as
possible, to those with whom they have intercourse, with
consummate care and moderation; further, those who have the
command of their pleasures, and are not too much overcome by
misfortunes, but conduct themselves in the midst of them with
manliness, and in a way worthy of the nature which we share; fourth
—and this is the greatest—those who are not corrupted by
prosperity, and are not put beside themselves, or made haughty, but
continue in the class of sensible people.” Then he puts on the top-
stone of the discourse: “Those who have the disposition of their soul
well suited not to one only of these things, but to them all—those I
assert to be wise and perfect men, and to possess all the virtues.”
Do you see how the Greeks deify the gnostic life (though not
knowing how to become acquainted with it)? And what knowledge it
is, they know not even in a dream. If, then, it is agreed among us
that knowledge is the food of reason, “blessed truly are they,”
according to the scripture, “who hunger and thirst after truth: for
they shall be filled” with everlasting food. In the most wonderful
harmony with these words, Euripides, the philosopher of the drama,
is found in the following words,—making allusion, I know not how,
at once to the Father and the Son:
 “To thee, the lord of all, I bring
Cakes and libations too, O Zeus,
Or Hades would’st thou choose be called;
Do thou accept my offering of all fruits,
Rare, full, poured forth.”

For a whole burnt-offering and rare sacrifice for us is Christ. And that
unwittingly he mentions the Saviour, he will make plain, as he adds:
“For thou who, ’midst the heavenly gods,
Jove’s sceptre sway’st, dost also share
The rule of those on earth.”

Then he says expressly:

“Send light to human souls that fain would know

Whence conflicts spring, and what the root of ills,
And of the blessed gods to whom due rites
Of sacrifice we needs must pay, that so
We may from troubles find repose.”

It is not then without reason that in the mysteries that obtain among
the Greeks, lustrations hold the first place; as also the laver among
the Barbarians. After these are the minor mysteries, which have
some foundation of instruction and of preliminary preparation for
what is to come after; and the great mysteries, in which nothing
remains to be learned of the universe, but only to contemplate and
comprehend nature and things.
We shall understand the mode of purification by confession, and
that of contemplation by analysis, advancing by analysis to the first
notion, beginning with the properties underlying it; abstracting from
the body its physical properties, taking away the dimension of depth,
then that of breadth, and then that of length. For the point which
remains is a unit, so to speak, having position; from which if we
abstract position, there is the conception of unity.
If, then, abstracting all that belongs to bodies and things called
incorporeal, we cast ourselves into the greatness of Christ, and
thence advance into immensity by holiness, we may reach somehow
to the conception of the Almighty, knowing not what He is, but what
He is not. And form and motion, or standing, or a throne, or place,
or right hand or left, are not at all to be conceived as belonging to
the Father of the universe, although it is so written. But what each
of these means will be shown in its proper place. The First Cause is
not then in space, but above both space, and time, and name, and
conception.
Wherefore also Moses says, “Show thyself to me”[805]—intimating
most clearly that God is not capable of being taught by man, or
expressed in speech, but to be known only by His own power. For
inquiry was obscure and dim; but the grace of knowledge is from
Him by the Son. Most clearly Solomon shall testify to us, speaking
thus: “The prudence of man is not in me: but God giveth me
wisdom, and I know holy things.”[806] Now Moses, describing
allegorically the divine prudence, called it the tree of life planted in
Paradise; which Paradise may be the world in which all things
proceeding from creation grow. In it also the Word blossomed and
bore fruit, being “made flesh,” and gave life to those “who had
tasted of His graciousness;” since it was not without the wood of the
tree that He came to our knowledge. For our life was hung on it, in
order that we might believe. And Solomon again says: “She is a tree
of immortality to those who take hold of her.”[807] “Behold, I set
before thy face life and death, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk
in His ways, and hear His voice, and trust in life. But if ye transgress
the statutes and the judgments which I have given you, ye shall be
destroyed with destruction. For this is life, and the length of thy
days, to love the Lord thy God.”[808]
Again: “Abraham, when he came to the place which God told him
of on the third day, looking up, saw the place afar off.”[809] For the
first day is that which is constituted by the sight of good things; and
the second is the soul’s[810] best desire; on the third, the mind
perceives spiritual things, the eyes of the understanding being
opened by the Teacher who rose on the third day. The three days