The Gospel Teaching as a Spouse and Abraham's Entry into Egypt

Brotherhood and in his own land, as he later says: 'For truly she is my sister' (Gen 12:13). Therefore, this alone deceives them with a false wisdom, and he says it first as a subordinate matter. For since it was likely that those according to the laws of adultery among the Egyptians would kill him so that they would not allow it to be known that they were adulterers, Abram was reckoned as such.

These things, then, are for the sake of the spoken word; but regarding the intellect, those coming from virtue into vice are said to descend into Egypt; for it has been said many times: 'Woe to those descending into Egypt' (Hos 7:14). Here it is not 'he descended' that is intended, but 'he entered'; for his descent is an entrance. For every diligent person descends with those who stumble, not stumbling himself but leading them along from the stumbling block; and just as one becomes a Jew to the Jews without being a Jew, and lawless to the lawless without being lawless, so one becomes into Egypt without becoming Egyptian. Therefore, let others descend there, but he enters; for it was not their wickedness that brought him there, but a certain economy being carried out.

The virtuous man enters into Egypt often using foreign instruction, so that he may construct something useful from it, just as blessed Paul has done, asserting from Aratus 'For we are also of the same race' (Acts 17:28), in order to do the following: and the 'To an Unknown God' (Acts 17:23) and the 'Cretans are always liars' (Titus 1:12); so also every intellect exhorts to be taken captive into the obedience of Christ.

Having entered, as we have said, into Egypt, he subjects something to virtue, so that he may say that she is his wife; for the diligent and perfect man does not say that his virtue is his own exclusively to those inferior to him, lest he provoke them to envy, but says that she is his sister, giving the secondary things toward a unity toward his own virtue, so that he might descend together with the weak, so that they might desire her as one set forth to be received. For often, when we have learned something desiring to make it common, we make the contemplations common, such as those concerning providence, so that with...

so that he might also receive her to himself. For the evangelical teaching is a celestial spouse of the perfect; yet this is not snatched away, even if it is spoken among the perfect, but it is shared with all, just as Paul says, 'But I desire all men to be as I am myself' (1 Cor 4:6). For having become such, they will know that this instruction is a spouse of the perfect. For 'Wisdom' 'bears prudence to a man' (Prov 8:12), and I, says the perfect one, 'became a lover of her beauty' (Prov 8:26), clearly meaning Wisdom; for the wise man wishes to impart his own to all, so that they will not envy.

And it happened, when Abram entered into Egypt (Gen 12), the Egyptians seeing the woman that she was exceedingly beautiful, and the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and they commended her to Pharaoh, and they brought her into the house of Pharaoh; and they dealt well with Abram because of her, and there came to him sheep and oxen and donkeys and boys and girls and mules and camels. The wise intention of the patriarch did not miss the mark; for he did not plot, but rather a way becomes available so that the marriage of the holy one might not be corrupted; for the Egyptians did not rush upon her as if toward one neglected; but rather the princes, having seen her, presenting her as a favor to the king, brought her, and thus it happened that they dealt well with them because of her.

Abram therefore enters into Egypt according to the allegorical manner as a perfect toward the imperfect, so that he might be benefited, fitting himself, possessing the virtue, as previously foretold, not as one approaching him as an exclusive possession, but showing it to all as a sister to share with, so that they might be able, having seen, to love her. And observe that the princes saw her; for even in the rank of the Egyptians according to allegory, there are certain purer ones who also have much inclination toward seeing the virtue. And these have come to be not only to see, but