for, says the scripture, "A man found Joseph in the plain, and asked him saying, What seekest thou; and he said, I am seeking my brothers; tell me where they are feeding their flocks: and the man said unto him, They are departed from hence; for I heard them saying, Let us go into Dothan; and Joseph went after his brethren and found them in Dothan." Genesis xxxvii. 15.
Section 128
The name Dothan is interpreted, "a sufficient abandonment," being a symbol of the soul which has in no slight degree but altogether escaped those vain opinions, which resemble the pursuits of women rather than those of men. On which account virtue, that is Sarah, is very beautifully described as having given up "the manner of women," Genesis xviii. 11. which is the object of pursuit to those men who live an unmanly and truly feminine life. But the wise man is also "added when leaving," Genesis xxv. 17. according to Moses, speaking most strictly in accordance with nature. For the deprivation of empty opinion must necessarily be the addition of true opinion.
Section 129
But if any one, passing his days in a mortal, and promiscuous, and variously formed life, and having abundant resources of wealth and riches, considers and inquires concerning that better generation which looks only to what is good, he is worthy of being received, if the dreams and visions of those things, which are fancied to be and which appear to be good, do not again overwhelm him and immerse him in luxury.
Section 130
For if he abides in contemplation of the soul without any adulteration, proceeding and following in the track of the things which he is seeking, he will never give up his search till he has attained to the objects of his wishes;
Section 131
but he will find none of the things which he desires among the wicked. Why not? Because they departed from hence. Having abandoned the studies of our friends they have changed their Genesis xxxvii. 15. Genesis xviii. 11. Genesis xxv. 17. abode from the country of the pious, and settled in the desert of the wicked. But the real man, the convictor that dwells in the soul says this, who when he sees the soul in perplexity, and considering and investigating deeply, exerts a prudent care in its behalf, that it may not wander and so miss the right road.
Section 132
I very greatly wonder at those persons also, I mean at him who is fond of asking questions about what is in the middle between two extremes, and who says, "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Genesis xxii. 7. And also at him who answers, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering," and who afterwards finds what is given as a ransom; "For behold a single ram was caught by his horns in a shrub of Sabec."
Section 133
Let us therefore consider what it is that he who is seeking doubts about, and what he who answers reveals, and in the third place what the thing is which was found. Now what the inquirer asks is something of this kind:—Behold the efficient cause, the fire; behold also the passive part, the material, the wood. Where is the third party, the thing to be effected?
Section 134
As if he said, —Behold the mind, the fervid and kindled spirit; behold also the objects of intelligence, as it were so much material or fuel; where is the third thing, the act of perceiving? Or, again, —Behold the sight, behold the colour, where is the act of seeing? And, in short, generally, behold the external sense, behold the thing to be judged of; but where are the objects of the external sense, the material, the exertion of the feeling?
Section 135
To him who puts these questions, answer is very properly made, "God will provide for himself." For the third thing is the peculiar work of God; for it is owing to his providential arrangement that the mind comprehends, and the sight sees, and that every external sense is exerted. "And a ram is found caught by his horns;" that is to say, reason is found silent and withholding its assent;
Section 136
for silence is the most excellent of offerings, and so is a withholding of assent to those matters of which there are not clear proofs; therefore this is all that ought to be said, "God will provide for himself,"—he to whom all things are known, who illuminates the universe by the most brilliant of all lights, himself. But the other things are not to be said by creatures Genesis xxii. 7. over whom great darkness is poured; but quiet is a means of safety in darkness.
Section 137
Those also who have inquired what it is that nourishes the soul, for as Moses says, "They knew not what it was," learnt at last and found that it was the word of God and the divine reason, from which flow all kinds of instinctive and everlasting wisdom. This is the heavenly nourishment which the holy scripture indicates, saying, in the character of the cause of all things, "Behold I rain upon you bread from heaven;" Exodus xvi. 4.
Section 138
for in real truth it is God who showers down heavenly wisdom from above upon all the intellects which are properly disposed for the reception of it, and which are fond of contemplation. But those who have seen and tasted it, are exceedingly delighted with it, and understand indeed what they feel, but do not know what the cause is which has affected them; and on this account they inquire, "What is this which is sweeter than honey and whiter than snow?" And they will be taught by the interpreter of the divine will, that "This is the bread which the Lord has given them to eat." Exodus xvi. 15.
Section 139
What then is this bread? Tell us. "This," says he, "is the word which the Lord has appointed." This divine appointment at the same time both illuminates and sweetens the soul, which is endowed with sight, shining upon it with the beams of truth, and sweetening with the sweet virtue of persuasion those who thirst and hunger after excellence.