3()8 The ' Lion, Ram, and Cock'' that ^ go weW explained. Job 38, as a lion, of Whom it is written; The lion of the tribe of oft ^ ^j^-^r-Judah hath prevailed, Who is called the strongest of A. beasts, because in Him the weakness of God is stronger than men. Who is not afraid at the onset of any one; for John14,He says; The prince of this world comelh, atid hath nothing in Me. The cock girt in the loins, that is, holy preachers announcing the true morn amid the darkness of this night. Who are girt in the loins, because they keep away from their members the looseness of lust. For it is in the loins in truth that there is lust. Whence it is said to the I-uke same persons by the Lord: Let your loins be girt about. ' " And a ram,whom there is no kingwho can resist. Whom else in this place do we understand by a ram, but the first rank Ps.29,1. of priests in the Church.'^ Ofwhom it is written : Bring to the Lord the offspring oframs ; vvho lead the people vvhich is walking after their examples like a flock of sheep following them. And whom, if they live spiritually and rightly, no king is at all able to resist; because whatever persecutor may stand in their way, he is not able to hinder their inten- tion. For they know both how to run anxiously to Him, Whom they long for, and to come to Him by dying. The lion is therefore placed first, the cock second, the ram last. For Christ appeared, next the holy preachers, the Apostles, and then at length the spiritual fathers, the rulers of the Churches, the leaders, namely, of the flocks, because they are the teachers of the peoples who follow them. 10. But we enforce these points still better, if we subjoin an exposition of the remainder of the same passage. For since after these things Antichrist will also appear, he added Prov. there a fourth point, saying ; And he who appeared a fool, ' ' after he had been lifted up on high. For if he had under- stood, he would have laid his hand on his mouth. For he in truth will be lifted up on high when he will feign that he is God. But he will appear a fool when lifted up on high, because he will fail in his very loftiness through the coming of the true Judge. But if he had understood this, he would have laid his hand on his mouth: that is, if he had foreseen his punishment, when he began to be proud, having been once fashioned aright, he would not have been raised up to the boastfulness of such great pride. And let not that move us I