skin by squeezing itself through a narrow hole, and thus acquires new strength—how appropriately it fits in with the direction to imitate the wisdom of the serpent, and to put off the old man, as the apostle says, that we may put on the new; [Eph. 4. 22.] and to put it off, too, by coming through a narrow place, according to the saying of our Lord, "Enter ye in at the strait gate!" [Matt. 7. 13.] As, then, knowledge of the nature of the serpent throws light upon many metaphors which Scripture is accustomed to draw from that animal, so ignorance of other animals, which are no less frequently
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