Methodius, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. VI, Banquet of the Ten Virgins… (1885)
“ Chapter XII.—Virgins are Called to the Imitation of the Church in the Wilderness Overcoming the Dragon.The Church, then, coming hither into this wilderness, a place unproductive of evils, is nourished, flying on the heavenward wings of virginity, which the Word called the “wings of great eagle,” [1] having conquered the serpent, and driven away from her full moon the wintry clouds. ”
